In the modern yoyoing world , each and every yoyo , from the basic to the professional yoyos has a bearing in the centre part of the yoyo. The evolution of yoyo from wooden axle to the modern bearing has change the tide for all yoyo contest. So , I think it will be a good idea to tell you about the type of bearings that is available for your yoyo.
Spec bearing
 |
| http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDYwMA==/$(KGrHqNHJEYE+TbLQ7lZBQK!peommQ~~60_35.JPG |
A spec bearing is the most common bearing and it is installed in most of the yoyos by many yoyo companies. If you read from my previous post on "Bearing maintenance" , you should be able to open the bearing caps and see what's inside. There is 8 ball bearings in it which allows the yoyo to spin at a longer period of time compared to the olden wooden axle. Above is an image on how it looks like inside.
Konkave / Concave bearing
 |
| http://www.yoyoyo.com.au/image/cache/data/magicyoyo/magic-yoyo-10-ball-bearing-show-900x900.jpg |
 |
| http://www.yoyostorerewind.com/media/CMS/dif-kkjam-33_2.jpg |
A konkave bearing has the similar characteristic to a spec bearing with its 8 ball bearing including the size of the bearing. The main difference is the centre part of the bearing. It is really obvious and you won't miss it , there is a curve in the centre of the bearing. The reason why is because this is to maintain the yoyo string in the middle of the yoyo with minimum friction between the strings and the yoyo walls. This type of bearing is commonly installed along with Yoyoaddict yoyos , Yoyoskeel yoyos , Yoyofactory yoyos , & some of Duncan yoyos. Some players prefer to place this bearing into their yoyo because the yoyo will spin slightly longer due to the minimum friction between the surface of the yoyo and the string.
10 ball bearing
 |
| http://www.yoyoyo.com.au/image/cache/data/magicyoyo/magic-yoyo-10-ball-bearing-front-900x900.jpg |
A 10 ball bearing simply means a bearing with 10 ball bearings in it. There is a 10 ball Spec bearing version and a 10 ball Konkave bearing version. The difference between a 10 ball and a 8 ball bearing is the amount of spin time and the amount of speed a yoyo can have. Due to the amount of ball bearing , a higher amount of ball bearing will naturally increase the speed and the spin time of a yoyo compared to a lower amount of ball bearings. Plus this bearing spins really smooth.Currently , as I am aware of , there is only a maximum of 10 ball bearing for a yoyo. OneDrop yoyo company is popular with its 10 ball bearing. Each and every yoyo from One Drop is equipped with a 10 ball bearing.
Centre Trac bearing
 |
| http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100422202156/yoyo/images/4/4f/CenterTrac.jpg |
A Centre Trac bearing has the similar curve profile just like a Konkave bearing , but the difference is that there is a flat surface at the bottom of the curve. Instead of a rounder curve like a Konkave , for centre Trac bearing , it has a much angular shape at the middle part of the bearing. It has the same effect as the Konkave bearing but due to its flat surface in the middle part, it constantly keeps the string at the middle. This is much better than a Konkave bearing because there is a limited amount of movement for the string within the yoyo. This bearing is commonly found in Northstar and Protostar by Yoyofactory.
Gold plated bearing
 |
| http://cdn.yoyoexpert.com/487/yo-yo-thumb.jpg |
I know it sounds ridiculous but this is true. There is a gold-plated yoyo bearing. I couldn't describe it with my own words on the supremacy of this bearing , so I am going to quote from the description in www.yoyoexpert.com
"This is a replacement Size C bearing (.250 x .500 x .187) that has been plated in gold! This bearing also features a total of ten balls to insure overall smoother spin quality and duration of bearing life span.
The gold plating provides an extremely smooth and frictionless spin surface and the bearing spinsamazingly unresponsive and smooth! Very very impressive!
Little known fact is most of the current world sleeping records use Gold Bearings exclusively to obtain the incredible spin times they do!
Give it a try in one of your large bearing yo-yos and you will not be disappointed (not to mention they just look cool!)"
If you are not impressed with that , I am not sure what to say because I am practically drooling just by looking at it. It comes in Konkave bearing shape and Spec bearing shape too. My personal preference would be a Konkave bearing by Yoyoaddict and 10 ball bearing from Onedrop , because I find it that both of this bearing is smooth and there is no snaggy feeling when I am using it.
Till next time,
Wyvern Strings
No comments :
Post a Comment