[Help Thread] F2L Discussion and Help

[TCUBER]

Well, 10 seconds when none of the edges are oriented. My Oll recognition can use lots of improve also, but my f2l very slow still.

 

[Litz]

10 seconds for 2-look OLL is way too much. It should drop pretty fast if you practice though.

As for f2l pair order, you shouldn't have an order. You should do the cross from the easiest side (i.e. not having the same orientation all the time just because you know it better) and then solve the f2l pairs as you find them. If you find more than one at the same time and know one is better than the other, solve that one. If not, just pick randomly and solve it while keeping track of the other.

 

[tx789]

you avg 25 but the step avgs added together is 30

I avg 20-30 and i think f2l is holding back my times and tps . But 110 sec oll s bad to do edge should b sub 1 unless theres no edges oriented

 

[TiLiMayor]

I think, with those F2L times, you should drill your LL algs and recognition of OLL and PLL.. As for the F2L, doing slow solves helped me find better ways to work out some cases..

 

[TCUBER]

10 seconds for 2-look OLL is way too much. It should drop pretty fast if you practice though.

As for f2l pair order, you shouldn't have an order. You should do the cross from the easiest side (i.e. not having the same orientation all the time just because you know it better) and then solve the f2l pairs as you find them. If you find more than one at the same time and know one is better than the other, solve that one. If not, just pick randomly and solve it while keeping track of the other.

Thank you for response. I understand what you said. I also know I need to be able to execute f2l algs from all angles. However, I also don't want to do B turns or F turns. As for F turns, I think with some practice I can make it flow together. Is there a way to prevent doing cube rotations like y2, while still solving the f2l pairs in random order?

 

[jonlin]

Thank you for response. I understand what you said. I also know I need to be able to execute f2l algs from all angles. However, I also don't want to do B turns or F turns. As for F turns, I think with some practice I can make it flow together. Is there a way to prevent doing cube rotations like y2, while still solving the f2l pairs in random order?

A lot of cubers use M slice moves to prevent awkward B and F turns.
Your f2l does not need any help right now. You have to improve your oll and pll. That's making the solve slow.

 

[TCUBER]

A lot of cubers use M slice moves to prevent awkward B and F turns.
Your f2l does not need any help right now. You have to improve your oll and pll. That's making the solve slow.

Ideally, for a cuber of my level how much time should Last Layer take?

 

[uberCuber]

Is there a way to prevent doing cube rotations like y2, while still solving the f2l pairs in random order?

There is never a good reason to do a y2 during f2l. Just use L moves. Doing y or y' a couple times in a solve is fine, though.

 

[tozies24]

you can get low 20s with an f2l that is finished around 15 seconds. I would work on your tps honestly for the last layer and drill algorithms and recognition. my f2l is done around 10-12 seconds and I average about 15-17 seconds. as your tps increases, your f2l times will decrease too.

 

[Andri Maulana]

My F2L around 9~12 seconds and I average about 14~16 sec.
It's so hard to get sub 8 or sub9 f2l+cross, any tips for me?
My OLL around 52 and full PLL...

 

[TCUBER]

you can get low 20s with an f2l that is finished around 15 seconds. I would work on your tps honestly for the last layer and drill algorithms and recognition. my f2l is done around 10-12 seconds and I average about 15-17 seconds. as your tps increases, your f2l times will decrease too.

I actually get low 20's pretty frequently. If I have a good F2l and an OLL case I already know, I got a 18.02 second solve once. As for tps, I pause a lot and do a lot of cube rotations , but if not for that my tps i think would be high.

It's so hard to get sub 8 or sub9 f2l+cross, any tips for me?

Me too :|

 

[yourmother]

Average F2L times for beginner

Hey guys!
I just started to use Fridich method since a couple of days and i m practicing with F2L.
I undestood how it works but i think i m still really slow.
What do you think about my average time of 35seconds just for the F2L?
Do i just have to practise a lot to get faster or there is something else i can do?

Thank you

 

[KJ]

When i started f2l, It took me a minute or so to do.
Now its about 20 sec.

Just keep practicing!

 

[yourmother]

how long does it take you to get 20 sec?

 

[KJ]

Maybe a month?

 

[yourmother]

oh alright ok, thank you

 

[skeletonboy]

I would say that you work on your lookahead and practicing F2L with it usefully.
Lookahead is when you search for another pair's pieces while doing the current pair. So you don't go like "do first F2L pair. Stall for 5 seconds. do second F2L pair, wait 5 seconds"
You do all the recognizing and looking while you do the current piece. You will need to practice and learn F2L at least that you can do them easily blind. That way, you do your current pair without looking at it so you can look for other pieces. Then, when you have found the pieces for the 2nd F2L pair, do the case blind, and lookahead for the 3rd pair's piece. This goes on until you are done the F2L. And just a side note, people have used lookahead for even the whole solve. You can sometimes predict OLL cases when you are finishing your LAST F2L pair. That's called LL recognition and there are multiple videos about it on youtube.

Lookahead DOES require you to slow down, and actually another great tip is to slow down when you are looking ahead. Comparision:

Speed Burst: 5 second inspection for 1st pair, execution 2 sec X4 = 28 seconds.
Slow style: 5 sec inspect for 1st pair, execution 3 sec, 2nd pair 3 sec (skipped inspection),3rd pair, 3 sec, 4th pair, 3 sec= 18 sec

And, also, don't just practice it. You should slow down and think of what you are doing so you can "morph" into the cube knowing the F2L more clearly. Good Luck

 

[andyfreeman]

To be at 35s already is very good! Does this include the cross?

It's taken me months to get below 30s (inc cross)! Well done.

The only things I can say are is practice, improve your look-ahead, and most importantly, use your inspection time wisely. Figure out the most efficient way of doing the cross, and if you can at least plan one F2L insertion. It'll save a few seconds.

In fact, I'd say don't worry about the inspection time to start off with. Just take your time, however long it takes to figure out the best way of doing the cross and getting your first pair. Soon it'll become instinctive.

And try and avoid spinning the cube in your hands. If you can, practice rear F2L insertions etc, and where that is difficult or impossible I've started holding the top layer where I want it and spinning the bottom two layers to bring them round. It saves on turning the whole cube in your hand, then trying to figure out where your pieces have gone and then what to do with them again etc.

Oh, and don't look at the clock whilst cubing. It slows you down.

 

[STOCKY7]

dont try to be as quick as possible, practise going slightly slower whilst watching how the other pieces move around.

 

[Glow]

Try learning Intuitive F2L, and do not rush it, if you have one f2l pair in place slowly solve it, while looking for another pair.
When i learned it, it took me a bit, but after like 2 days i could do it in 20 seconds.
Practice makes perfect. Good luck