New vs. Old DIY Type-A Cubes

[VooX]

VooX:

my cube was in perfect condition. i am sorry to hear that yours were so terrible.
he says that there are no diffenence of performance between the different colored diy kits, which supports the argument of ExoCorsair about the different kind of plastic.
why didn't you complain?

the cubes at puzzleproz are quite expensive, but i think the shipping is less compared to cube4you.

puzzleproz sells 1 syringe of lube for 2$
cubelube sells 10 fillings for a syringe for 3,95$ so 1 filling equals 39,5 cents.
an applicator syringe costs 2,50$, therfore:
1 syringe at puzzleproz equals 2$
1 syringe at cubelube equals 2,89$

puzzleproz ONLY sells lube by the syringe.

Once you've bought the syringe ($2.50) from cubelube you don't need to buy it again. Also if you've already got syringes you don't need to buy one at all.

Cubelube also sells larger lube sizes. Their largest is for 40 syringe refills. Total cost is $8.95, so 1 filling equals 22.3 cents.

Both my white and red cubes have yellow cores. This does not seem to help the red cube. After slight filing, my white DIY performs very well.

I did not leave feedback on ebay for puzzleproz.com. As my opinion is subjective I chose not to leave a negative review as some might not agree with my opinion. To be clear: both myself and my friend (who ordered the red cube) would give a negative review if we chose to leave one.

I DID COMPLAIN TO PUZZLEPROZ. I COMPLAINED ABOUT A WHITE DIY I BOUGHT FOR MY FIRST ORDER. MY COMPLAINT WAS IT WAS NOT AS SMOOTH AS ADVERTISED AND I NEEDED TO FILE IT TO GET ACCEPTABLE PERFORMANCE.
PUZZLEPROZ TOLD ME HE WAS TOO BUSY TO CHECK THE QUALITY OF THE CUBES LEAVING HIS SHOP. HE DISMISSED MY EXPERIENCE AS A BAD BATCH. WHEN I ORDERED ANOTHER SET (1 RED, 1 WHITE) I HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE WITH THE PRODUCT. THE RED CUBE IS SO BAD (AS I HAVE MENTIONED) IT IS UNACCEPTABLE AS A SPEEDCUBE, THERE IS NO FIXING THIS CUBE.
HE CLAIMS THAT ALL COLOURS ARE THE SAME QUALITY, BUT MY EXPERIENCE IS THAT THE RED CUBE IS FAR INFERIOR TO THE WHITE ONE.
GIVEN HIS ATTITUDE AND DECEPTION IN HIS EBAY ADS I CANNOT RECOMMEND SHOPPING AT PUZZLEPROZ.
YOUR EXPERIENCE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT, BUT I WILL SHOP AT THE CHEAPER, MORE HONEST (IN THEIR ADS) SELLER CUBE4YOU.COM INSTEAD.

 

[Harris Chan]

Here's an idea for a good speecube...

Rubiks.com DIY core + cube4you.com screws/springs/washers + cube4you center kernel/cap + rubiks.com cubies/store cubies

Since the Rubik.com DIY core is better than the cube4you, and the screw is longer/better by cube4you.com. To achieve that "flushed center" by using the cube4you.com center because it is a bit smaller than the rubiks.com center. But if you want to do the other way around (rubiks.com center and cube4you.com cubies), it's also pretty good (for me).

 

[VooX]

Here's an idea for a good speecube...

Rubiks.com DIY core + cube4you.com screws/springs/washers + cube4you center kernel/cap + rubiks.com cubies/store cubies

Since the Rubik.com DIY core is better than the cube4you, and the screw is longer/better by cube4you.com. To achieve that "flushed center" by using the cube4you.com center because it is a bit smaller than the rubiks.com center. But if you want to do the other way around (rubiks.com center and cube4you.com cubies), it's also pretty good (for me).

Does the recessed centers help in turning faces with fingertricks?

I would imagine that using your fingertips to move a side would be easier when they stick out a little from the centers.

 

[shawnlee]

Here's an idea for a good speecube...

Rubiks.com DIY core + cube4you.com screws/springs/washers + cube4you center kernel/cap + rubiks.com cubies/store cubies

Since the Rubik.com DIY core is better than the cube4you, and the screw is longer/better by cube4you.com. To achieve that "flushed center" by using the cube4you.com center because it is a bit smaller than the rubiks.com center. But if you want to do the other way around (rubiks.com center and cube4you.com cubies), it's also pretty good (for me).

Is that allowed in WC?

 

[joey]

Here's an idea for a good speecube...

