Older cubers discussions

[mark49152]

It'll be interesting to see how good all the new guys are. Are they first timers because they are new to cubing or are they taking advantage of a rare Northern competition?

My guess is a bit of both. It's interesting that the last northern comp in August got half the number of competitors and a smaller proportion of first-timers. Perhaps that one hit the registration limit.

I could not do that even if my life depended on it. Still averaging 4:30.

Have you considered giving it a serious go? Like doing nothing but 5x5 for a few weeks? It's a great puzzle, with so much more to think about. Great for helping look ahead and finger accuracy/control too. I reckon you'd get down to 3:00 in ~100 solves or so and it might help your 3x3 times too.

 

[Logiqx]

Once again, Mike shows how slow turning can get good times. I'm sure when I get 2:45 it looks a lot more frantic than that...

... and not turning at all for what looked like an eternity, lol.

The first 9 solves where very smooth. Even a 16 sec green cross. Very cool. Then you had a +2 (tapped for doing U' with left hand) and than the solves following where without lookahead. You paused betwee F2L and OLL and PLL.. I think you where anxious to get that sub 18? LOL Very cool stuff Mike. And remember... everyone without a sub 18 on camera is a noob

Yup. After eight solves, I'd settled into a nice rhythm of 16.x-17.x which made me think "hey, this is going pretty well". That resulted in me messing up the last 4 solves and like you say, I should have counted that one solve as a +2. It would still would have been 17.95 average so not too shabby!

Mark's suggestion of only doing 4x4 or 5x5 is basically how I got into the bigger events. You will have spells where you feel like you're not improving but the effort will pay off eventually. I think I prefer 5x5 at the moment because the YuXin is such a nice cube and there is only one form of parity.

 

[Logiqx]

Gotta love a PB single on film...3 move x-cross.

50 HTM = 4.3 TPS

EDIT: It should have been sub-11 but I looked at the timer after OLL and got excited! I usually use MU algs for the U-perm. lol

 

[Jason Green]

Gotta love a PB single on film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nB48IibXYY

50 HTM = 4.3 TPS

EDIT: It should have been sub-11 but I looked at the timer after OLL and got excited! I usually use MU algs for the U-perm. lol

Very cool great job! I need to film some more.

 

[Logiqx]

Very cool great job! I need to film some more.

I figure the rate you're improving, I need to pull my finger out and get a bit faster. You're rapidly catching up!

 

[Jason Green]

I figure the rate you're improving, I need to pull my finger out and get a bit faster. You're rapidly catching up!

It doesn't feel as rapid anymore, but at least there is still movement. I think I'm fairly legitimately sub 25... barely now. I like noticing other little improvements besides just PBs. The other night I had three 19.x in a row, I don't think I ever had back to back sub 20 even. And then yesterday I had a 19 with a N Perm which have been one of my worst.

 

[Logiqx]

It doesn't feel as rapid anymore, but at least there is still movement. I think I'm fairly legitimately sub 25... barely now. I like noticing other little improvements besides just PBs. The other night I had three 19.x in a row, I don't think I ever had back to back sub 20 even. And then yesterday I had a 19 with a N Perm which have been one of my worst.

I remember the exact same thing myself when I was around the 25 second mark. Sub-20 solves including less favourable LL cases were very satisfying. Yesterday I experienced a pop which had resulted in a similar type of satisfaction. An edge dropped into my lap during OLL and I just about kept the cube from crumbling. I was pretty happy with a 22.x after re-assembling the cube and finishing the solve.

 

[h2f]

Gotta love a PB single on film...3 move x-cross.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nB48IibXYY

50 HTM = 4.3 TPS

EDIT: It should have been sub-11 but I looked at the timer after OLL and got excited! I usually use MU algs for the U-perm. lol

Nice solve.

I must learn U perm with M slices (I know them from different angle but I dont use them).

 

[mafergut]

Nice solve.

