Should a beginner start with the best cube available?

[DeeDubb]

I'm so glad that my crusade against this idea:

For a beginner, you want to have an OK cube - otherwise your turning style will become so rough that... You would need a super loose cube to turn, otherwise lockups. The looser the cube, the more frequent pops happen. So I recommend SS Aurora.

Is being replaced by this:

I remember when everyone cried if someone recommended a ZhanChi to a new cuber just because it was too fast.

Get whatever you want. I'm relatively new (4 months), avg in the low forties, with PBs in the low thirties, and I do well with any of the great cubes. It's a tool you need to master. Spend time practicing finger tricks, and you'll do fine. Get a zhanchi, a Gans 357, a weilong, an aolong, or a fangshi. Lube and tension. You really can't go wrong with one of these. Don't obsess over the cube, you can master it, but you need a good tool.

I was just thinking this.

Just get whatever cube you want. AoLong, Weilong, Zhanchi, whatever is good.

I don't understand people who recommend slower or cheaper cubes. We are not talking about music instrument the "professional" category is about the same price as the cheap category.
And it doesn't take years of practice to be able to use a good cube. Just a few days.

So for me you just have to make your choice between all of the option available.
The zhanchi is great but I think there is better option now for just a few more dollars so why not ?
If you can I would recommend buying two cubes. An aolong v2, everyone has one and it can give you an idea of the feelings, cornet cut, lockiness etc... Kind of a reference. And with that a faster cube like a Gans III 57, or a fangshi guangying.
The idea is that with two different cubes you can have an idea of all the "feels" other persons describes in video and you'll be able to make future choice easily. Also if one doesn't fit you the other will.

It seems like my personal crusade against the idea of "beginner cubes" seems to be working.

EDIT:

As for my recommendation to beginners: It's a financial thing rather than a skill level thing. If you have $5, get a Guanlong. Absolutely the best price to quality out there. If you have $15, get an AoLong, it's a safe choice. If you have a lot of money, get a few cubes, and play around with them.

Personally, I rotate between an AoLong v1, WeiLong v1, GuanLong, Zhanchi, and YuLong. I just pick up whichever one I feel like at the time. Having a variety is fun.

 

[ketchuphater999]

I want to say Aolong v2... but everyone's said that already. I say Dayan Lunhui (that brings back memories :3).

 

[kerbingamer376]

good cubes for a beginner?

Hi,
I'm a beginner cuber (PB 55secs) and am just learning F2L with 4Look LL method.
what would be a good speedcube for me?
thanks,
mantin
PS. It should be available easily in the UK

 

[starcuber]

yuxin fire or guanlong

 

[b0ssGuy23]

I would say the QiYi Sail or TangLong are both great options for beginners.

 

[TBSC30]

No
A beginner does not know if they will stick with the hobby, and if they don't (Which is fine, it might just not be for them) the will have wasted a lot of money on the best cube on the market. However, I would still recommend a speed cube, not a Rubik's Brand because it will make learning easier. Besides, there are speedcubes that cost quite a bit less than a Rubik's Brand. Another reason a beginner should not start with the best cube is because if they spend all their money when they start, a better cube might come out when they really need it

 

[EngiNerdBrian]

Yes.
i think a beginner should start with the best cube they can afford and are willing to spend the cash on. I think this is much like learning any new skill or musical instrument...there is nothing more frustrating than learning with poor equipment. If you have the ability to purchase better tools why hold yourself back? Yes, they can't take advantage of all the benefits the best cubes have to offer but they will definitely find it more enjoyable and are more likely to stick with the hobby than if you start with a Rubik's brand or something that pops constantly and prohibits your progress.

 

[carcass]

No. You should get a speedcube, but not the best so you can appreciate better hardware. If you disagree, I can't blame you, it's completely opinion based.

 

[ProStar]

I know this thread had a 4 year bump, and might end up getting locked, but I'd still like to share my opinion:

No. A beginner's times won't be changed at all by getting an Angstrom GTS3M(or any flagship) versus a YLM(or any decent budget cube). Also, this applies to not just beginners, but basically everybody. Unless you're a world class solver, honestly it doesn't matter if you're using a MAX XS or a hand set-up MF3RS. This becomes slightly more important the faster you get, but until you're sub 10 (at least), it doesn't matter. Don't buy the new cube because you think it will make you faster, it won't. Take me as an example:

I average around 19 seconds, and main a GTS3M. At a comp, I was playing around with a $5 YLM, and was getting the exact same times as with my $40 cube.

Buying a new cube won't help you get faster, and this applies even more to beginners then "faster" solvers. This isn't meant to diss anyone who buys the latest cubes, they're still really fun to solve with. I just want people to know that spending hundreds of dollars(total) on all of the newest cubes won't improve your times at all. If you have a decent speedcube, there's no need to buy the nicest one, especially as a beginner.

 

[fun at the joy]

Unless you're a world class solver, honestly it doesn't matter if you're using a MAX XS or a hand set-up MF3RS.

This is just not true.
I would definitely be faster with the Mf3RS cause GAN cubes suckkk haha jk

 

[MJS Cubing]

I think that you should not spend too much money on random cubes as a beginner, because if you end up not liking cubing, you won't have the cash for something else. Also, don't be like my spoiled neighbor and spend $90 on cubes before you even solve one, and then ask me to teach you. The first time I spent more than $10 on a cube I had been cubing for a year. It didn't even help me that much, because I still averaged about 50 seconds, but then when I had been cubing for about 2-3 years I bought a GTS2M, and it dropped my times a lot.

