The classic brent stole - reverse brent stole - ninja vanish, but it’s on a fixie.
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So what’s the secret to getting good spin times on a fixie? They aren’t really designed with a size, shape, and weight distribution to maximize spin time, right? And there’s no bearing. So what is considered “impressive” spin time for a fixie? 20 seconds?
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20 seconds is impressive imo. You can make them act unresponsive by loosening tension, then figuring out if you’re on a sweet/sour throw (it alternates between more and less responsive)
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The only fixed axle yoyos I own are cheap Duncans: an Imperial, a couple Butterflies, and some ProYos. I don’t think I can get a 10s sleeper on any of those without Hulking out on the throw. I also experimented with a bearing blank in a Sherpa, and it dies on the string pretty quickly too.
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yeah, it depends a lot on the yoyo and the response. If you want a slightly nicer one the legend wing is a great entry model. I was able to loosen mine up and do brent stole. I think the spinworthies are a whole different level though.
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Dude this is so powerful
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I’m sure @Glenacius_K can provide a lot more info on this.
It’s a combination of many variables, mainly the desing of the yoyo you’re using and string tension.
Heavier fixies will sleep longer, and the response area (axle size and material, response wall separation and shape) plays a huge roll on the spintime too.
Doing string tricks on a fixie requieres a different approach to doing traditional fixie tricks (flips, stalls, etc) imo. You will need a powerful but delicate breakaway, and a sharp plane management. It’s fun. Smooth fixies work best.
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Well, I figure if I’m going to throw a fixie, I’ll probably want to do traditional fixie tricks. Do those not require spin times in excess of 10s?
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5 - 6 seconds of spintime is more than enough for most fixie tricks, which are stuff based on stalls, flips, suicides and regens of all types.
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So then fixie combos are really short, unless you use regens a lot? I’m not really familiar with what fixie play looks like (I’ve only seen a video or two here and there).
(Side question: Do contests ever have a fixie division?)
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Which means at least the Butterflys and Proyos, are fully capable for the fixie tricks. You can even pull off some 1A stuff on them too. The Legend Wing will take you farther in the 1A direction, and the Spinworthys (and others) even farther still.
Slacks and whips elude me on responsive yoyos, but tricks like Kwyjibo, Boingy Boing, Sea Sick, Cold Fusion, etc… are really fun on a fixie, especially if you combine them with regens and other fixie elements.
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Check out @bandalores on instagram. Lots of fun examples from @edhaponik (the 0a based god) and crew.
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I think 20 seconds on a fixed axle yoyo is a pretty high bar. I don’t know if many (any?) people can do that and get the yoyo to return without a bind of some sort. I’d be curious if @edhaponik has ever timed a fixed throw. I don’t think anyone in the hobby throws harder than he does.
My longest sleeper on wood was 46s, but that’s to extinction. All wood yo-yo’s are not created equal, but 20s is a very good fixed axle sleeper, and a 20s trick on wood would be a rarity. Also plenty of players throw harder than me, especially these days!
It’s rad to have watched 0a evolve over the years.
- 20 years ago, it was still a cantankerous counterpoint to developing 1a - mostly fallacious arguments that if you didn’t play fixed axle you were using training wheels or moon physics. The old “when I was a kid” reproach. But tbh, something resonated there with me, and guys like Steve B, Chuck Short, and Jason Tracy are a huge reason I ever started throwing wood.
- 15 years ago it had accepted the inevitability of bearings, and was really all about the fun challenge of hitting 1a tricks on tougher hardware. The Fixed Axle Fun Unlimited era of “bet you can’t hit this on THIS”. (HOW many tries did Spirit Bomb take me? More than I’d care to admit.)
- 10 years ago, we were just figuring out that stalls and regens could make fixed its own distinct thing, and that its limitations could actually be thought of as advantages.
- And over the last 5 years, fixed players have mainly been pushing in that direction, but it’s still fun to just throw heat on wood.
Doing tricks on wood which are typically in the realm of unresponsive requires you to be smooth, and obviously to keep any slack string out of the immediate gap. Understanding the spin direction and “sidedness” of the string is also important. Like a GT Whip on fixed is really hard from Breakaway, but much easier from a reverse throw. But the big thing is economy of motion - no wasted energy or unnecessary movement.
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The first “combo” I learned on fixed axle was doing Makin’ Da Zines over and over. Kind of feels like halfway between 2a looping and 1a unresponsive regens, because it can be done slow and relaxed-like. You could learn it today on a butterfly right after figuring out Trapeze Stall, which is unlocks the beginnings of that style.
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This is true. My string tricks on fixies last 6 to 10 seconds. I have not yet reached such a thing like a 20 second string trick on a fixie.
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I have a 70g harbinger on the way from @Glenacius_K and I really want to try now.
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When I threw the number 20s out there, I was referring to the sleep time “to extinction” as Ed put it. I figured any yoyo that can get 20s of spin time before dying can probably yield the 6-10s combos that EOS44 mentions. I was curious about “typical” spin times just to get a sense of what a well-performing fixie was capable of, something I wouldn’t really know about given the low-end nature of my current fixie collection.
Here’s 2 of my vids (only since you mentioned you hadn’t seen a ton of fixed axle) - one from 2012 on the very first eH and one from the past year. I can’t speak for everybody, but my fixed approach has become more and more (and more) stall based, though it’s still great to throw 1a on wood!
Per your side question, some events DO have fixed axle divisions. They’re usually run a bit differently - like a trick list or ladder. That’s generally because fixed play steps up the likelihood of misses and fixed axle freestyle can be either prohibitively tough to hit clean or… kinda safe/boring. IMO the greatest contest format ever is the Fixed Axle Championship Of All the World, which happens at Worlds whenever there’s a sufficient # of fixie players to hold it lol. This past year Kyle Nations took home the well-deserved title.
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