Older cubers discussions

[pglewis]

Have you noticed any significant difference between stickered and stickerless cubes? As I have only 2 cubes laying around, I can't really do an extensive test but my average times are a good 3-4 seconds slower on my stickered GTS than they are on my stickerless Valk. Question now is if the GTS simply doesn't suit my turning style or if my recognition with stickered cubes is just spectacularly bad.

I definitely feel like I recognize better with stickerless vs. stickered. I seem to be able to recognize LL cases sooner with stickerless, especially OLL. There seems to be something about stickered and my OCD that delays recognition unless/until the U layer is totally aligned. It's easy to get superstitious with speedcubing though. I had a great session last week including my PB Ao12 with a stickered Valk and I've landed low 20s with a stickered Guhong.

Valk slow? Hmm, I don't even dare to try DNM-37 in my Valk. It is too fast. But I got used to it. I only use Traxas 50K in it, core and the pieces, to slow it down.

A few of us have experienced the "slowing Valk syndrome" but definitely not everyone. The sluggishness is relative for me but very noticeable. My first Valk's speed initially prompted me to loosen and setup my Thunderclaps a little faster because it made them feel a little sluggish by comparison. A week later the Valk was a lot more sluggish than out of the box. Currently my black stickered one has been doing great for a couple weeks without intervention. The stickerless, while not slow, was more sluggish and low weight lube was only a short term solution (and Maru even shorter-term). A couple drops of DNM-37 has definitely done the trick for a couple days now. Way too fast right after application, but after 10-15 mins it settled in right where I like it.

 

[mark49152]

Nerves make their job. Mark - it's nice solution anyway. You're fast executing algs, I like your turning style.

Thanks. Audio memo seems to be my weakness under comp pressure. It's as if I'm distracted by the nerves and "not listening" when I recite the audio loop in my head. My goal is to find a solution for that.

 

[newtonbase]

Thanks. Audio memo seems to be my weakness under comp pressure. It's as if I'm distracted by the nerves and "not listening" when I recite the audio loop in my head. My goal is to find a solution for that.

I know exactly what you mean. You recite it without a problem but when you start solving it suddenly becomes do da do da do da.

 

[h2f]

Thanks. Audio memo seems to be my weakness under comp pressure. It's as if I'm distracted by the nerves and "not listening" when I recite the audio loop in my head. My goal is to find a solution for that.

I know exactly what you mean. You recite it without a problem but when you start solving it suddenly becomes do da do da do da.

That's what I'm facing too. In my last comp I could do execution after 20 seconds but I was affraid of forgeting memo. So I recalled it and again - it ended long time and DNF...

 

[JohnnyReggae]

Valk slow? Hmm, I don't even dare to try DNM-37 in my Valk. It is too fast. But I got used to it. I only use Traxas 50K in it, core and the pieces, to slow it down.

I've moved onto cubes that are loose and fast after using the GAN Air as my main for quite a while. The tensions on my Valk are very loose, in fact so loose that I have popped a piece out here and there The magnets help keep it stable even if those magnets are on the weaker side. Other than the DNM37 I only use Traxxas 10K as the thicker lubes just make my cubes way to slow and sluggish.

 

[mark49152]

The screws on my Valk turn so easily I suspect it's loosening by itself. Anyone else have that problem?

 

[JohnnyReggae]

The screws on my Valk turn so easily I suspect it's loosening by itself. Anyone else have that problem?

I've only had that problem with my Air with the G-Series nuts.

 

[muchacho]

New PBs for OH:
Ao5: 24.404
Ao12: 26.991

Old ones:
Ao5: 25.361 (15-jan-17)
Ao12: 27.862 (1-apr-17)

I'm (barely) sub-30 for the last 73 solves, I think I'm going to try to go for sub-30 Mo100, hope I don't mess it up. If I don't post in 30 minutes then it's bad news.

 

[muchacho]

Arrgh, not even close, 30.768 (still PB, it was 31.766 from 3 weeks ago). Almost 50 solves in a session is too much for my hand, and anyway I failed a couple of CMLLs.

 

[pglewis]

The screws on my Valk turn so easily I suspect it's loosening by itself. Anyone else have that problem?

I have intermittently had one side get looser on me a couple times in the past. I wonder if you're on to something here, if it can loosen on its own it could very well tighten on its own. I'm grasping at straws for a cause of the slow-downs since I haven't come up with a reasonable theory explaining the randomness.

 

[h2f]

Arrgh, not even close, 30.768 (still PB, it was 31.766 from 3 weeks ago). Almost 50 solves in a session is too much for my hand, and anyway I failed a couple of CMLLs.

Impressive! I had a comp for 2 weeks and the cutoff is 30 seconds. I wonder if i can come closer to the limit. Right now I got only 1/4 solves under the limit.

