Thoughts on ceramic bearings?

Well if that is the price of these top mazal (which I do not know) … they cost a few dollars less than those that a little above have been defined as “cheap alibaba bearings” … and it makes me think a lot.
As for titanium bearings (do they exist? I don’t know) you are right as they cannot be “full titanium” as titanium is a metal with a particular surface that tends to “seize” when it has to work with itself … the threads for example, and it would happen for the balls that must have very tight tolerances with the races, so at most you can have bearings with titanium races and steel balls or the opposite but … what would be the advantage of all this ???

The supplier could charge a boatload :smiley:

But there would be no advantage from what I’ve seen, outside of corrosion resistance. By all sources I can find (and this is generalizing, of course), it seems that most grades of steel have a slightly higher coefficient of static and sliding friction when in contact with Ti-V alloys compared to steel-steel pairs. Higher coefficient of friction = requires more energy to slide, which is the opposite of what you want in ball bearings.

Which reminds me of a physics joke:
Two kittens are sitting on a slanted metal roof, which one slides off first? The one with the lowest mu.

too pricey I’m broke as hell

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Mazal Top ceramics are one of the better yoyo investments I’ve made. They’re worth it to me if only for their ease of cleaning. 15 bucks on a bearing isn’t too bad when you consider a lot of people have cases full of 100+ dollar yoyos that don’t see much play (I’m guilty of this too, to an extent), 15 bucks for a bit of convenience when it comes to maintenance on your most played yoyos is pretty cheap all things considered.

People buy titanium yoyos so I’m kinda surprised that the discussion of “are ceramics worth it” is still around. Just depends on the individual person if that price and convenience is worth it for them.

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the real question is are titanium throws worth it?

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Wasn’t meant to derail the thread, but there’s your answer. Just like ceramic bearings.

I think its overpriced i use just konkaves either OT THROWS OR DUNCAN

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Because titanium bearings make no sense. You want your surface to be as hard as possible, Titanium is relatively soft (softer than steel even).

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Mazal Top bearings are great. Personally I prefer his Hybrid ones. But the full ceramic are awesome as well.

I put one of his hybrid ceramics in a $12 Aliexpress Delrin yoyo. Elevated that thing to greatness. Total cost went up by half the price but it spins at least 3 times as long and smoother.

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Yup exactly

I think so. Not for 500 bucks but the sub 300 buck ones sure. They are very durable and the ring they make is pretty captivating. It is a very good material for yoyos, just so damn expensive.

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yes, they most definitely are. you can find used Ti models for under $200 if you’re looking hard enough. The G2 TiShee comes up pretty regularly below that price and its very highly regarded. anything right around that $300 range is usually worht it if its a yoyo you think you’ll like.

I know a lot of people look at Ti like “I could just get two Bi-metals” or whatever, I look at it the other way instead of getting a bunch of yoyos that are ok I could get a Ti that plays totally different than anything else, they truly are unique. And on Ceramic bearings, I love them they seem smoother and I really like the sound in Ti yoyos, and they are low maintenance the hybrids are just as good.

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