London Calling! (Well, Cubic from London)...

[Cubic]

Hello, everyone.

Cubic (Leonardo) from London, England, here. I am completely new to the world of speed solving, but not to solving the cube. My first cube was bought then they were released the first time round (no logo on the white centre in those days!)

I was taught to solve it by a classmate in the school playground using a typical beginner's method - firs one side, then the middle row, and finally the last side. I learned to solve from the top down, not the bottom up, so it's been a shock to see I've been solving the not only the slow way, but the 'wrong' way! Typically it takes me around 2 minutes to solve. Part of the reason is that the algorithms I was taught are not very efficient... So I decided I would try to become faster. I also decided to fish out all my other Rubik's Cube Puzzles - Rubik's Revenge (4x4x4) and Rubik's Challenge (two fused 3x3x3 cubes). I can solve the Revenge (very slowly), but have never been able to complete the Challenge as the algorithm's I know are not suitable. So I began to investigate other methods.

And that what when I came across the realm of speed solving, and decided to give it a try. I bought myself three cubes to take away on holiday - a Lun Hui, GuHong+ (purple stickers), and ZhanChi - from a UK company (not the cheapest, but next day delivery, and they answered my emails at 10:30p.m.) I printed off a guide on the Fridrich method, and gave up after four days! Completing the F2L is relatively easy (tIhough 'm still very slow), but all those algorithms for OLL and PLL is too much for me. Instead I've moved to the Petrus method which I find much more intuitive and I like the way I orient the edge pieces before completing the F2L. Plus, there are fewer algorithms!

So that's my journey... Incidentally, I'm not nearer to solving the Rubik's Challenge! On the upside, I have learned to solve the cube using the beginner's method upside down and starting with the white face (though my preference is for green)

Looking forward to reaching sub-60 once I've mastered Petrus.

Cubic (Leonardo)

[5BLD]

WOOT! I'm from London too! You're like, the first London cuber I've heard of. um. hi. Yay petrus.

[Zyrb]

Welcome to the forums, I also live in London.

[Cubic]

Hello Guys! I have a long way to go before I'm anywhere near your times. I'll probably never get sub 30! Even with daily finger exercises I'm still soooo slow. Guess I'll just have to practise harder.

Having studied Lars Petrus' method (from his guide on www.lar5.com) the algorithms for Fridrich don't look quite so bad, but there are still too many for me at the moment. I'm sure I'll be returning to Fridrich in the future. I've looked at all the main methods, and Petrus is the one that just felt right for my way of working.

[cubersmith]

I'll probably never get sub 30!

Stick with it for a couple months and you most likely will be.

[5BLD]

I'm sure I'll be returning to Fridrich in the future.

Why will you be 'returning to fridrich in the future' when

I've looked at all the main methods, and Petrus is the one that just felt right for my way of working.

Also what do you mean by daily finger exercises? I'm curious.

[Mollerz]

Hello there. I'm from Guildford, just south of London. Give it a year and you'll be like "How was I so slow!?".

[Cubic]

Why will you be 'returning to fridrich in the future'...

Because I want to know more than one method. Once I'm satisfied that I am fast enough with Petrus, I'll want to challenge myself further.

Also what do you mean by daily finger exercises? I'm curious.

Just practising the moves my fingers need to turn the cube at speed. They are still very sluggish, and my left index finger isn't very good at moving the top layer at the moment. It can manage 2/3 of a turn at most (using a GuHong - I think it's a bit better with the Lun Hui and ZhanChi). Maybe I need to lubricate my cubes?

And thanks for the encouragement. If I can get sub 60 in two months, that will be amazing. I'll aim to do it in 6 months, that way if I do it sooner I'll feel like a winner!

[jla]

Welcome to the world of speedcubing and your new addiction Glad to see that you're using Petrus (he's swedish ) If you want to, you could use 2Look OLL and PLL (9 + 6 algorithms) for Fridrich, that requires a lot less algorithms than full OLL and PLL (57 + 21 algorithms).

Just practice and I'm sure you'll be sub-60 in two months. And if you have the time and I don't have the time to go to the UK you can always come to a Swedish comp some time. You would be very welcome

And if you get to meet Alex in person, listen to his advice, he's incredibly fast (in case you didn't know )

[cubingawsumness]

Welcome!
For fridrich (which is technically called CFOP), you can start off with less algorithms for OLL and PLL by using two look OLL and two look PLL. Basically, you first do edge OLL, then corner OLL, then corner PLL, then edge PLL. And when you want to learn all the rest of the algorithms, you will still use these ones, so it's like an intermediate step to full OLL and PLL.
Obviously, other methods are also great, just personal preference. Learning different methods is also a good way to help you understand the cube better.
I think that your cube should be tensioned (or this way) a little looser because it shouldn't be that hard to move. Lubrication is helpful, but I think tensioning is what you need right now. If you really want, you can also modify your cubes.
You should be sub 60 long before 6 months- you may even me sub-40 or 30 by then.
Have fun cubing!