 

[muchacho]

Failed Ao5 PB attempt (last cube was an M2 away from solved), it would have been 14.889

43322 21-abr-2017 10:07:20 00:14.087 DNF L2 D' F2 R2 D' B2 L2 U2 R2 L2 U2 L' F' R' U' L B2 R D' F' L U'
43321 21-abr-2017 10:06:34 00:15.856 D2 F2 R2 F2 U' B2 L2 F2 L2 D2 U B L F' L B2 R L' F D F2 U2
43320 21-abr-2017 10:05:55 00:15.822 L2 D2 B2 U' B2 R2 D' B2 U F2 U' L' F2 D2 L B' L2 F D' R B2
43319 21-abr-2017 10:05:17 00:13.319 U2 B2 R2 F2 U R2 D F2 U B2 U B R2 D R' F' L F D2 U B2 F'
43318 21-abr-2017 10:04:13 00:14.760 U L2 U R2 F2 L2 U2 R2 F2 D B2 L D R' U L' D F' R L

 

[JohnnyReggae]

New OH PB's I'm trying to spend more time doing OH and the practice is slowly paying off averaging mid-to-low 30's. Then every now and then I manage a few sub 30's in a row. Changing some of my OLL algs has paid off hugely and also learning a few more OLL's. Still use 2Look OLL a lot.

As a side note, I find that doing the cross the most awkward part of the OH solve. It's the needing to turn a number of different faces, sometimes all of them which really gets to me and can easily take a good few seconds longer to do. Has anyone felt the same, and have you managed to change that ?

single : 21.87
mo3 : 28.15
ao5 : 28.97
ao12 : 31.14
ao100 : 33.47

 

[JohnnyReggae]

Failed Ao5 PB attempt (last cube was an M2 away from solved), it would have been 14.889

43322 21-abr-2017 10:07:20 00:14.087 DNF L2 D' F2 R2 D' B2 L2 U2 R2 L2 U2 L' F' R' U' L B2 R D' F' L U'
43321 21-abr-2017 10:06:34 00:15.856 D2 F2 R2 F2 U' B2 L2 F2 L2 D2 U B L F' L B2 R L' F D F2 U2
43320 21-abr-2017 10:05:55 00:15.822 L2 D2 B2 U' B2 R2 D' B2 U F2 U' L' F2 D2 L B' L2 F D' R B2
43319 21-abr-2017 10:05:17 00:13.319 U2 B2 R2 F2 U R2 D F2 U B2 U B R2 D R' F' L F D2 U B2 F'
43318 21-abr-2017 10:04:13 00:14.760 U L2 U R2 F2 L2 U2 R2 F2 D B2 L D R' U L' D F' R L

Those are some good consistent times

 

[muchacho]

Next solve after that DNF was a 36 seconds solve, and then a 16, I'm consistent enough for a good Ao5 or Ao12, but I'm not good at longer averages, I mess up too much.

I try to use easier to fingertrick moves for first block in OH (more moves but faster), can't that be done in CFOP?

 

[Logiqx]

Failed Ao5 PB attempt (last cube was an M2 away from solved), it would have been 14.889

43322 21-abr-2017 10:07:20 00:14.087 DNF L2 D' F2 R2 D' B2 L2 U2 R2 L2 U2 L' F' R' U' L B2 R D' F' L U'
43321 21-abr-2017 10:06:34 00:15.856 D2 F2 R2 F2 U' B2 L2 F2 L2 D2 U B L F' L B2 R L' F D F2 U2
43320 21-abr-2017 10:05:55 00:15.822 L2 D2 B2 U' B2 R2 D' B2 U F2 U' L' F2 D2 L B' L2 F D' R B2
43319 21-abr-2017 10:05:17 00:13.319 U2 B2 R2 F2 U R2 D F2 U B2 U B R2 D R' F' L F D2 U B2 F'
43318 21-abr-2017 10:04:13 00:14.760 U L2 U R2 F2 L2 U2 R2 F2 D B2 L D R' U L' D F' R L

Very nice. So consistent!

You'll due a sub-15 Ao5 any time now. I've only had 4 to date.

 

[mafergut]

@JohnnyReggae yeah, I find the cross the most awkward part of the solve in OH too. I try to grab the cube in ways that can at least simplify frist two or three edges, which can be from one side of even from the top but at times I lose track of my orientation for a split second or even fumble the cube.

Both you and @muchacho have great new OH PBs! I'm much slower than you guys but also got some new PBs this week:
Single: 22.49 Impressive single (PLL skip) for my average times, I had already bragged about it earlier
Ao5: 34.71
Ao12: 37.35
Ao50: 39.19
Ao100: 39.71 my first sub-40 Ao50 & 100. I'm still too slow turning and need to learn many OLLs and maybe change a couple PLLs. I'm much closer to full CN than in 2H, though. The slower TPS gives me more time to see the F2L pairs when doing cross in other colours.

 

[sqAree]

As a side note, I find that doing the cross the most awkward part of the OH solve. It's the needing to turn a number of different faces, sometimes all of them which really gets to me and can easily take a good few seconds longer to do. Has anyone felt the same, and have you managed to change that ?

I think building the cross on R is the way to go for OH. In most cases it will be at most one x rotation and only RUD. Finish with a z rotation in the end which is the easiest rotation to perform OH.
I don't generally do this because I'm bad at planning my whole cross / looking ahead to my first pair so I am confused after finishing the cross resulting in a huge pause.

Building the cross on bottom my strategy is to do the double side face moves (F2, R2, B2, L2) on L and R and use thumb fingertricks for single side face moves (like F or F'), because F2 is awkward. Of course sometimes more rotations are required (for example if your cross is something like R2 B2 L2 F2 but that happens rarely).

Hope that helps.

 

[h2f]

Hope that helps.

Yes.

 

[Logiqx]

A nice video for @Shaky Hands and any other big cube enthusiasts: