Does anyone use the Type A V?

[michaelcmelton]

I got back into cubing here recently after about a year and a half hiatus because of personal issues, and I'm noticing a bunch of people going on about Moyu or the newest and best cubes. I know when I left cubing the AV was HUGE! Luckily I still had mine and didn't need to get a cube. I refuse to get an FII, (no offense to those who use the FII), but I'm close to breaking 1 minute consistently. At what point should I look to buy a new cube, or is the AV still able to keep up with the best of cubers even to sub 15 times? What I'm asking is does anyone use the AV anymore and are there better cubes in responsiveness and speed out there on the market now?

 

[Daniel Wu]

I'm sure most people don't anymore. AV and FII have kind of been overshadowed by the newer cubes on the market (like Moyu and others).

 

[TDM]

I don't know anybody who uses the AV. There are better cubes now, like the DaYan GuHong v2 and Zhanchi, the MoYu WeiLong and AoLong v2 and the FangShi ShuangRen v2. But they're quite expensive, so if your cube is still good then you should be fine using it for a while.

 

[mDiPalma]

I've used an AV for all my 3x3 2handed competition solves since 2011. I don't intend on changing this pattern (unless something unthinkable happens to my AV :O). AV's just seem more legit to me. The new cubes like the Zhanchi and the Weilong have removable pieces of plastic called torpedoes which lock the edge pieces underneath the corner pieces, to prevent the edge pieces from popping out. In my opinion, that's a cheap shot and unfair advantage over the original Rubik's cube. But nobody else thinks that way. (I still practice on a Guhong and Weilong, but restrict my competition solves to be on my AV, purely out of personal choice.)

People have told me that the Moyu Liying has a comparable feeling and size to the AV, but others have told me that the Liying isn't worth the money.

But to answer your question, an Alpha V is still a really good speedcube. And if it's modded correctly (sanding the stalks of the corner pieces to a curve), I think it's on par with all the modern ones. It depends on your cubing style.

 

[Dene]

I got back into cubing here recently after about a year and a half hiatus because of personal issues, and I'm noticing a bunch of people going on about Moyu or the newest and best cubes. I know when I left cubing the AV was HUGE! Luckily I still had mine and didn't need to get a cube. I refuse to get an FII, (no offense to those who use the FII), but I'm close to breaking 1 minute consistently. At what point should I look to buy a new cube, or is the AV still able to keep up with the best of cubers even to sub 15 times? What I'm asking is does anyone use the AV anymore and are there better cubes in responsiveness and speed out there on the market now?

A year and a half? How about 4 years and a half? The Dayan Guhong came out and overthrew everything before it some time ago. Since then things have changed a bit, and most people are using these "Moyu" brand cubes.

Hardly anyone would use the A5 anymore. It is a significantly inferior speedcube compared to what you can get nowadays. I suggest buying a Moyu when you get the chance. I'm sure you can get one cheap-as somewhere.

 

[michaelcmelton]

I just bought a MoYu today. I'll be getting it on Friday.

 

[Dene]

Good choice. Welcome to the world of good cubes that you always wanted but never quite had with the old A series.

 

[michaelcmelton]

I still like my AV, Dene... It's got sentimental value....

 

[brian724080]

I still like my AV, Dene... It's got sentimental value....

Not after you get a better cube. Wayyyyy better

To clarify - I was referring to the first part of his statement. Only you can decide the sentimental value of an item

 

[DeeDubb]

I need to go back and collect the "history of speedubes". i just want to see how it progressed, because I went straight from Rubik's brand to Zhanchi and Weilong.

 

[typeman5]

I don't use mine as my main, but I still like to solve mine

 

[Mike Hughey]

I still use two AVs. They are some of my better multiBLD cubes. (If I go over 15 cubes, I have to start including some Rubik's.)

 

[Dene]

I still like my AV, Dene... It's got sentimental value....

You'll get over it. Trust me.

I need to go back and collect the "history of speedubes". i just want to see how it progressed, because I went straight from Rubik's brand to Zhanchi and Weilong.

Good luck. Until the Guhong came out it was a real mess. There were so many different types, and none stood out from the crowd.

 

[ElectricDoodie]

I used to exclusively use an AV when I first started speedcubing. I bought an FII to try it out, since everyone said it felt different. I didn't like it, because it felt and sounded like cardboard. Hated it.

I then went on to use a GuHong, Zhanchi and Wei Long. My main cube now is the weilong, and I've been using these for years. Haven't touched an AV for years.

A few months ago, I decided to pull out the AV to see what it felt like. It was terrible. I couldn't believe I ever liked that cube. I'm so used to the weilong because of it's smooth, fast, no lockups, no pops, that the AV was incredibly bad to me. I tried to solve the AV using the same turning style as what I was on the weilong, and I was just popping and locking (dance!) all over the place.

AV's just seem more legit to me. The new cubes like the Zhanchi and the Weilong have removable pieces of plastic called torpedoes which lock the edge pieces underneath the corner pieces, to prevent the edge pieces from popping out. In my opinion, that's a cheap shot and unfair advantage over the original Rubik's cube.

I laughed pretty hard at this.

 

[StachuK1992]

I kinda get this:

[T]he Zhanchi and the Weilong have ... torpedoes ... that's a cheap shot and unfair advantage over the original Rubik's cube.

But it seems contradictory to:

Alpha V is still a really good speedcube ... if it's modded correctly

 

[waffle=ijm]

I am a huge Type-A fan. I have been since the first Type-A came out. And I have tried every single type-A that was released and I must say, when I used a GuHong for first time, I got over type-a really REALLY quickly. I still keep my old type-a in workable condition for sentimental value but it's nothing beyond that now.

 

[michaelcmelton]

I just got my Moyu. I took it apart to tension and lube it fully, and it's missing a spring....

 

[waffle=ijm]

I just got my Moyu. I took it apart to tension and lube it fully, and it's missing a spring....

Where did you buy from? Have you tried contacting the seller about this? Most puzzle shops are extremely helpful in this regard.

 

[bobthegiraffemonkey]

I still use some version of A V, got 4 of them for multiBLD a few years back. Even back then, they were only really good for multi I thought. Still good multi cubes, they're controllable and very consistent, but cheap YJ blahLongs are the way to go these days I think so I wouldn't buy any more.

 

[Ninja Storm]

I really love the feeling of the Alpha V, and would probably use it as a main cube if it could be both fast and pop-free.

The Liying has the closest feel, but isn't 100% similar in feel.