Hey everyone, i am getting into yoyoing and i keep hearing i should lube my yoyo but i dont know what lube is good and which is better so could anyone help me? basically i want a lube that will make my yoyo spin for longer times.
Please tell me anything you know
Thanks!!!
well there are different types of lube. If you want your yoyo unresponsive, its better to use thin lube, if you want your yoyo responsive, its better to use thick lube.
different yoyo companies have different lubes too
yoyojam has thick and thin lube. (i’d recommend this stuff)
yoyofactory has performance oil (thin lube)
one drop has their own lube
etc.
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lube won’t make your yoyo spin longer, nor faster. And all lube, even thin, will make your yoyo responsive. Lube just keeps things well… lubricated. It protects your bearing more than running it dry.
But I just run them dry. Without lube they spin fastest and longer, and are least responsive. But they’ll also need replacing sooner. has it’s ups and downs.
Pros of lube:
Bearing will last longer
Quieter
cons:
responsive (temporarily until broken in)
Pros of dry:
Spin longer
spin faster
less responsive
cons:
bearing will wear down faster
louder
Alternatively, terrapin x bearings play like a dry bearing, but with some of the benefits of lube.
not really sure the pros and cons of these though, as I just got one like a week ago.
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Pretty much what ^^ he said.
Any thin machine oil is suitable for bearings: sewing machine oil, trumpet valve oil, etc. But, to be honest, I haven’t cleaned or lubed a bearing in 3-4 years and haven’t had any issues. I really wouldn’t worry about cleaning or lubing a bearing unless you feel it’s not playing properly, or is abnormally loud.
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Lube isn’t needed, but if applied properly it will make the yoyo quieter after a short break in period.
The last longer point is negligible, as even without lube the bearings will last a few years. If it was a skateboard or something larger then you would need lube, but because there isn’t much of load on the yoyo it won’t matter.
Every thing that dynikus said is true.
This point is debatable. Running a bearing dry can tend to cause them to go bad and lock up. To some people it’s just the cost of doing business and a price they are willing to pay.
You can apply just enough thin lube to make it play almost like dry, but much smoother than much quieter. Use a pin to apply that amount of lube. It is a skill well worth learning.
I. Probably would do this, but my bottle of lube came covered in the stuff, so I don’t like touching it.
All you have to do is put a pin inside the bottle of lube and then touch one of the balls with a pin. Then test. If needed, apply another pin drop.
So valve oil will work? has anyone tried this?
Yeah, It works.
Is that after you pry open the bearing-sheilds, wash away the factory lubricant and let all the dirt and dust that is floating around your house settle onto the races?
Honestly, if they are good quality bearings they bearings do not need servicing. Most bearings come pre-lubricated from the factory. Cleaning will only remove this lubrication and introduce dirt and grime. You can then re-lube - but the bearings will never be the same. They will be OK for a bit - but then slowly, go right back to the problems that originally caused you to clean them in the first place. They will need repeated servicing just to keep them acceptable.
All of this cleaning and lubrication advice comes from manuals that cover maintenance of loaded bearings. Yoyo’s weigh less than 60 - 65 grams - not enough to cause wear by itself. Wear is caused by spin-friction. To counter-act the spin-wear you could add lubricant. But that comes at the cost of spin-time and responsiveness. Hardly a good trade-off for a 65 gram object.
The bottom line - Get good quality bearings and run them dry.
Yes, but it smells awful.
But I would need to tip the bottle with my hand, getting it all lubby, and it’s hard to wash off.
Then wear gloves or find a different past time. 