Hey there, longtime lurker and first time poster here. So I’ve been trying to get into playing with fixies more as I love the feeling of wood yoyos and there just something special about playing them. However, I just can’t get into responsive play…all the stales and kick flips are just not that exciting for me.(no offense to those who love it. Some of my favorite players are Drew Tetz and Ed and thats pretty much all they do. I just don’t enjoy doing it myself)
Anyway, I remember Ed talking about that with the first run EHs that they were design to handle longer tricks(Spirit Bomb I believe he said was the final stage of 1A tricks on a fixie) because thats what was popular for fixie players during that time. That what I’m looking for, something that isnt geared to modern day responsive play thats focused on stales and kickflips and whatnot, but more something thats trying to get as much spin that you can get out of a fixed axle to hit those classic string tricks.
Hopefully all of that made sense and thanks in advance for replying!
You want something with a wider gap and has more weight that will be less responsive. Look for older TMBRs like a Purple Heart Irving Pro or a 2012-2013 eH. @Glenacius_K Spinworthy may have something for you as well, Harbingers can play rather open and can handle hard throws to get those types of spin times. @EOS44 can get a lot of clickable hits out of a Harbinger
Hey, i kinda like string tricks on fixies too. I’ve been having a lot of fun using a Spinworthy Harbinger for that exact purpose. below I’ll leave my actual longest string trick using one.
So far I’ve only been able to hit a spirit bomb twice on a fixie. Once on an TMBR Oak Sullivan and once on a TMBR LoveJoy. The Sullivan is better for stalls, but a bit heavy. The LoveJoy is V shaped and is as string trick geared as I’ve played. The EH 13’ feels kinda in between these two.
I think ultimately it’s more about form than anything else though since @EOS44 and @edhaponik prolly can do longer string tricks like spirit bomb with anything.
This really is the truth, its not really the Yo-Yo.
Yeah, I’ve only have had serval Spirt Bomb hits myself and I always feel it the next day from throwing so much heat at them. I’ve hit most of them on the Harbinger, but I have gotten a couple on the Legend Wing recently, very inconsistent on the exit, though I can fake them enough to at least get into an Engineer Windup and back to the hand.
I would second getting something in a heavier wood like certain oaks or purpleheart. Gap is equally important. Ive hit White Buddha on an Irving Pro. That’s prob the most 1a friendly fixie I’ve thrown.
Fixed axles can handle a lot more than we tend to assume. A big part of it is simply having the naïveté to believe you can do it. The hardware does factor and matter, but it is always secondary. Good luck!
Nice that your able to hit it on a legend wing, thats what i have been jamming on. What legends are you using? I know they vary pretty greatly in weights, been thinking of getting a rubber coated white one as i have heard they are heavier.
Thanks for all the feedback! So heavier weight and wider gap is what I need to look for. Also I believe im using type 8 cotton, should I get something thinner to help as well?
The Spinworthy Harbinger and the Ballsy are both excellent for 1a, especially if you can get ahold of one of the older ones with the smaller axle.
My two best for 1a are an Oak Harbinger and a Hickory Ballsy. Both of them have the smaller axle. I have a couple of Ballsys with the larger axle, and they are very good for 1a as well, but don’t spin quite as long. I don’t think I have any Harbingers with the larger axle.
My Beater with the smaller aluminum axle is also great for 1a, my newer one with the larger axle, not so much. It’s better for stalls and such.
It’s great. Definitely another solid 1a wood option. Adam Brewster used to swear by them and pretty sure Miggy used one in the 05 Worlds Fixed Axle Challenge.
