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3x3 Rubik’s Original Cube Review

Zain_A24

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They may lack in cornercutting and require quite a bit of force to turn, but 99% of cubers would have used this at some point.

In all seriousness, Rubik's original cubes are actually getting better, both in quality and in performance. The newer cubes can now reverse cornercut (be it only a small amount) compared to the times where you had to wrestle with the cube to make it turn a certain direction or completely give up and turn thrice in the opposite direction. With lubrication and use, the cube is not too bad. Of course it is bad in comparison to speedcubes but it is not unenjoyable to turn and M slices can still be complete.

Overall, the cube is good but it is not great by cubers standards.
 

ProStar

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They may lack in cornercutting and require quite a bit of force to turn, but 99% of cubers would have used this at some point.

In all seriousness, Rubik's original cubes are actually getting better, both in quality and in performance. The newer cubes can now reverse cornercut (be it only a small amount) compared to the times where you had to wrestle with the cube to make it turn a certain direction or completely give up and turn thrice in the opposite direction. With lubrication and use, the cube is not too bad. Of course it is bad in comparison to speedcubes but it is not unenjoyable to turn and M slices can still be complete.

Overall, the cube is good but it is not great by cubers standards.

How is it good? Besides dollar store cubes, what's worse? And just because it gets used doesn't mean its good; there's a reason why no speedcubers main a Rubik's brand.
 

Zain_A24

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How is it good? Besides dollar store cubes, what's worse? And just because it gets used doesn't mean its good; there's a reason why no speedcubers main a Rubik's brand.

As I mentioned above, it is good for those who want to solve it. It can be sped up for those who want to speed solve on it but of course that isn't ideal. I may have slightly exaggerated but they have definitely improved and they are not as bad as people say.
 

ProStar

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As I mentioned above, it is good for those who want to solve it. It can be sped up for those who want to speed solve on it but of course that isn't ideal. I may have slightly exaggerated but they have definitely improved and they are not as bad as people say.

Honestly they aren't even the best option for those looking to solve it; getting a YLM or MF3RS is cheaper and way better. They definitely usually are the first cube someone owns(my first cube was a Rubik's brand), but that doesn't change the fact that the only way to get a worse cube than a Rubik's one is to find one at a dollar store.
 

Zain_A24

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Honestly they aren't even the best option for those looking to solve it; getting a YLM or MF3RS is cheaper and way better. They definitely usually are the first cube someone owns(my first cube was a Rubik's brand), but that doesn't change the fact that the only way to get a worse cube than a Rubik's one is to find one at a dollar store.
Rubik's brand cubes are designed to be durable, first and foremost. In that respect, they succeed.
How is it good? Besides dollar store cubes, what's worse? And just because it gets used doesn't mean its good; there's a reason why no speedcubers main a Rubik's brand.


The thing is, if there is not a lot of puzzles that are "worse" than this one, this doesn't necessarily mean the cube is bad.
If the world consisted only of flagship puzzles, would the least favourable one be called "bad"? Just a thought to promote discussion.
Definitely agree with Tabe. The cube is not designed to compete with speedcubes, and by investing in a Rubik's brand, you have that reliability, certainly something that some budget cubes don't have.
 

ProStar

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The thing is, if there is not a lot of puzzles that are "worse" than this one, this doesn't necessarily mean the cube is bad.
If the world consisted only of flagship puzzles, would the least favourable one be called "bad"? Just a thought to promote discussion.
Definitely agree with Tabe. The cube is not designed to compete with speedcubes, and by investing in a Rubik's brand, you have that reliability, certainly something that some budget cubes don't have.

If there are no cubes worse than the Rubik's brand, then it has to be the worst. And if only the flagships existed(and some were clearly better), then I'd call the worst one bad, because you couldn't find anything worse.
 

MDoe8

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Saying a Rubik's brand is a bad cube is like saying a Toyota Corolla is a bad car because it's not as fast as a Ferrari. It is not intended to be a speed cube, it is intended to be a readily available and (very) durable puzzle that can be enjoyed by any age group. It cannot be taken apart easily, very rarely breaks, and does not have stickers to relocate. It is fantastic at what it is meant to be, which is not a world class speed cube.
 

Tony Fisher

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Saying a Rubik's brand is a bad cube is like saying a Toyota Corolla is a bad car because it's not as fast as a Ferrari. It is not intended to be a speed cube, it is intended to be a readily available and (very) durable puzzle that can be enjoyed by any age group. It cannot be taken apart easily, very rarely breaks, and does not have stickers to relocate. It is fantastic at what it is meant to be, which is not a world class speed cube.
I agree. As a non speed cube they are superb. I have a hundred far worse cubes I purchased in the 80s. In my opinion the best ones were the early versions. Smooth turning, strong thick plastic and a far better weight than the flimsy modern speed cubes. Saying they are garbage is like saying the football team at the foot of the top division is garbage.
 

Hazel

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I have a Rubik's Brand from before they started selling the "2.0 speed cubes" (the ones with the tiles). It turns well for what it is, but of course the corner-cutting is really, really bad.
My (now ex-) boyfriend also gave me a keychain Rubik's Cube for Christmas—out of the box it was impossible to turn quickly, and I had to do wrist turns on it. But after breaking it in and applying a drop or two of DNM-37, it's now quite fast. The corner-cutting is still terrible of course, but the performance isn't abysmal.
 
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