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storebought cube = amazing?!

puzzlemaster

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Hey guys. I recently went out and bought a rubik's cube from walmart. (idk y but i just felt the urge lol) and i broke it in and lubed it up... i'm not sure what the company's done. It turns AMAZING! cuts corners, doesn't lock, turns smooth, amazing! i'm not sure what's been done. Maybe the mechanism's changed a little bit? It has more of a clicky feel. All in all, i like it.. a lot.. it's rather surprising.. maybe a OH cube? lol

(i did use the search function.. didn't find much on this so i made a thread)
 

Kian

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I have a store bought cube that's over a year old and doesn't have a ton of use that is actually pretty darn good. i would have no problem using it in competition (i have a few better cubes but it would be tolerable) and my brother often uses it as his BLD cube in competition.

It's pretty fast and doesn't pop. Doesn't cut corners well, but it's certainly an acceptable cube. There are a number of good cubers that use storeboughts.

It's just the luck of the draw, most of them will always be slow, but a handful are pretty decent.
 

Chuberchuckee

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Storebought quality can vary widely; perhaps you were lucky.

We have three storeboughts (four if you count the one still in packaging).

One, mine, is well broken in and can cut corners. It locks up a little, and pops sometimes. However, it is not smooth at all. I'm thinking it's either leftover Vaseline (fail) or something with the Jig a Loo.

My brother's is VERY loose and VERY smooth and was my first competition cube. However, it locks up like crazy and pops often.

My other brother's cube is not very loose but it's super smooth (smoother than the other two). It locks up a little but pops quite a lot, and it is utterly incapable of cutting corners.


Like Kian said, "it's just the luck of the draw."
 

Tetris Cube

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Jan 16, 2009
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I've had 4 storeboughts before, one of them became decent after a lot of breaking in, but it broke eventually. Two other ones were actually pretty bad, and one felt like the sides turned unevenly, and very slow. I did get one that was great out of the box though, I'd be lucky to get another like that. But being low on cash, it's not going to happen any time soon.

I've never had a storebought cube pop before though. Does it have to be VERY old/broken in to do so, or does it have to do with the lubing? Because for all of my cubes, I just don't lube them at all, it's my only option besides petroleum jelly (yuck).
 
D

Deleted member 2864

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Every time I buy a cube from walgreens, it's great! comes in a tiny package compared to walmart cubes. super fast and smooth. if u live in usa, get one there if you want a storebought. other people in this forum have my results too!
 

ConnorCuber

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Jun 7, 2008
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My Speedcube is a BLUE storebought. It was cube that my friend bought cause he liked the hockey team, he got tired of it quickly, gave it to me. I restickered it, broke it in all nice, broke both my lucky PB and my non-lucky PB singles with it. I easily average 17s with it.
 

Chuberchuckee

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Every time I buy a cube from walgreens, it's great! comes in a tiny package compared to walmart cubes. super fast and smooth. if u live in usa, get one there if you want a storebought. other people in this forum have my results too!

I never thought that Walgreens would still sell good storeboughts.

I want to buy one and see if it's any good.
 

siphuyoda

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Mar 26, 2009
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My very first cube was a storebought. After being broken in for a good 2 or 3 years, it is amazingly smooth. No pops, hardly any lock ups, but very slow and it can't corners at all.

Spend some time with your storebought and you'll find that it will be the smoothest cube you own. It might not be your best, but it will be very smooth.
 

BillB

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Jun 29, 2008
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I think I got mine from Target. It's still one of my best. Funny that you should mention it 'cause at UPenn, I lent my regular speed cube to Sam Boyles and used my store bought and had a PB single and PB average with it.

Bill
 

Nilxchaos

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All I have is a storebought (for now), and I LOVE it. No idea where it is from though, got it for Christmas. I has never, ever popped. It cuts corners, it is EXTREMELY smooth, and, get this, NO lube. It rarely locks up, unlike my (also great) Rubik's 4x4. Both all around are great cubes. Cannot wait for the lube, I want to see how it will be.

My only complaints are that the stickers are shot. I need new ones, but they work for now.
 

KevinK

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Dec 16, 2008
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I've found that there are two different kinds of store bought cubes. If you look at the blue side, one type of store bought will have a richer and darker blue than the other. This kind is generally slower that the one with the light blue. The darker blue cube can vary in quality and (for me) is usually slow. The kind with the light blue is always relatively fast for me. I know that the light blue kind can be found at Barnes and Noble; it comes in the hexagonal prism. I don't think that that is the proper term for it, but it is the packaging in which the Rubik's Icon is shown on rubiks.com. I will only buy a store bought cube if it is in that packaging because I know that it will be a good cube.
 
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