New guy here!

[need-a-bow]

Hey guys I'm totally new to yoyos and I'm looking to buy my first good yoyo. I'm thinking either a Duncan freehand or a YYF One with spec bearing. I know their cheap beginner throws but im just learning right now. I think I'll be asking a lit of questions soon so i hope you guys don't get to annoyed. Do you guys think I picked out decent starters? What else do I need besides the yoyo?

[Sideswipe]

Welcome. A Freehand would do you well... I started with a higher end metal, wish I would have started with something easier, I had a trial by fire. I'm still pretty new so I still suck (IMHO). Buy some extra string, you'll need it

[need-a-bow]

I've been watching some videos and I think I might buy some counterbalances. At my highschool they're starting a yoyo club and I think I'll stop buy and check it out to see if I can try a few yoyos out before I buy

[NKessler]

The YYF One is a great beginner yoyo.  It can do just about anything you want it to and it's price tag is very reasonable.  Like Sideswipe said, pick up a LOT of string.  Your yoyo won't wear out and break, but your string will every few hours.  Buying 100 bulk polyester strings is probably the best thing you can do for yourself.

Also, stopping by your school's yoyo club is a great idea!  There will likely be some people there with high-quality yoyos that you can try.  Through doing that you'll be able to figure out what you like in a yoyo before you go out and buy a better one yourself.

With that being said, the One will probably last you quite a while.  It can do all the tricks a high-end metal yoyo can do, so you won't feel limited by it for a long time to come.

Good luck and have fun!  Remember that yoyoing is all about having fun.  If you're not having fun for any reason, put the yoyo down and move on for a while.  Starting out can be pretty difficult and discouraging, so just take your time and practice as much as you can!

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.  The people on this forum are very nice and want nothing more that for you to enjoy your time spent throwing.  Enjoy!

[Sideswipe]

Listen to NKessler, he has a ton of great advice. Definitely buy a 100 pack of strings, I'm blowing through mine... If I could do it over again, I would buy a decent plastic before I got a metal, but I'm VERY happy with my OneDrop Cafe Racer that I picked up, even though I'm nowhere near pushing the limitations of it (but I do love me some super long finger/arm grinds). Also, HighSpeedYoYo.com has some GREAT reviews and a ton ton ton of high speed videos you can watch to help you learn tricks (I'm using that site EVERY DAY).

[T4T3Z0R]

I Started out with the Yoyojam Dark Magik II and i really liked it for a beginners yoyo.  Also, like a lot of YYJ beginner yoyos, It comes with a normal sized bearing, And one that is about half the width.  Using the half bearing its responsive and will come back when you tug on it like a standard yoyo.  then once you learn how to bind you just pop in the full sized bearing and it plays nice and unresponsive.  Hope that helps!

[need-a-bow]

Are they more stable than the one?

[need-a-bow]

I just checked out the dark magic II and ouch it's expensive for a beginner like me

[T4T3Z0R]

Thats those aluminum rims.  Sorry i bought it a while ago and forgot about the price.  I havnt thrown the one yet but i am a big fan of yyf and i have heard good things about it.  I do own the freehand and its ok for the price but i personally dont care for the shape  or the friction stickers it use as its response.

[Boyen]

I've played a One and it's a good throw. I started with a Freehand Zero, it needs some mods before it gets to unresponsive. If I could do it again, I'd get a One to learn my first tricks on and then move on to a metal, just skipping the 20-30$ plastics all together.

[need-a-bow]

Well today I went to the yoyo club. Our teacher got us started with a Yomega fireball and had us practice throwing sleepers and walking the dog. Next week everybody is ordering their yoyos

[Sideswipe]

Well today I went to the yoyo club. Our teacher got us started with a Yomega fireball and had us practice throwing sleepers and walking the dog. Next week everybody is ordering their yoyos

Sounds like you're off to a good start! The only other people that throw around here are 2 of my coworkers, and I am teaching them tricks as I go.

[need-a-bow]

Yup just having trouble throwing a trapeze and a longer sleeper since this yoyo is a transaxle yoyo. Beat I can get is around 8 seconds with a perfect throw

[need-a-bow]

Here's what I've been throwing since Thursday when it came in the mail with a responsive bearing

Now I can throw a trapeze, a brain-twister and an occasional stop and go. I can't do any too consistently but Ive landed all at least once or twice. Now for a double or nothing

[NKessler]

Its nice to see that you're progressing steadily.  Just take your time and learn what you can when you can.  Its always a good idea to master a trick before moving on to another one, but the temptation is always there to try something new.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with working on multiple things at once, but never forget to keep practicing the tricks you've moved on from.  There have been many times where I've forgotten how to do simple tricks like "Skin the Gerbil" because I hadn't thrown them in months.  I try to run though every trick I can think of at least once a day before moving on to working on new material.

Good luck and have fun!

[need-a-bow]

And what can I use to lube the bearings? I dint want to order yoyo bearing lube until I buy strings

[NKessler]

Honestly, you don't need to worry about the quite yet.  If they start making a LOT of noise, just clean them exactly the way this tutorial describes.

http://www.yoyowiki.org/wiki/Cleaning_a_Bearing

That's going to get all the gunk out of your bearings and should leave them running quietly for a while.  If they do get loud, but don't affect the responsiveness of your yoyo, don't worry about it.  Dry bearings can sometimes make a lot of noise, but still be functioning perfectly.

Good luck and have fun!

[Swatnoodle]

@nkessler
Cleaned aka dry bearing are louder, so if they are too loud, you should lube them

[Faust]

Most beginners worry about bearings too much. Generally, if you just let them do their thing, they'll respond by doing what they're supposed to do. I haven't cleaned a bearing in 3 (or is it 4?) years.

BUT... If you did feel the need to clean or lube a bearing, any pure, light machine oil is will do. Sewing machine oil, trumpet valve oil, etc. And here you really want to use tiny, tiny amounts (ie. Dip a pin in the oil, shake off excess and touch the tip to each ball in the bearing).

There's nothing wrong with just adding a drop to the side of the bearing, but your yoyo will go more responsive and snaggy for a while as the oil works its way into all areas, and works its way out.