Since you’re entertaining questions, Ben, I have a serious one for you. Does the Ricochet have the tapered bearing post that seems to characterize the design of most of the aluminum YYF yoyos?
Every Genesis I’ve ever owned very quickly developed a line of galling at the base of the bearing post, and also increasing amounts of vibe, and I’ve seen this on every YYF metal of the past two years that I’ve ever taken apart. For anyone reading who doesn’t know what I’m talking about, if you have a YYF metal, take it apart and look at the spot on the bearing post where the bearing sits. It could be that it’s just on the ones I’ve happened to check, but I’ve checked at least 50 yoyos …
I don’t have the sort of magnifying device necessary to be able to check, but my hunch is that the bearing post is tapered and that the bearing is crushing into it, leaving the galling mark. If this is correct, then it would help to align the yoyo halves during initial asembly, since they’re forming into the bearing itself, but would also result in the bearing seizing onto the no-longer-anodized bearing post that a lot of folks experience with aluminum YYF yoyos (like the one explained in this thread: Genisis bearing problem - Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance - YoYoExpert).
The Ricochet looks legit, and that anodized one is very cool looking, but I’d be concerned about longevity, which is the reason I ask. Given the characteristics of titanium, the galling effect would be much quicker and potentially more damaging. Thanks in advance for any response you might be able to provide.
Here’s a simple depiction of what I’m getting at with an exaggerated taper for the sake of conveying the difference:
