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Which cube should I focus on?

enigmahack

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The main reason is because I wanted to get an idea of what my times are like in relation other folks... I feel like I want to focus on 1 specific type of cube to get my times down so all the times are somewhat relative to each other.

So here's a quick breakdown (This is an approximate average)

2x2: 8-9 seconds
3x3: 19-21 seconds
4x4: 1:40-1:55
5x5: 2:50-3:10
6x6: 5:20-5:50
7x7: 9:00-9:45

I would think that relatively speaking the biggest jump for me looks like it's my 4x4 times - going from a 3x3 with a 20 second average roughly to a 1:40 would be a large gap... But then I see my 6x6 is relatively fast compared to my 7x7, which makes me want to work on that as well.

I'm curious for some of you more experienced cubers... if these were your times which cube would you start focusing on to try and make things a little more even (suggestively knowing that by focusing on 1 in particular, hopefully it'll help the other times as well)

Thanks in advance for suggestions :)
 

LNZ

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I would suggest the 4x4 too. Then the 5x5.

Almost all competitions have 4x4 and 5x5 events, but only a few offer 6x6 and 7x7 events.
 

hawkmp4

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I think I'm better than average at 2x2 and worse than average at 3x3 but I'd go for 2x2. I find that it helps me visualise moves better on larger cubes since it's comparatively easy to look ahead on 2x2. I average...well, you can see my 2x2 average and 3x3 average in my sig.
 

Mike Hughey

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It surprises me sometimes how different people's times compare. Here are mine:

2x2x2: 9-10 seconds
3x3x3: 25 seconds
4x4x4: 1:30-1:40
5x5x5: 2:30-2:45
6x6x6: 5:00-5:30
7x7x7: 7:30-8:00

So you're a little better than me at 2x2x2, significantly better than me at 3x3x3, a bit worse than me at 4x4x4, 5x5x5, and 6x6x6, and significantly worse than me at 7x7x7.

Everyone is saying work on 4x4x4, and I suspect it would improve quickest of anything for you. But 7x7x7 would also improve very quickly - I suspect a few days practice would get you caught up to me on that one too.

We're pretty close to each other overall, though. I'm trying to catch up on 3x3x3 (which is clearly my worst puzzle) - I will be sub-20 someday!
 

JTW2007

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Work on 4x4 if you want your times to be evened out. My times are incredibly disproportionate though (4x4 avg. at about 1:50, and 5x5 at about 2:10), so I don't really think it matters.
 

ender9994

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I think that my times become extremely disproportionate once I get above 4x4.

2x2: 7-8
3x3: 21-22
4x4:1:35-1:45
5x5: 3:45 - 4:30 :(

If I were you, I would work on your 4x4 until it is about 1:15 and then practice 5x5. After that, use any free points to train your dexterity until you cap-out...oh god, too many video games!
 

Jake Gouldon

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I suggest 4x4. Here are my breakdowns, but I am a bigcube person, and rarely practice 3x3.

2x2: 5ish
3x3: 16-17
4x4: 56-1:00
5x5: 1:45-1:55
6x6: 3:20
7x7: 5:20-5:30
 

enigmahack

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Yeah, that seems to be the overall consensus which is almost what I expected... I don't plan on *NOT* working on the other cubes too... But I tend to focus on different cubes at different times to try and even things out - My edge pairing on the larger cubes is what destroys my times.

Anyway - thanks everyone for your input - It looks like the 4x4 should be my next big focus for me, which will hopefully help with my 5x5.

LNZ made a good point too: Most competitions don't tend to have 6x6 or 7x7... So that's a good motivating factor as well :)
 

hawkmp4

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I'd like to add this-
I would solve whatever you like to solve. If what you like to solve changes, follow that. It's very easy to get burnt out on cubing. I hate the word work... Cubing should never be work. Your times will come down a lot slower if you hate solving.
 

enigmahack

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I do enjoy solving, definitely - I like all of the cubes, but I think I prefer the 6x6 more than the rest of them.

Anyway - I was curious which is the most logical progression to work on next... I still enjoy them all but I know that if I focus on one of them (because I don't often have as much time to cube as the rest of a lot of you folks) I want it to be beneficial.
 
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