I must learn U perm with M slices (I know them from different angle but I dont use them).

Yeah, really nice solve. That was more than 1.5sec faster than my PB full step and it could have been faster PLL. Right now I'm really not improving at all due to time devoted to other puzzles but I'm having a lot of fun learning skewb and pyra. By the way, I just ordered a Yuxin timer and mat. I hope it's fully compatible with Stackmat Pro and I can make it work with csTimer. It was so much cheaper than the Stackmat Pro (less than $20 in zcube). I also got with it the new Cyclone Boys Pyra. It was so cheap that I decided to try it out. If it's not good I'll get a Moyu or Qiyi anyway...

I don't have any 3x3 PBs but I had an OH PB single, my 1st sub-30, with a 29.51 yesterday, while warming up for the OH scrambles in the Weekly Comp. And today a 10.01 skewb Ao5, which is not bad for only some days of practise and using Sarah's beginners mostly.

Ah, by the way, I tried the Thunderclap and I love it. Not sure still if it will replace my main... because right now I don't even know what my main is. So confused...

 

[muchacho]

Gotta love a PB single on film...3 move x-cross.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nB48IibXYY

Good solve, and good video!

___
4x4 parity algs: learned
4x4 average: 3:15

 

[h2f]

Ah, by the way, I tried the Thunderclap and I love it. Not sure still if it will replace my main... because right now I don't even know what my main is. So confused...

I like Thunderclap. It replaced my aolong v1. But I wonder how good GuoGuan is? But earlier I think I will order sq-1 from Mofangee. I really liked that puzzle.

 

[newtonbase]

There's so many interesting new puzzles out at the moment. I'd usually buy them all but it's a bit of a waste of money if they have little chance of being a main. I'll see what I can get to sample at the comp next weekend to reduce my wish list. Pretty happy with most of my puzzles but I'd like a really good 4x4.

 

[mafergut]

I like Thunderclap. It replaced my aolong v1. But I wonder how good GuoGuan is? But earlier I think I will order sq-1 from Mofangee. I really liked that puzzle.

I think the GuoGuan Yuexiao is arguably the best cube in the market right now but... that's in case you like the Meiying. I have a Meying and it's a bit too uncontrollable and fast for me. They say Yuexiao is more controllable. I'll probably end up buying one But that's not gonna make me sub-20 and beyond. I'm still waiting for my QiYi SQ-1 to arrive as well. I don't know how to solve it yet

There's so many interesting new puzzles out at the moment. I'd usually buy them all but it's a bit of a waste of money if they have little chance of being a main. I'll see what I can get to sample at the comp next weekend to reduce my wish list. Pretty happy with most of my puzzles but I'd like a really good 4x4.

What 4x4 do you have now? There are lots of great 4x4s in the market at good price now. I have an AoSu but right now I would probably get a CB G4, a Yuxin (the good one, not the Lion) the YJ Yusu or maybe even the new YJ GuanSu ($4 at Lightake, that's a ripoff!) but for sure not the Congs Meiyu (it seems a failure to me with that mechanism, too prone to locking).

 

[newtonbase]

Just wrote a lengthy response and lost it by pressing the wrong button. Briefly, I have the Aosu, CB and Yuxin but feel there should be something better. Also, I suck at Pyraminx and last comp result looks like a fluke so I'm not wasting my practice time if I have no chance of a PB.

 

[mark49152]

I think I prefer 5x5 at the moment because the YuXin is such a nice cube and there is only one form of parity.

I do like 4x4 but there's more luck in it, as parities can make or break smaller averages, as in competition. It's so frustrating to get a bad comp average because you got four double parities. On 5x5 it makes much less difference because as long as you avoid ending up with a checker tredge, parity on the L2E doesn't take much longer to sort out than non-parity cases. And there's just that bit more depth to 5x5 so it's more fun.