The mistake most new cubers make is that they think that it's their cube that makes them faster, not their skill. They might see Feliks Zemdegs use a Gan X on youtube to set a WR, and think that the cube makes him fast. While this is true, it is also the experience and the skill that he possesses. New cubers averaging 1:00.00+ one a Yuxin Little Magic will not do any better on a Gan X, because their turning speed is not up to par yet.

When their TPS gets higher they need a more expensive cube that performs better, so they could buy one. But if they can't take advantage of the speed and features of a good cube, when they actually need a better cube, they might have already worn out the expensive cube and might have to buy another one, or there will be a better model.

So, in a quick summary, new cubers should not buy expensive cubes because they don't have the TPS or skill to use an expensive cube. When they do, they might have to buy a new one because their old one got worn out or there is a new model. I fell down this Rabbit hole when I was new, and now I have a worn out Little Magic M from cubicle labs that I need to replace. Now I main a GTS2M, which I feel is as expensive as you should go as a beginner.

 

[ProStar]

I think that you should not spend too much money on random cubes as a beginner, because if you end up not liking cubing, you won't have the cash for something else. Also, don't be like my spoiled neighbor and spend $90 on cubes before you even solve one, and then ask me to teach you. The first time I spent more than $10 on a cube I had been cubing for a year. It didn't even help me that much, because I still averaged about 50 seconds, but then when I had been cubing for about 2-3 years I bought a GTS2M, and it dropped my times a lot.

Agree, I had a rubiks bran originally, upgraded to a "speed cube" (bad cube from amazon, you can't get much worse) when I averaged around 50, then when I was averaging around 30-40 fell into the trap of "I need the best cube" (although I did need an upgrade, that amazon cube sucked lol) and got a GTS3M, which I am currently maining.

The mistake most new cubers make is that they think that it's their cube that makes them faster, not their skill. They might see Feliks Zemdegs use a Gan X on youtube to set a WR, and think that the cube makes him fast. While this is true, it is also the experience and the skill that he possesses. New cubers averaging 1:00.00+ one a Yuxin Little Magic will not do any better on a Gan X, because their turning speed is not up to par yet.

Even if you're averaging 10-59:99.999 seconds, it still isn't necessary to upgrade to a better cube, you can get times just as good as something like a YLM. While it may feel better on a nicer cube, your times won't show it. Even with the crappy amazon cube I was talking about, I average 1-2 seconds worse, and with a YLM(tried at comp) I average the same.

When their TPS gets higher they need a more expensive cube that performs better, so they could buy one. But if they can't take advantage of the speed and features of a good cube, when they actually need a better cube, they might have already worn out the expensive cube and might have to buy another one, or there will be a better model.

I disagree, and would say the same thing as before

 

[MJS Cubing]

I disagree, and would say the same thing as before

If you are using a cube that can't handle the higher TPS, it is at that point that hardware is limiting you, so you need a better cube.

 

[ProStar]

If you are using a cube that can't handle the higher TPS, it is at that point that hardware is limiting you, so you need a better cube.

A decent MF3RS or YLM can handle higher TPS. Next comp, find a sub-10 cuber and see what they can do with a decent budget cube.

 

[MJS Cubing]

A decent MF3RS or YLM can handle higher TPS. Next comp, find a sub-10 cuber and see what they can do with a decent budget cube.

No one will be at any comp for a long time. Magnets are also a big help, and I feel like my GTS2M greatly outperforms my Yulong v2m. In my opinion, with cheap cubes it's performance or magnets. You could have an unstable but fast cube with good corner cutting, or a magnetic cube that is slow with not so great corner cutting. I think that barrier breaks at $20 with the Little Magic M.

Edit: I own all three of the cubes mentioned, so I am going off experience. My Yulong v2 might be a dud, but I'm not sure because I haven't tried any other ones.

 

[ProStar]

No one will be at any comp for a long time. Magnets are also a big help, and I feel like my GTS2M greatly outperforms my Yulong v2m. In my opinion, with cheap cubes it's performance or magnets. You could have an unstable but fast cube with good corner cutting, or a magnetic cube that is slow with not so great corner cutting. I think that barrier breaks at $20 with the Little Magic M.

Edit: I own all three of the cubes mentioned, so I am going off experience. My Yulong v2 might be a dud, but I'm not sure because I haven't tried any other ones.

I already said that nicer cubes perform better, that's why they're nicer. My point is that nicer cubes don't improve times.

 

[MJS Cubing]

I already said that nicer cubes perform better, that's why they're nicer. My point is that nicer cubes don't improve times.

I average about 5 seconds slower on my little magic, but it could also be because I'm not used to it.

 

[ProStar]

I average about 5 seconds slower on my little magic, but it could also be because I'm not used to it.

What do you normally average?

 

[MJS Cubing]

What do you normally average?

About 20-25, depending on the day. I average 25-30 on the little magic, and it's set up, which most new cubers don't know how to do, or they don't have lube.

 

[ProStar]

About 20-25, depending on the day. I average 25-30 on the little magic, and it's set up, which most new cubers don't know how to do, or they don't have lube.

It's probably because you're not used to it. If you were to do some solves on it. you'd probably be averaging almost exactly the same as normal

Edit: I just did a Ao5 with my really bad amazon cube and got 17.62. To be fair, those were super easy scrambles, and I probably would've gotten around 19 on normal scrambles, but even that is the same as my average. Very rarely did I feel limited by the cube, most of the time it was inefficiencies in F2L, with a few lockups on LL.