String bunching in gap during combos

How do I prevent this?

While practicing combos, sometimes after a roll or something the string just bunches in the middle, the yoyo slows down and either stops or snaps back up mid-trick. The yoyos I use have decent gap widths and string-centering bearings so I don’t think those are the problem.

String perhaps? I’m using generic YYE/YYN highlights - thinner string maybe? Just get better/faster at the trick? It’s kinda hard to do that when this happens almost all of the time.

Anyone ever have this problem? What helped?

YYE string is on the thinner side so I’m not sure what the issue could be. Some say that flat bearings help prevent string bunching so maybe you could try a flat bearing? What tricks in particular are you having issues with?

string tension may be another issue. does the string twist on itself when it hangs from your throw hand and the yoyo?

You simply need to become better at the trick. If you roll the yoyo in certain ways, it will start to bind, causing the yoyo to slow down.

Another contributing factor could be sweaty hands, or even just yoyoing in a humid environment. If the string is not sliding easily across your hands and fingers, it can create slack in the string, on segments that should be more taut.

If that seems to be relevant, you might try some yoyo gloves.

Try thinner strings. It really helped me learn some things i was struggling with. Turned out my strings were too fat. Going from bg1 yellow jackets to cloudstring and started making progress again. Give it a shot. It won’t hurt.

Also try a lower walled centering bearing like pixel or try a flat. I’d prefer a terrapin X wing cut for flats and pixels or nsk ds’s for centering.

I know I had some painful problems and they all went away after switching strings. They don’t bind nearly as easy, but when they do the spin times are incredible.

Thanks for the input everyone.

In response to some of the questions, tricks that cause this in particular are speed combos with lots of rolling/change in direction. I always check string tension every few tricks so I don’t think that’s an issue. Humidity could be an issue, although I’m lucky enough to live in an air conditioned house. My palms do get sweaty while practicing/concentrating so that may be an issue. I’ll test out the flat bearing suggestion and see if that fixes anything.

I suppose it just boils down to getting better. I’ll just have to tough it out and keep practicing. Seems this is the answer to every problem I ever have.

Are the pads protruding into the gap? You could be using the wrong thickness or they might have expanded

get a strong straight throw too if the yoyo is tilting it could influence the string to bunch