Upgrade to ball bearing?

I have a Power Brain Wing XP (it has a transaxle). I’ve learned the tricks in the beginner section, but the intermediate stuff is killing me (not dizzy baby and trapeze; just the rest).

I feel that no matter how harder I throw my yo-yo, I never have enough time to complete the trick. I know one problem is that I don’t throw straight all the time (though it seems that my string tends to ‘gravitate’ toward one side of the yo-yo). But I also think getting a bearing yo-yo would help.

I’m thinking of getting a YYF Velocity. Please give me some suggestions.

Ryan Julien

it’s possible to do virtually any trick on virtually any yo-yo… however, your learning curve will explode if you buy yourself a decent bearing yo-yo. if you already have all the beginner stuff down on something with limited sleep time, you will literally not believe how easy it is to progress when you’re throwing 1 minute sleepers by accidentally dropping your c-bearing yo-yo. it will honestly feel like cheating.

i used to be more of a purist and tell people to play with minimum bearing and maximum response to ingrain good habits. but if yo-yoing’s hard work, people tend not to do it, and you can always go back to your transaxle (or even to fixed axle). if the foundations are there, it’s like riding a bike.

if i were you, i’d buy a yyf whip, or something with a nice industry-standard c-sized bearing and learn to bind. even though i don’t play bind-return yo-yo’s much, to suggest that you should do otherwise is ridiculous. there are better options out there, but it’s tough to find a better yo-yo for the price. make sure to get 100 strings, too, if you don’t already have plenty.

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yyf whip or one with extra bearing for the price they are great throw but if you want to spend more i really liked my velocity because of the response all three great throws

Thanks for the info! I think I’ll get the Whip.

Quick question: What do you mean when you say c-sized bearings are “industry-standard?”

Let the confusion begin. This is what happens when you ask for help like this. It’s not that we’re trying to overload you, it’s just there’s too many GOOD yoyos and TOO many players and TOO many opinions. This is good to have such a vast amount of information, but bad because it’s a lot to sift through.

Since you’re still essentially a beginner on the verge of intermediate or a solid intermediate, there’s a lot of choices. Well, there’s always a lot of choices.

To go in at the inexpensive end, since you don’t know how to bind yet, you might want to get yourself a YYF ONE with the 2 bearings. I have one, it’s a great fun throw, but it’s a bit too lightweight and small for my preferences. Even so, it should last you a good long while and be fun all the way. You start with the slim bearing, then when you’re ready to learn to bind, you can swap out to the wider bearing and get into unresponsive play.

What I recommend are yoyos with this kind of swappable bearing capability in mind: slim for unresponsive play, a full sized bearing for unresponsive play. There are plenty of yoyos like that out there. As I mentioned before, there’s the YYF ONE, which again, being low cost doesn’t make it a junker, as it’s a great throw for the money. YYJ makes the Legacy II, the Dark Magic II and the Speeder 2 with included extra bearing and the slim bearing installed. I’m sure there are others that do this as well.

I recommend the DM2, but I am biased towards it. Regardless, by buying a yoyo with a slim and full sized bearing, you’re basically getting 2 yoyos for the price of 1. So, even though a Dark Magic II only costs like $42 or so, if you desire, you won’t have to upgrade or replace it for a good long time. The DM2 is also marketed to beginners and advanced players. I also have the Speeder 2, and while I like it, it plays too fast for a beginner. I might consider getting a Legacy II later on when other colors come out.

Of course, if you want to just step up and learn to bind, then you can get whatever you want. Regardless, I’d say don’t go nuts yet, keep it reasonable. For $35, there’s the YYF Popstar and Northstar, which are popular and good models. I think the YYJ Lyn Fury is another popular player and costs under $20.

Also, I second the idea to get more strings. You can never have enough.

A few would argue that you need to get a metal yoyo.
Just about everyone would argue you need a ball bearing yoyo.

I’d say definitely upgrade to a ball bearing yoyo. How much are you looking to spend?

Being a beginner, if you’re looking for something with long spin times I’d go with a YYJ with metal rims. DM2 is great, but there are many good choices.

