I do enjoy the occasional controversial thread like this that really gets people fired up about throwing. Personally, I like different bearings in different yoyos. I have a bunch of different bearings and some of them work brilliantly when paired with certain throws and turn other throws into knuckle bruisers. Half of the fun in yoyoing for me is in the experimenting, whether it’s with modifying tricks or finding that perfect combination of throw/string/bearing/response.
Whether the shaped bearings make any real difference or not is irrelevant. If the person using them feels they are better then they will derive more joy from it. At the end of the day, a yoyo is a toy and what is the purpose of a toy if not to bring joy?
The only issue I have with flat bearings is that precession occurs much faster. If I have a center trac or a konkav, I can play in the same plane and not have to move much to adjust to how the yoyo is turning, but with the flat bearings the string always favors one side and you must turn with the throw, or otherwise it will start to tilt,spinout, etc…
I, personally, don’t think string centering bearings are a joke. A Crucial Grooved came in my Cupcake, and it’s extremely helpful to me. I’ve only been throwing seriously for about three months, but I’m not exactly a beginner. I find the Crucial Grooved to be super helpful in, well, CENTERING the string, which keeps the yoyo steadier and straighter for longer periods of time. I’m talking string combos and whips and such. I like grooved bearings, but this is just my opinion.
I will say depending on many factors, string can make a huge difference.
While planning a trip to Vietnam(OK, being planned for me), I bought some Type X string because it was good for whips, softer and should be gentler on my hands in the environment. All was correct except that last part, which due to my hands sweating, worked against me.
While some string is better for certain styles of play and types of tricks, if you can’t do it on regular 100% poly, the odds are that the specialty strings won’t really do much for you. I mean, if I’m having trouble doing a ninja vanish with YYE 100% poly, I can guarantee you I am gonna have the same problem with Type X too.
While working with the new YYJ HEX, I put in a Terrapin X bearing and a Type X string. This combination make the yoyo play less “heavy” and removed the “thunk” that I was experiencing. How much was the bearing effecting things, vs how much was the string effecting things? I don’t know. I do find my yoyos do play better with Type X string though, but I have no issue putting YYE 100% poly in anything I own except my fixed axles, wood and loopers and that’s simply because it’s not an appropriate string.
JeiCheetah
(J̵̡̥̦̳̗͎̤̯̟͓̞͔͔̻́͛͐̒͋̔̈́͂̃͝ͅͅ E I H W Δ N̸̢̢̡͙͖̝̩̟͎̹̻͔̳͕̙̗̈̆̆͋̈́͛̀̑̒̂̀̈́̇̚͘͠ͅ)
46
I have honestly never experienced this…Then again, it may be that my technique has been so refined over the years that the correction of this is completely second nature to me. Although watching a throw right now, I do not notice this at all.
I’m sorry, but I have to laugh at this. This is probably the most common problem with flat bearings and you’ve NEVER experienced it?? Perhaps you’re not the best source for information about bearings then. The longer this thread gets, the less respect I have for you, Josh.
I myself have already clocked about 12 years of practise… maybe Ill get them midas hands in 3 years… sooooo excited!
(LOLJK)
on a serious note though, I forgot how different things are there, halfway around the world, where you have to spend a decent amount of cash if you wanna upgrade bearings and whatnot.
So maybe sticking to stock bearings is a good advice for people there.
Right here in Southeast Asia though, is where your Centertrak, Spec, Speed, AIGR etc bearings are made, so believe me when I say high quality bearings here are dirt cheap.
Like stainless-steel-tenball-concave-for-1dollar kind of cheap.
So here, its ALWAYS a good advice to upgrade your bearings.
JeiCheetah
(J̵̡̥̦̳̗͎̤̯̟͓̞͔͔̻́͛͐̒͋̔̈́͂̃͝ͅͅ E I H W Δ N̸̢̢̡͙͖̝̩̟͎̹̻͔̳͕̙̗̈̆̆͋̈́͛̀̑̒̂̀̈́̇̚͘͠ͅ)
51
Like I said, its most likely through years of refining technique, I can’t explain it, but sorry you feel that you lose respect just because of my own personal experience that I want to share with the community.
Tilting and precession are not the same thing, though. Flat bearings are more prone to precession due to the laws of physics, that’s all.
And by the same laws, there’s no such thing as perfectly centering the loop on the bearing with a throw with any sort of predictable consistency. When you bind up, that very act is likely to push the loop to one side or the other, and as the string unwinds to the end, that’s where the loop is still likely to be. You can have the throw of a god and you will not be able to consistently center the loop on a flat bearing.
That said, I don’t know many people who throw and then look at the string in the gap. I don’t see many negatives with flat bearings because as soon as you start going into any tricks at all (even a simple trapeze!), it doesn’t really matter much if the loop is centered anymore.
The important part is keeping the string from touching the walls of the yoyo which is where most of your spin loss happens. It doesn’t really matter where the string is located on the bearing as long as it isn’t touching the walls. This is the same concept that the terrapin, center trak, KK, and grooved bearing use.
When you are doing all your next-level sweet tricks you want to make sure that all of the layers of string stay off the walls so you get the longest spin time possible. Whichever method you choose, there is a difference from just a standard bearing.
I dislike grooved or shaped bearings in general. I do enjoy tenball bearings due to their longevity and quietness… but they do not play any better than an 8 ball. This may be the first thing I’ve agreed with you on 100%. I dont see the jazz with concave/grooved/other shaped bearings. They have always made my yoyos play worse IMO. People think that getting a grooved bearing is going to make their yoyo play better… and they dont.
I personally love using really tilty and cheap yoyos. I think playing with these “bad” yoyos has made me better at yoyoing and has made me accustomed to tilting. Then again im not doing any combos over 1 minute… so that might have something to do with it. But I just dont see tilting as a huge issue when it comes down to bearings. If it tilts… learn how to make it not tilt… it will make you a better yoyoer in the long run.
I personally think this thread has taken a very interesting journey, so I will share my opinion…
To me, a yoyo bearing is the heart of an advanced yoyo. Just as in humans or animals, the bearing may cease to work or serve its function, just like the heart stopping. Maybe you did something that ruined the bearing immediately or it just wore it out over continuous use. Bottom line, if that bearing doesn’t spin, the yoyo doesn’t spin, just like if your heart didn’t continue to work properly, you wouldn’t either. You can lube or clean the bearing to keep it going, just like taking heart medication or installing a pace-maker, and that tends to work in both cases, but neither can work forever. You can get a new bearing or heart, but neither will have the same feeling as the old one, neither will have the same sentimental ,nostalgia as the old one, and although the new one feels efficient or even better compared to the old one, it just doesn’t feel right…
Pretty much what I mean by this whole thing is, if you throw out a perfectly good stock bearing for a fancy new one, it’s the equivalent to getting a new heart implanted so you can be better and live longer even though, the heart you have is perfectly fine and you’re just not living a healthy life style.
In a nutshell, I don’t mind a grooved, ten ball, concave, super ball, cray-cray, power bearing, but if I need a bearing, anything will do for me. As long as I’m still yoyoing it shouldn’t really matter. As stated numerous times before, no fancy bearing will make you play “better”.
Or you can just be a cool kid, and play fixed. You’ll never need another bearing. Period.
