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BadProP

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Hi Everyone
I recently bought my first brand new Dayan Zhanchi 3x3 from a supplier on E-Bay. When I received the cube within the first few seconds of play it popped. I re-assembled the cube and a few minutes later it popped again. After numerous pops I approached google, Youtube and the Speedsolving forum for assistance. This lead me to videos and instruction on correct tentsioning and lubing of my Zhanchi. I managed to lube and tension the cube to a point where it would not pop anymore but the cube felt way to stiff. But when I loosened it up just a bit it would pop again. I wrote this off to me just being inexperienced and maybe just to rough with my finger moves. But then 2 days ago I received another identical Zhanchi I ordered from a different supplier through E-bay. Now this cube felt as loose and smooth as the first one, but it does not pop at all. I have played with it quite a bit and to this point I have not had one pop. No issues what so ever. This feels more like what I expected the Zhanchi to bee.

My Question is this: Was the first one I got just a dud, or is it possible that there are fake/knock-off Zhanchi cubes out there?
has anyone else had a similar experience to this?
 

windhero

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A great rule of thumb is to buy cubes from cubing shops / legit shops, not ebay. 3x3 cubes especially are so cheap that you want to get the real deal immediately. You can buy a legitimate Dayan Zhanchi (black) for less than 12 dollars with free shipping.
 

BadProP

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I understand what you are saying but I am all the way out in South Africa and E-Bay is the easiest to use. The faulty cube I got came with the purple box and the card you get when you buy a Zhanchi. It does not seem like a fake to me.
 

windhero

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That does sound like the real deal. You should try to diassemble to cube completely all the way to the screws and springs to see if something is missing. A regular fully operational zhanchi does not act the way you described, not even at the loosest of tensions because the torpedos prohibit it. My guess is that a torpedo or some torpedos are missing or one of the springs is broken or missing.
 

BadProP

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I have taken the cube apart about 3 times thus far. All screws are straight, springs in and same length, washers installed, all torpedos in place. I also checked the cube for any excessive molding marks and did the 48 point mod as well. Every thing seems fine and in place. I also completely stripped and cleaned the cube about three times, and tried running with no lube for a bit. Like I said, I tried the forums and Youtube first and then just blamed myself for being to rough or something. Its only after I received the new cube and saw the clear difference I actually started wondering if it was just dud cube. After that I thought I might just ask the good people on this forum if they've seen similar issues.
Thanks for the help so far windhero
 

windhero

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I have taken the cube apart about 3 times thus far. All screws are straight, springs in and same length, washers installed, all torpedos in place. I also checked the cube for any excessive molding marks and did the 48 point mod as well. Every thing seems fine and in place. I also completely stripped and cleaned the cube about three times, and tried running with no lube for a bit. Like I said, I tried the forums and Youtube first and then just blamed myself for being to rough or something. Its only after I received the new cube and saw the clear difference I actually started wondering if it was just dud cube. After that I thought I might just ask the good people on this forum if they've seen similar issues.
Thanks for the help so far windhero

If you really think about it the only difference between the two puzzles can be in the materials, in this case most likely the harware. If the core is straight and the screws stand in straight the only issue can be with the springs that are either too tight or too loose.

Pop ups on Zhanchis happen because of loose tensions. If the tensions are ok the problem might be with the anti-popping mechanism. If the torpedoes are ok and sitting in correctly, the problem has to be with the hardware. Cubes are very simple and have only a few parts, if the pieces look like the same the problem is most likely somewhere where you cant spot the difference; this time maybe in the tightness of the springs or maybe even in the length of the screws (unlikely though, the difference is most likely in the springs).

I've read about this problem before but usually it has been about the user not being able to tension it right. When the tensions are right on a working zhanchi that has no problems, you can be pretty rough with it for it to pop. It usually prefers to lock up a bit rather than immediately pop. I haven't seen you solve so I cant say for sure. Do you still use wrist turns or have you switched to speedsolving with fingertricks? Keep in mind that the Zhanchi is infact a world class speedcube made to even break current world records. The zhanchi is a cube for a very fast cuber, preferably sub 20 seconds at the very least. The problem with most beginning cubers is that they want to get the fastest puzzle out there even though their skills do not match by far. I made the same exact mistake and bought a Guhong V2 when I was averaging 32-35 seconds.

If you posted a video of you solving it would be great or perhaps you could let someone faster than you try the puzzle to see if the problem is infact in your turning style and not the puzzle. Very unlikely though since you already confirmed that another zhanchi felt a lot better.
 

windhero

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I'm pretty sure I got one at sub 40 or something and had no problems with it..
No mistakes there.

The cube was way out of my league back then. It's very much possible (some might even say easy) to reach sub 30 or 25 with pretty much any cube. Using a C4U cube or other "decent" cubes instead of a great one while getting better would've taught me to turn more accurately. Swapping to a cube that allows all mistakes whilst learning makes improving harder later on.
 

Stefan

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The zhanchi is a cube for a very fast cuber, preferably sub 20 seconds at the very least. The problem with most beginning cubers is that they want to get the fastest puzzle out there even though their skills do not match by far. I made the same exact mistake and bought a Guhong V2 when I was averaging 32-35 seconds.

How is that a problem/mistake?

I'm pretty sure I got one at sub 40 or something and had no problems with it..
No mistakes there.

But were you sub 20?
 

windhero

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How is that a problem/mistake?

I answered to that already. In short getting a cube that allows mistakes (Inaccuracy, rough turning) too early will in theory make improving harder when getting better. Swapping to a Guhong dropped my averages around 10 seconds pretty much immediately but from that I've only improved a few seconds over quite a long period of time. If I had bothered to get to say sub 30 or even sub 25 with a crappy cube, I would've been already an above the average solver with a good cube. Instead I'm stuck at the magical 20 second barrier and seems like I'll be there for quite a while.
 

Yellowsnow98

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I answered to that already. In short getting a cube that allows mistakes (Inaccuracy, rough turning) too early will in theory make improving harder when getting better. Swapping to a Guhong dropped my averages around 10 seconds pretty much immediately but from that I've only improved a few seconds over quite a long period of time. If I had bothered to get to say sub 30 or even sub 25 with a crappy cube, I would've been already an above the average solver with a good cube. Instead I'm stuck at the magical 20 second barrier and seems like I'll be there for quite a while.

Yeah. If I had waited I'd say I'd be much more consistent. But instead I could get a 45 second solve and a sub 20 in the same ao12
 

sneaklyfox

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I answered to that already. In short getting a cube that allows mistakes (Inaccuracy, rough turning) too early will in theory make improving harder when getting better. Swapping to a Guhong dropped my averages around 10 seconds pretty much immediately but from that I've only improved a few seconds over quite a long period of time. If I had bothered to get to say sub 30 or even sub 25 with a crappy cube, I would've been already an above the average solver with a good cube. Instead I'm stuck at the magical 20 second barrier and seems like I'll be there for quite a while.

20 second barrier is normal whether you have good cube or average cube.
 

7nand

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Jul 9, 2013
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Is zhanchi better than all the other speed cubes like fangshi shuang Ren, Moyu weilong, moyu haunying, etc. ??

It's better to have the option. You need to try it out. Without the torpedoes it will pop a lot more but it might feel smoother. You could also just keep the torpedoes and mod the cube to get both benefits.

Thanks:)
 
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