The “C” size is just the most common size today. Waaaay back in the day companies like Losi, Yomega and Custom chose to use tiny bearings, about the diameter of the “standard” wooden axle. Duncan, Playmaxx and others used a much bigger bearing. It allowed a wider gap, but felt really weird to those used to wooden axles. It “won” and became the most common size. (The “standard” size “A”) Then someone, (I don’t remember who, maybe YoyoJam?) went with an even bigger bearing. It allowed an even bigger gap, but felt even more weird on the throw. Today, that one, the size “C” is the most popular, most common, and therefore, the “standard”. Some of us will only buy A’s or C’s (or D’s) because they like that feel best. Most of us like 'em all. The Whip is about the best value in yoyos right now, but it’s got a pretty big gap, so you’ll have to develop a pretty good bind to use it. The One comes with the 2 bearings like Studio said, so it’s pretty hard to argue against. I’d suggest a YYJ Kickside or Journey. They are full sized yoyos, so they are a little easier to learn on, and their (adjustable) gaps can be set smaller to take you from what you’ve got now, up to pretty wide, all for just 15 bucks.

I think for a step up, a full metal is over-kill unless it’s in the affordable range.(say, dv888 pricing or below). My lack of familiarity with all models limits my knowledge. I don’t see anything wrong with a full plastic or a metal/plastic yoyo, which is an ideal upgrade. The key here is the ability to bind.

While I still stand behind my recommendation of the DM2, the Legacy II is a fine step up. Why? The two bearings, one responsive(slim) and one unresponsive(full width C bearing) and is a great deal for the price. But if one knows how to bind or is willing to learn to bind upon receiving their new unresponsive yoyo, then a whole lot of other options open up, including many affordable options. The Protostar or Northstar are good choices, but you have to know how to bind or be willing to learn it. This willingness to learn to bind opens up many options including many MONEY saving options. Nothing wrong with the ONE packaged with 2 bearings, which is being marketed to beginners, or the unresponsive WHIP for the same price. However, I find most purchases and users of these are not beginners but people looking for something else to challenge themselves with. For $10 each, it’s a good deal.

As far as the “need” for a ball bearing, I think that’s rather self evident. Sure, why not drop back to fixed axle… Learn to throw that thing like a one-armed monster! But in all seriousness, ball bearing is the way to go these days. We can go the want/need argument all day long, but that’s how people are playing these days. If one wants to go backwards for challenge purposes, do whatever you want later on.

Of course, the advise to stay within budget is smart. DO factor in a 100-count of strings, say, either YYE Slick6 orYYE 100% poly strings. It makes more sense to buy strings with the yoyo since you’re already buying stuff, it’s just another item that can be placed in the box. Also, get some YYJ thin lube. Again, if you’re buying, this is the time to stock up on these low-cost essentials. Maybe a spare set of responses as well although honestly unless you’re using a Duncan friction sticker, they should last several months. But my logic behind buying lube and responses now, as well as strings is that you’re already going to have to pay for shipping, so why not load that box down a bit and not have to pay extra for shipping these small items later. I almost always buy some small items with an order of something bigger(say, a yoyo) since I’m already paying for shipping. What I typically do is use it as an excuse to buy another 100-count of strings even if I’m OK, and maybe a couple of response replcaements. Shipping should be around $5-6 for Priority Mail here, which is fine. However, do realize my suggestion to buy bulk string, response replacements AND lube is going to add anywhere from $20-25 to your order. It may sound silly to buy a yoyo in the $25 range and then buy $25 in accessory items, but you save on shipping later on when you’d have to order the stuff anyways later on when your strings wear out and need replacing.

Going back to the yoyo itself:
There’s no definitive right answer… There are some oriented for beginners, some oriented for beginners to advanced, some for intermediate and some for advanced, and any variations of those sort of combinations.

Regarding your choice of the Whip:
I have one, I like it, it’s tons of fun. Some people say it kinda flakes out on longer tricks, but you’re not there yet, so don’t worry about it. The money you save on this yoyo now means you can keep practicing, advancing and learning while you research your next yoyo. Yes, your next yoyo. But that’s OK, you can aim at lower price breaks such as the Protostar or Northstar in the $35 range, OR you can maybe shoot to some of the more affordable full metals. Regardless of your choice, you’re going to want something else down the line anyways, it’s just one of the facts of life surrounding yoyo.

I say die-nasty. Plays better then the whip, and it’s only ten dollars more.