Rubiks.com DIY core + cube4you.com screws/springs/washers + cube4you center kernel/cap + rubiks.com cubies/store cubies

Since the Rubik.com DIY core is better than the cube4you, and the screw is longer/better by cube4you.com. To achieve that "flushed center" by using the cube4you.com center because it is a bit smaller than the rubiks.com center. But if you want to do the other way around (rubiks.com center and cube4you.com cubies), it's also pretty good (for me).

Is that allowed in WC?

Yes, I believe it is allowed in the toilet.

I believe you mean the WCA, if so, yes I don't see why it shoudln't be allowed.

 

[Johannes91]

Is that allowed in WC?

I believe you mean the WCA [..]

Or maybe World Championship.

 

[joey]

Is that allowed in WC?

I believe you mean the WCA [..]

Or maybe World Championship.

Yes, but I found it odd to be talking solely about the WC.

 

[AvGalen]

I don't see why it shoudln't be allowed

There is/was a rule that said puzzles needed to buy "widely available" if you use them in a competition. I don't think that rule was enforced though because I have seen people use homemade 2x2x2's. Also, you could argue that if all pieces of the "hybrid" came from "widely available" puzzles, the resulting puzzle is also "widely available"

P.S. http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/ seems to have problems right now, so I couldn't check my claims

 

[Johannes91]

P.S. http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/ seems to have problems right now, so I couldn't check my claims

http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/regulations/

 

[AvGalen]

Thanks Johannes.

The "widely available" has indeed been removed. I see no reason in http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/regulations/#puzzles that would prevent the use of such a "hybrid" cube.

 

[VooX]

Can anyone tell me when the new DIY will be available to order from cube4you.com.

I subscribed to their notification of when it was in stock. I went to the site 4 hours after an email was sent telling me it was in stock, and they had already sold out.

Can anyone provide any links to find the new cubes (especially the white ones)?

 

[Dyste]

http://www.cube4you.com/142_New-type-Black-DIYKit-3x3x3-(a)-second-model.html

http://www.cube4you.com/247_New-type-White-DIYKit-3x3x3-(a).html

 

[VooX]

http://www.cube4you.com/142_New-type-Black-DIYKit-3x3x3-(a)-second-model.html

http://www.cube4you.com/247_New-type-White-DIYKit-3x3x3-(a).html

Thank you very much!

I could not find the white cube link before. It is a shame it is nearly twice the cost as the other DIY cubes, as I love the colour so much I have to buy a more expensive cube.

 

[Dyste]

Yes, it is, but I'll also be getting one soon. Oh, and you're very welcome.

 

[TheBB]

On the subject of these cubes:

http://www.cube4you.com/247_New-type-White-DIYKit-3x3x3-(a).html

Does anyone have any? I've found them to be a pain in the ass to get working smoothly. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a thread on this somewhere?

 

[Dyste]

Do you have one? Or are you generalizing on cube4you cubes?

 

[TheBB]

I have five. Of that precise type. I've assembled two and the one that turned out OK is far from as good as people seem to consider them to be. The corners wiggle about and one of the sides turn unevenly. In general, the Rubik's DIYs I've had are much firmer and smoother. Maybe it just needs breaking in, but I can't help thinking I'm doing something wrong.

Edit: Also, the center caps fall out. I thought they didn't do that on chinese DIYs. They're also not shaped like Rubik's ones so I can't glue them in, or they won't come out. True - I haven't tried paper yet, though.

 

[Dyste]

Gluing is a bad option. How would you go about readjusting the tension, if you ever needed to, which I would have to believe that you inevitably would. I'm guessing there's just a different overall feel between the cube4you cubes and the Rubik's cubes. I only have the initial version (version 1) of the black cube that they had before, and I can say that the pieces tend to be "sproingy" and are prone to popping. I haven't had time to mess with it and formally lube/put stickers on it, so I've just been using my store-bought. That's really all I can account for, as I do not have experience with the Rubik's diys or this new cube4you one.

 

[TheBB]

Well, I've glued Rubiks caps and I can break them out whenever I need to. Can't do it too much though because it leaves some residue .

In any case, it's not a *bad* cube, but considering the reputation these cubes have gotten I certainly expected, not just a better final product, but also one that required putting in less work.

Particularly, the fact that one side turns unevenly is quite annoying. When it aligns with the rest of the cube it is noticeably tenser than at 45 degrees. After some careful diagnosing, I've removed all pieces except for two opposing edges in the layer in question and the effect still remains. The center is pushed out (tension increased) when the edges aligns with the centers, and is relaxed again when they are at 45 degress, somehow.

 

[Dyste]

Does anyone know what the four "U' shaped symbols on the bottom of the pieces of the the new type (a)s are for? Do they protrude, or are they just kind of etched on there for some odd reason? Also, if other people have experience with these cubes, it would be nice to know how "good" or "bad" they are, besides TheBB, who has already asserted his case. I will probably be ordering one tonight, unless otherwise persuaded.