Okay, so this has been really confusing to me and also is blowing my mind. Hear me out.
I use Twisted Stringz in my edc RBC and also send them out with my bearing blanks. I recently saw a photo from an envelope I sent to someone with some blanks and extra strings and some of the strings were loose in the card - not in a baggy. The loose strings left an oily stain on the card, which surprised me, I’d never noticed that before. I’m wondering if there is a fabric softener that is applied to these strings to improve their texture.
Recently, my trusty RBC (which I play fixie, no lube) was playing kind of wonky, it felt too responsive and it felt like the pads were rubbing a lot. This persisted even after several string changes. I check the pads periodically and they didn’t look that worn out but it had been about a year since I changed them so I figured it wouldn’t hurt try changing the pads despite expecting them to get thinner with age.
This is when I realized that the fresh pads were perfectly flush to the yo-yo wall where as the old ones had been noticeably proud by a 0.1-0.2mm on both sides! I didn’t take a before picture, but here is my backup silver RBC which I don’t play often but sits on the shelf with a string wrapped vs. Blueberry with fresh pads. I would say the old pads were even more proud than the ones in the silver, but I hadn’t really thought about it.
I wondered if this was just variance in pad thickness, but now I’m wondering if it’s swelling from the pads absorbing oils from the string. Either skin oil or whatever the string may or may possibly be treated with…
Has anyone else encountered this? I’m kind of obsessive optimizing yo-yo setups, but had never considered silicon swelling and changing the gap width - affecting yo-yo performance. And now I’m wondering if all strings have treatments like this?
I wouldn’t expect silicone to absorb oil (based on my experience with cooking utensils & potholders), but I suppose oil could get behind the pads and prevent the glue from holding the pad as tight as it should.
Do you use the same string & pads on other throws?
Every time I put new bearings in yo-yo I am messy and get olive oil or MCT oil all over pad. Happen all the time for me. Never had a pad ruin from this. (It really happen to me often like 3 times per week)
I have 6 year old+ bearings is unresponsive and dead silent from olive oil. It’s just a micro drop oil amount put in. Takes 2 weeks to break in, then bearing is silent and unresponsive for all of life
People use my yo-yo at contest and go “woah” because they all spin silent !!!
Viscous olive oil for medium lube to break in
Mct oil for thin lube that make bearing quiet and unresponsive fast
It’s Medium Chain Triglyceride oil. It’s refined from coconut & palm oils, which naturally have about 50-60% MCTs in their lipid profile. Studies show it increases metabolism, and it’s a great source of quick energy for those who are in ketosis/a fat-adapted state. Easier to digest too for those who struggle breaking down longer chain fats (e.g. those without a gallbladder).
Interesting! Never heard of using them like that. Learn something new everyday.
