Older cubers discussions

[Freddy]

The Gear Cube?

I think so!

 

[GRVigo]

Hello everyone. There is a new competition in my city, at first I was not going to sign up, but since it was the last day of registration and the space was not full, I decided.

I am 49 years old, I have never competed, I solve the cube between 20-30 seconds and in blind it takes between 7-9 minutes (lately I don't have much time to practice). I have a feeling I'm going to get there and feel out of place.

Those of you who have gone through a similar experience, how was it?

PD: I think 'Older Cubers' should have his own sub-forum.

 

[One Wheel]

Hello everyone. There is a new competition in my city, at first I was not going to sign up, but since it was the last day of registration and the space was not full, I decided.

I am 49 years old, I have never competed, I solve the cube between 20-30 seconds and in blind it takes between 7-9 minutes (lately I don't have much time to practice). I have a feeling I'm going to get there and feel out of place.

Those of you who have gone through a similar experience, how was it?

PD: I think 'Older Cubers' should have his own sub-forum.

I barely qualify as an older cuber (37, and come to think of it I was 32 at the last competition I attended. Doesn't seem like that long.) You'll probably feel a little out of place, but you won't be. Have fun, and just try to beat yourself.

 

[JohnnyReggae]

Hello everyone. There is a new competition in my city, at first I was not going to sign up, but since it was the last day of registration and the space was not full, I decided.

I am 49 years old, I have never competed, I solve the cube between 20-30 seconds and in blind it takes between 7-9 minutes (lately I don't have much time to practice). I have a feeling I'm going to get there and feel out of place.

Those of you who have gone through a similar experience, how was it?

PD: I think 'Older Cubers' should have his own sub-forum.

Do it, you'll have fun regardless. I was 45 when I attended my first comp. It did feel a bit weird being surrounded by kids mostly around 10-13, but I started helping out which I found quickly gives you an "in" with everyone. People start to feel more comfortable and soon you'll be "cube-speaking" with everyone.

I'm 54 now and regularly attend competitions. I'm the oldest competitor at all the comps I've attended by a country mile with a few exceptions. The next oldest are usually the other delegates delegating with me in their 20's. I like that I can mostly hold my own against the kids and get a kick out of being in the finals of some of the events. I even managed 3rd in blind at our last comp despite my terrible time. Sometimes all it takes is not to fail ;-)

 

[UKCubeFan]

The Gear Cube?

I don't know. The one I had was like the snake puzzle from 1980s but with cubes on elastic. I got it in probably 1982 ish. You could twist it into 3x3 but it was pretty useless. Probably on Twisty Puzzles.com.

 

[UncleFrank]

Hello everyone. There is a new competition in my city, at first I was not going to sign up, but since it was the last day of registration and the space was not full, I decided.

I am 49 years old, I have never competed, I solve the cube between 20-30 seconds and in blind it takes between 7-9 minutes (lately I don't have much time to practice). I have a feeling I'm going to get there and feel out of place.

Those of you who have gone through a similar experience, how was it?

PD: I think 'Older Cubers' should have his own sub-forum.

Welcome to the crowd.
Keep up with how other seniors 40+ are doing in wca competitions -
(wca doesn't have age brackets, but there is an unofficial senior rankings site)
https://wca-seniors.org/index.html
https://wca-seniors.org/Senior_Rankings.html
and once you've been to a competition, you should sign up on that site, too.

There's also a Facebook group you may be interested in -
Senior Cubers Worldwide

and I think there are a few senior cubers in the /r/Cubers sub on Reddit.com

 

[GRVigo]

I participated in the competition yesterday and I can only say that I felt very good, just a little disappointed that I could not make a valid attempt in blind. I'm already looking forward to repeating.

Thanks to those of you who encouraged me to participate, you were right.

 

[stoic]

I participated in the competition yesterday and I can only say that I felt very good, just a little disappointed that I could not make a valid attempt in blind. I'm already looking forward to repeating.

Thanks to those of you who encouraged me to participate, you were right.

Something to aim at for the next comp!

 

[js5752]

Do it, you'll have fun regardless. I was 45 when I attended my first comp. It did feel a bit weird being surrounded by kids mostly around 10-13, but I started helping out which I found quickly gives you an "in" with everyone. People start to feel more comfortable and soon you'll be "cube-speaking" with everyone.

I'm 54 now and regularly attend competitions. I'm the oldest competitor at all the comps I've attended by a country mile with a few exceptions. The next oldest are usually the other delegates delegating with me in their 20's. I like that I can mostly hold my own against the kids and get a kick out of being in the finals of some of the events. I even managed 3rd in blind at our last comp despite my terrible time. Sometimes all it takes is not to fail ;-)

I'm so glad for this thread. I did my first, and only so far, comp in 2017 and felt awkward at 43. My wife laughed that I was sitting there competing with 10 year old kids. I still had fun. It's nice to see I'm not the only one that feels like a fish out of water. Maybe I'll hit another comp when one comes near me. This has encouraged me to give it another go and not worry that I'm older that some of the parents.

 

[Mike Hughey]

I'm so glad for this thread. I did my first, and only so far, comp in 2017 and felt awkward at 43. My wife laughed that I was sitting there competing with 10 year old kids. I still had fun. It's nice to see I'm not the only one that feels like a fish out of water. Maybe I'll hit another comp when one comes near me. This has encouraged me to give it another go and not worry that I'm older that some of the parents.

There are always some college-age kids at least at the competitions, and they're usually pretty happy to talk to a 43-year-old with shared interests; that was about how old I was when I started, and they welcomed me. And every year there are more older cubers, so perhaps next time you try, you'll find a few other old folks to talk to there as well.