Also I agree the cubes are better. Both Yuxin and Aochuang are great. For 4x4, Aosu is the only one I don't find locky or hampered by poor corner cutting, but the turning is heavy and it tires my hands out.

 

[Jason Green]

I wanted to get at least a sub 23 average of 5 on cam, and I got this 21.84. I was looking accidentally at the ao12 column and didn't realize I had this until a couple more solves. Two sub 20s also.

Spoiler

Generated By csTimer on 2016-1-24
avg of 5: 21.84

Time List:
1. 23.78 R2 U2 R2 F' D2 F' D2 B2 D2 B L' B D U' B' D L B2 L' R'
2. 21.99 L2 D' B2 D' U' B2 L2 F2 L' F' D F2 U' B R2 D R F'
3. (19.62) D2 B2 L2 B2 D L2 U B2 F2 R2 B' L2 U' R D2 B L' D U F U2
4. (24.14) L2 D B2 L2 D' R2 U F2 R2 B U2 L2 R' B' L' U R2 F' D'
5. 19.75 U' L U2 B2 D2 B U F2 R2 F U2 F U2 R2 F' U2 R2 F' L

 

[Logiqx]

I wanted to get at least a sub 23 average of 5 on cam, and I got this 21.84. I was looking accidentally at the ao12 column and didn't realize I had this until a couple more solves. Two sub 20s also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSM1bjmBm8c

Spoiler

Generated By csTimer on 2016-1-24
avg of 5: 21.84

Time List:
1. 23.78 R2 U2 R2 F' D2 F' D2 B2 D2 B L' B D U' B' D L B2 L' R'
2. 21.99 L2 D' B2 D' U' B2 L2 F2 L' F' D F2 U' B R2 D R F'
3. (19.62) D2 B2 L2 B2 D L2 U B2 F2 R2 B' L2 U' R D2 B L' D U F U2
4. (24.14) L2 D B2 L2 D' R2 U F2 R2 B U2 L2 R' B' L' U R2 F' D'
5. 19.75 U' L U2 B2 D2 B U F2 R2 F U2 F U2 R2 F' U2 R2 F' L

Cool. Good solves.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk

 

[h2f]

I wanted to get at least a sub 23 average of 5 on cam, and I got this 21.84. I was looking accidentally at the ao12 column and didn't realize I had this until a couple more solves. Two sub 20s also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSM1bjmBm8c

Spoiler

Generated By csTimer on 2016-1-24
avg of 5: 21.84

Time List:
1. 23.78 R2 U2 R2 F' D2 F' D2 B2 D2 B L' B D U' B' D L B2 L' R'
2. 21.99 L2 D' B2 D' U' B2 L2 F2 L' F' D F2 U' B R2 D R F'
3. (19.62) D2 B2 L2 B2 D L2 U B2 F2 R2 B' L2 U' R D2 B L' D U F U2
4. (24.14) L2 D B2 L2 D' R2 U F2 R2 B U2 L2 R' B' L' U R2 F' D'
5. 19.75 U' L U2 B2 D2 B U F2 R2 F U2 F U2 R2 F' U2 R2 F' L

Sub-20 ao5 and ao12 very soon.

 

[Jason Green]

Thanks guys! Your confidence in my improvement makes me better.

 

[moralsh]

Wow, so many messages.

@Jason: almost there, I think it took me more time to get to low 20s, keep it up!

@Mike: Awesome solve, I only use the R U Uperms for OH, I don't think I have fingertricks for them 2H, wouldn't happen to me

@mafergut: Last time I focused solely on 3x3 was summer 2014 IIRC, I have improved constantly since then just by practicing other (related) events, don't worry at all if you are enjoying other events

right now I'm into 5x5, 7x7 and a bit of 3BLD in the little time I have, I'd like official averages/means in the comp I have at the end of february cutoffs will be nice so I should make it

2:21 and 7:40 are my PBs on 5x and 7x. Averages are a bit higher (2:4x and 8:3x)