Is there a big performance difference between your very basic and bearing(ed) counterweights?
Bonus Question:
When does the Duncan patent expire on these? In other words, when would they be able to be legally manufactured for sale by other people/companies?
Biggest difference I’ve noticed is with a bearing type or others that are free spinning is you don’t have to adjust string tension (which is a big plus) because the string is not connected to a fixed point. Otherwise I just try to match appropriately weighted counterweights to the weight of the throw. I’m still a super novice at 5a though.
Is there an official ratio for this?
somewhere around 1/6 I think, so most counterweights are in the 10-12g range. It affects the proportion of string you have on either side when you grab it to do tricks where both the CW and Yoyo move independently.
Here is an awesome link from the past
There’s also the double-dice counterweight (which is like having two distinct counterweights, I think, for slightly different tricks?) and that new adjustable weight counterweight.
That’s amazing. How long has this website been up?
I’m not certain. At least a few years.
Wow… that is a very specific and very useful website…
Do you happen to know what they have a patent on? Is it just that you can’t call it a counterweight (like “yoyo” in Canada) or can you not sell anything that could be used as one?
Patents are very legalese documents. I know the gist of what the patent is but hesitate to describe it for fear of making an error. Steve Brown is the person that submitted the patent so he may chime in if so inclined.
The patent is YoYo and Method for Using a YoYo.
I do find it slightly humorous that a year before a patent expires, a certain company decides (after years of essentially doing very little to promote 5A) all of a sudden has a push to try to promote 5A, as if they know the gates are about to be opened and they’re going to have a ton of competition 
They still remain 100% unreasonable on licensing though, even with just a year left. We’ll have a few new counterweight options available once that countdown strikes zero. 
There is a certain National YoYo Master that I’m highly looking forward to seeing what he’s got up his sleeve.
You can say many things about me, but you can never say that I don’t have a lot of plans in the works.
If you chart their sudden action on 5A on one line, and Bryan’s increased responsibilities and agency on another line, I will bet you those two lines are parallel and identical.
Bryan is a good dude and he loves 5A. He’s doing his very best to get them to push and promote it.