CLYW Snow Tires First Impressions

[JetEyeNight]

   Hello everyone! Today I'll be giving my first impressions on CLYW Snow Tires.  Snow Tires are the new replacement response for CLYW throws.  These are your only other option if you don't like flowable silicone or General Yo Hat Pads. 

    Since my Sasquatch's flowable silicone response has worn out for the 2nd time, I thought I'd go ahead and try the much praised Snow Tires.  I was very excited to try these, unfortunately so far I'm quite disappointed.  I was hoping they would be recessed, or at least flush.  However in my Sasquatch they are slightly raised.  This is causing the string to rub on the Snow Tires, which significantly reduces spin times.  This also means when doing tricks it accepts less string wraps.  I've also already experienced a few knuckle busters because of it being so snaggy from being raised.  Also with flowable my Sasquatch was dead smooth.  However the Snow Tires have introduced a very strong vibe, almost a wobble at times. 

I think they would work well if they were recessed...but how they stand now, I think I'd be much better off going with tried and true flowable.  For $4, these are not worth it to me.

Has anyone else had these problems?

[Mikers]

Keep playing them, they will wear down and be perfect soon enough.

[MGiroux77]

I actually had a much different experience.  My Gnarwhal had a vibe with the stock flowable but when I put in the Snow Tires it smoothed it out.  It was VERY grabby at first.  I threw in a KK bearing and kept playing and playing now they are great no grabbing at all and the binds are fantastic.

[capt anxiety]

I had the same problem with them in my chief. They need to be recessed some or they are slightly grabby.

And yes if you play for awhile they will ware down, but that's
Not work it to me, I put some monkey snot mine, slightly recessed and I'm good to go. Along with the fact it looks a lot
Better

[HiggsBoson]

got them as replacements first. they didnt work out.

they are cheddar on the chiefs from canuckland.
not so great on the new gnarwhal. will perhaps replace.
probably wont buy againsies. who knows?

[JetEyeNight]

They are only raised slightly. It's almost flush, but not quite.  Some might mistake it for flush if they didn't look closely. 

After another hour or so of play, I'm about ready to rip them out.  I can hardly do a trick without the yoyo grabbing.  I can't get through a simple trick like Kamikaze.  Whenever I do Jade Whip it grabs and painfully smashes my knuckles.  I can't see myself wanting to pick up my Sasquatch with these in long enough to wear down the pads.  I'll just pick up something else rather than having my knuckles smashed every few minutes.

I definitely don't recommend these, and I can't see that changing, however if it does get better I'll be sure to give you an update.

What OD Silicone pads fit CLYWs?  The .555? Or the flow groove?

[HiggsBoson]

edit.

[Bkaraianis]

I have them in both my canvas and my chief and never had any problems with them so far. Both of mine have worn in very nicely, perhaps there is a quality control issue or something?

I have four sets that are unused yet though as I'm still on the ones that came installed in both the canvas and the chief but I think the ones in my canvas are wearing out.

[xICooRsYIx]

I had my first experience with snow tires today as i got my 3rd run chief in the mail which of course came with  em.

Now im not a yoyowiz yet, i pretty much just use the string/bearing/pads that the yoyo comes stock with. So i havent really got the experience of testing different things on different yoyo's. But i can say that the snow tires are the best response ive used to far. So  clean and snappy.

-xICooRsYIx

[Tetrahedron]

Pads are perfect after an hour... they are flush fit on my 4 Chiefs.
I don't think the Snow Tires are the problem... precision?

[JetEyeNight]

Ok, so I received my Chief yesterday, on Saturday afternoon, and I took a look at the Snow Tires.  They are slightly recessed, how they should be.  They work perfectly in my Chief.  Dead smooth, clean, snappy binds.  I absolutely love them in the Chief.  

However in my Sasquatch, it's a different story.  I think the problem is that the response area in the Sasquatch isn't deep enough to work well with Snow Tires.  With the Chief, the response area is deep enough where the pads sit flush/slightly recessed.  When the string rubs on the side of the Chief it's rubbing on metal, when the string rubs on the side of the Sasquatch it's rubbing on the pads which is what's causing the vibe and responsiveness. 

Tetrahedron, have you used them in a Sasquatch?

I think my Sasqatch would now benefit from a KK bearing.  After the Snow Tires wear out on the Sasquatch, I'm going back to flowable.  However when the response wears out on the Chief, I'll definitely be replacing it with more Snow Tires.

[JAX%^]

I use mine in my Sasquatch and don't have a problem. I have played with a BvM, Fools Gold Ava, and my sas with these pads and not had a problem

[Proverbs]

Snow Tires are probably my favorite response system. They last a lifetime and perform great. The issue that most people are probably having with yoyos that do not have them preinstalled is that if you don't fully clean out the response area of ALL the flowable silicone that was in there, the pads will be slightly raised, causing vibe and wobble issues because the string is coming in contact with the pads. When installing Snow Tires, make absolutely certain that there is absolutely no silicone left over. And then once you put the pads in, press them firmly in your yoyo until they sit flush. If they're slightly raised, it's probably because of leftover silicone. But even if that's the case, you can simply wear them in. They'll be a little grabby and annoying at first, but it's totally worth the perfect response that they'll give after a bit of wearing in. I tried them in my Avalanche and had the same issue as JetEyeNight, but that's simply a matter of cleaning out the silicone well enough (at least for me, it was). It took maybe a day or two of play to wear it in just right, but the pads lasted forever. Definitely worth purchasing, but it does take some adequate cleaning/wearing in. Whichever you prefer.