What are considered "good cubes"?

[Forcemaster]

Whata re considered "good cubes"? And is that 25th anniversary edition any good? As that seems to be the only rubik's cube that I can find around here.

I'm from europe, so I don't think a DIY kit is possible (even IF they accept money transfers from bank, the shipping costs will kill me).

So basically, is the 25th anniversary edition any good, if not, what is considered a "good cube?"

 

[VooX]

I would avoid the 25th anniversary cubes. They tend to have very inconsistent construction. Even with proper silicone lube there is no guarantee they will ever spin smooth.

I have probably the most perfectly tuned 25th anniversary anywhere. It spent 1 year jammed inside a couch; there was such torque and tension on the cube that when I found it, stickers on entire faces had shifted in unison and the centers had been stretched nicely.

Only this type of stretching can get a 25th to spin. It now spins better than a friend's DIY cube.

HOWEVER... it does NOT do fingertricks well. There is no way to do REALLY fast R U' and R' U etc. types of moves as the pieces don't turn the corner as well.

There ARE reputable cube websites located in the UK. They sell a wide variety of cubes, even pre-assembled DIY ones.

I have not personally ordered from them (I live in Canada), I am sure someone on the forums has, or can recommend other good European suppliers.

You can even get official DIY kits from Rubik's themselves. I believe there is a Hungarian distributor, as that is where some of the better non-DIY come from.

Good luck, and avoid those 25th anniversary cubes if you can avoid it!

 

[Pedro]

Only this type of stretching can get a 25th to spin. It now spins better than a friend's DIY cube.

HOWEVER... it does NOT do fingertricks well. There is no way to do REALLY fast R U' and R' U etc. types of moves as the pieces don't turn the corner as well.

how can you be that sure?

I have a 25th anniversary cube that I use for OH and bld solving...and it turns really well, after about 2 years of "normal" use...

and I can average like 15 seconds with it...

 

[TheBB]

I've also good experience with 25th anniversary cubes. My current cube is a DIY core and pieces from an anniversary, and it spins like there's no tomorrow.

 

[Davepencilguin]

My best cube is a hybrid.

The core is from a REALLY OLD cube; my first one from 1995. The springs are PERFECT.
The pieces are from a brand new cube from the toy store.

From what I've seen, the cubies on the new cubes are really nice, but the cores are crap. If you can get a nice center, then I'd recommend going out a buying a new cube just for the cubies.

 

[Harris Chan]

Yep, hybrid cubes. The mold for the cubies are getting better, so if you use even the 25th center/core, and those new version cubies, it also works pretty good.

 

[TimMc]

25th
Tension: Tight
Age: 1 year
Comment: I set my second best time on this.

New Model
Tension: Near Perfect
Age: 1-2 months
Comment: I set my best time on this.

Black DIY (a) old
Tension: Loose
Age: 1-2 months
Comment: The plastic seems softer than Rubik's making it difficult to set the tension without the need of some lubricant and sanding to get it to turn easily.

---

I might try making a hybrid out of the 25th or at least sand down the cubies :-/

 

[Todd]

DIY (a) ftw

My 25th cube is ok too, had it for 10 months so ive had a bit of time to wear it in but its still not the best.

 

[TimMc]

I'm about to spray my 25th with 3-in-1 Pro Silicone Spray from WD40. Bad idea?

 

[Johannes91]

I'm about to spray my 25th with 3-in-1 Pro Silicone Spray from WD40. Bad idea?

IMHO: no. I hate vbulletin...

 

[TimMc]

I'm about to spray my 25th with 3-in-1 Pro Silicone Spray from WD40. Bad idea?

IMHO: no. I hate vbulletin...

I sprayed it on 2 cubes and they seem to be seized up. I'll give them an hour to dry and see if I can fix that :-/

EDIT: They seem pretty screwed lol, any tips on fixing them? :-/
EDIT2:
I sanded the cubies back a little bit with really fine sandpaper and sprayed them with my food grade silicone instead :-/
I'm yet to reassemble it. I haven't touched the other one and will see how it goes after 24 hours :-/
So far I don't think WD40 products go well with plastic (note: I didn't use "THE" WD40, it was 3-in-one Pro Silicone Spray by WD40)

 

[DarkArcher]

I use a WD40 brand silicone spray for lubing and it works great so far.

 

[Dyste]

So does this mean that using a diy core with the cubies from the new "hex packaging" rubik's 3x3x3 will yield good results?

 

[Todd]

I use that spray and it works fine.

 

[TimMc]

Did the WD40 brand make it all seem seized up?

I've sanded one back and resprayed with another brand of silicone and it's almost back to normal.

The other cube is still kind of difficult to turn with the WD40 stuff on it.

 

[Todd]

Assuming we are talking about the same product (yellow can, silicone spray written in the middle and 3-in-1 written at the top on a red background) i have had no issues.

When i lube mine usually i clean the pieces off as i take it apart. Line up all the edges and corners and give them a quick spray (from maybe like 1m away, some times 2 quick sprays depending if i got all the pieces), 15 mins later i rotate the pieces till all 3 sides are done. Then just put it back together, its usually semi-wet when i put it back together.

My guess is you put too much on

 

[chue.hsien]

it would feels all sticky and gummy when the silicon hasn't dry. just leave it in the open air for a while

 

[DarkArcher]

If you wanna be extremely careful, do use a cotton bud to apply the silicone. Takes ages but produces the best results. I make sure it's 100% dry without any wet spots before re-assembling. That works everytime for me.