 

[abunickabhi]

I think I qualify as an old cuber now, I am 29 and have attended 95 WCA competitions. At every comp I go, people get stumped that an older guy still cubes. I get to meet people as fast as me who are half or one-third my age.

 

[m.ipg21]

I think I qualify as an old cuber now, I am 29 and have attended 95 WCA competitions. At every comp I go, people get stumped that an older guy still cubes. I get to meet people as fast as me who are half or one-third my age.

Haha... nice try... you're still a youngin'

 

[stoic]

Nice try indeed.
Senior rankings start at over 40 bro.

 

[Dan the Beginner]

Nice try indeed.
Senior rankings start at over 40 bro.

Started at over 70 here. Still struggling to stay under 1 min since, after reaching an average of just under 50s a year ago.

 

[UKCubeFan]

Started at over 70 here. Still struggling to stay under 1 min since, after reaching an average of just under 50s a year ago.

I missed a load of these messages.
What system you using, I have my own system with 11 algs. Did 30 secs ages ago.
How come you didn't cube in the 80s?

 

[Dan the Beginner]

I missed a load of these messages.
What system you using, I have my own system with 11 algs. Did 30 secs ages ago.
How come you didn't cube in the 80s?

I use either Beginner Roux or my own beginner method, which also has about 11 algorithms but is very basic. I would love to see your method, as I dread learning large number of algorithms. I did try in the 80s when Rubik's cube became popular, but I just tried to work it out all by myself, I treated it as a challenge and gave up.

 

[UKCubeFan]

I use either Beginner Roux or my own beginner method, which also has about 11 algorithms but is very basic. I would love to see your method, as I dread learning large number of algorithms. I did try in the 80s when Rubik's cube became popular, but I just tried to work it out all by myself, I treated it as a challenge and gave up.

If I knew your basic system I could see if mine can improve it abit perhaps.

 

[Dan the Beginner]

If I knew your basic system I could see if mine can improve it abit perhaps.

Thanks but method is very basic and not worth the time to investigate or improve. I build the 2 blocks like in basic beginner Roux, then I finish building the first 2 layers by using U and M moves to get the white pieces aligned and put at the bottom. After that I use those 10 algorithms (basic OLL and PLL) to finish the solve. The idea at that time was to avoid learning algorithms.

 

[Dan the Beginner]

Cubes for older cubers - that's what I would like to talk about and learn from you. I started only a few years ago and was already past 70 years of age then. My healthy left thumb developed a pain now and then since, and it's due to gripping the cube too strongly and also long hours with a new hobby. Warning for others! It's not serious but I have to avoid the cube for days sometimes to let it recover. I now use light cubes and try to limit myself to 20 solves a day.

I found the spring version of the Dayan Guhong Pro M excellent for this and I learned to use a light touch to turn it because it is too flexible. The light touch also helps to stress the fingers less.

I am looking at the QiYi XT3 V1, a promising light cube. 65g. I try to avoid Maglev or cubes with repelliing edge magnets, and also strong magnets in general, as they take more effort to get the layers to turn, which in turn causes the need for a stronger grip.

Gan cubes are light but a bit large for me. I prefer 54-55mm. I might try the superlight Gan 15, the de-Maglev'ed version from The Cubicle, but wish to hear about other cubes <70g and also experiences or strategies.

 

[Fred]

Cubes for older cubers - that's what I would like to talk about and learn from you. I started only a few years ago and was already past 70 years of age then. My healthy left thumb developed a pain now and then since, and it's due to gripping the cube too strongly and also long hours with a new hobby. Warning for others! It's not serious but I have to avoid the cube for days sometimes to let it recover. I now use light cubes and try to limit myself to 20 solves a day.

I found the spring version of the Dayan Guhong Pro M excellent for this and I learned to use a light touch to turn it because it is too flexible. The light touch also helps to stress the fingers less.

I am looking at the QiYi XT3 V1, a promising light cube. 65g. I try to avoid Maglev or cubes with repelliing edge magnets, and also strong magnets in general, as they take more effort to get the layers to turn, which in turn causes the need for a stronger grip.

Gan cubes are light but a bit large for me. I prefer 54-55mm or less. I might try the Gan 15, and perhaps the de-Maglev'ed version from The Cubicle, but wish to hear about other cubes <70g and experiences or strategies.

I'm not quite half your age, but twice the age of many cubers on here. I've also developed a light turning style to try to save my fingers. I love the Guhong Pro, but mine is maglev so slightly heavier than yours. My 4x4 tires my fingers pretty quickly, in part due to the jarring feel of the middle layer magnets (Edit: My MGC 4x4 and 5x5 both tire me out quickly because they're slow, despite me setting them up as fast as possible. The jarring middle magnets are more noticeable on my Meilong v2 6x6), and the new Tornado v4 Pioneer has similar magnets on a 3x3 so definitely don't go for that one. My other favorite puzzles are my Gan 562 and my Dayan Pro megaminx, so perhaps a Gan 3x3 could work for you.

I have a couple of non-hardware ideas. For competitions, I take a few seconds before starting inspection to close my eyes, calm my breathing, and try to relax and loosen any tension. It helps me keep that light touch in spite of nerves/excitement. During practice, making sure I use plenty of inspection time is usually enough. I've had sessions where I skimp on inspection time and found my turning getting harsher. My other suggestion would be untimed solves where you go for efficient or creative solutions (maybe count your moves if you want to track some kind of statistic).