# So now the Gans 356 Air UM is also a thing.



## Dash Lambda (Jan 20, 2017)

I come home and I see this thing up for pre-order: https://thecubicle.us/cubicle-edition-p-8332.html

And now I think I'm gonna pre-order it. I decided not to get a Cubicle Labs magnetic cube because I liked the Air so much more than the GTS and the Valk, and now there's a magnetic Air.
So that's cool.

@4Chan , are there any more details you can say? I'm very curious about this cube.
Oh, and more specifically, is the Cubicle edition only for pre-order, or is it simply going to be the version sold on the Cubicle?


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## 4Chan (Jan 21, 2017)

Dash Lambda said:


> I come home and I see this thing up for pre-order: https://thecubicle.us/cubicle-edition-p-8332.html
> 
> And now I think I'm gonna pre-order it. I decided not to get a Cubicle Labs magnetic cube because I liked the Air so much more than the GTS and the Valk, and now there's a magnetic Air.
> So that's cool.
> ...



Yep! According to the business deal, it will be a Cubicle Exclusive for the first month.


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## Forcefulness (Jan 21, 2017)

Pricey, not worth tbh


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## Dom (Jan 21, 2017)

@4Chan I knew you had something big in the works, but I had no idea it was this big. Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

@Forcefulness Really? Not worth it? In my opinion, it's a great deal considering its the cheapest magnetic 3x3 you can buy, but it's the GANS Air Ultimate, too. For me, it's buying a piece of history. It's a good time to be alive.


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## 4Chan (Jan 21, 2017)

Dom said:


> @4Chan I knew you had something big in the works, but I had no idea it was this big. Incredible. Absolutely incredible.



There might be something even bigger, very soon.
(But if this fails, then probably not, and very high likelihood of failure)


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## Dash Lambda (Jan 21, 2017)

Forcefulness said:


> Pricey, not worth it frankly.


That's a very difficult statement to make about a speedcube, especially ones like this or the Cubicle Labs cubes that have quite a lot of work put into them.



4Chan said:


> There might be something even bigger, very soon.


 Oh my...


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## EntireTV (Jan 21, 2017)

I'm a full supporter of cubicle labs but not into speedcubing so much as to spend almost $50 on a 3x3. Great product though


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## Forcefulness (Jan 22, 2017)

Dash Lambda said:


> That's a very difficult statement to make about a speedcube, especially ones like this or the Cubicle Labs cubes that have quite a lot of work put into them.
> 
> 
> Oh my...


Not really, a $25+ premium for a simple mod that makes a marginal improvement. It cost $5 max and a couple hours to add magnets to a 3x3, why pay so much when its easy to do yourself.


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## Forcefulness (Jan 22, 2017)

Dom said:


> @Forcefulness Really? Not worth it? In my opinion, it's a great deal considering its the cheapest magnetic 3x3 you can buy, but it's the GANS Air Ultimate, too. For me, it's buying a piece of history. It's a good time to be alive.


It really isn't though, just because its the cheapest yet doesn't mean it isn't a horrible value. I honestly don't see how anyone justifies spending $50 on a 3x3


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## One Wheel (Jan 22, 2017)

Forcefulness said:


> Not really, a $25+ premium for a simple mod that makes a marginal improvement. It cost $5 max and a couple hours to add magnets to a 3x3, why pay so much when its easy to do yourself.



When you count up the price of the cube, magnets, and labor to place 48 magnets into the cube by hand it's not an unreasonable price. Honestly $25-30 for the cube itself before magnetization is pretty high. I am not at all convinced that basic Gans cubes are worth it at all, but the price for this cube is based on what people were paying for handmade magnetized cubes. I expect prices will come down, just like the prices for big cubes have come down as more companies have released more models.


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## Smiles (Jan 23, 2017)

Forcefulness said:


> Not really, a $25+ premium for a simple mod that makes a marginal improvement. It cost $5 max and a couple hours to add magnets to a 3x3, why pay so much when its easy to do yourself.



For people who work, it's preferable to pay an extra ~$20-25 if it saves a couple of hours. If I can earn the money in 1 or 2 hours but it would take me 2-3 hours for DIY, I don't see how DIY alone is a good argument against the value.


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## Dash Lambda (Jan 23, 2017)

Forcefulness said:


> Not really, a $25+ premium for a simple mod that makes a marginal improvement. It cost $5 max and a couple hours to add magnets to a 3x3, why pay so much when its easy to do yourself.


For one thing, the Air UM is actually a ~$7 premium, because it's based on the Air U. The Air U is a ~$20 premium for the added cost of new parts and labor, and it's assembled, glued along every seam, and inspected individually by hand.
Personally, I think "by hand" is a bit of a buzzword phrase most of the time, but it's meaningful here.
For another thing, both Gans and the Cubicle both offer pretty outstanding warranty service for their magnetic cubes as well, something you wouldn't get if you did it yourself.

My justifications can only be vague though since I don't work for either company, so I wonder: @4Chan , how did you guys arrive at the $50 price for the Cubicle Labs cubes?


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## 4Chan (Jan 23, 2017)

Dash Lambda said:


> For one thing, the Air UM is actually a ~$7 premium, because it's based on the Air U. The Air U is a ~$20 premium for the added cost of new parts and labor, and it's assembled, glued along every seam, and inspected individually by hand.
> Personally, I think "by hand" is a bit of a buzzword phrase most of the time, but it's meaningful here.
> For another thing, both Gans and the Cubicle both offer pretty outstanding warranty service for their magnetic cubes as well, something you wouldn't get if you did it yourself.
> 
> My justifications can only be vague though since I don't work for either company, so I wonder: @4Chan , how did you guys arrive at the $50 price for the Cubicle Labs cubes?



Regarding prices, those are made by my bosses, who have degrees and experience in this sort of thing.

I just sit around and make things all day.


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## Kit Clement (Jan 23, 2017)

4Chan said:


> There might be something even bigger, very soon.
> (But if this fails, then probably not, and very high likelihood of failure)



Seeing how Gans makes their puzzles, I'm guessing this might involve easily interchangeable magnets that work similar to their interchangeable colored spring nuts.


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## AlphaSheep (Jan 23, 2017)

Forcefulness said:


> Not really, a $25+ premium for a simple mod that makes a marginal improvement. It cost $5 max and a couple hours to add magnets to a 3x3, why pay so much when its easy to do yourself.


$5 for magnets + 2 hours at $9.70 per hour (minimum wage in NY) = $24.40. Seems reasonable to me.


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## Dash Lambda (Jan 23, 2017)

Kit Clement said:


> Seeing how Gans makes their puzzles, I'm guessing this might involve easily interchangeable magnets that work similar to their interchangeable colored spring nuts.


Huh...
They wouldn't be able to base it off the Air U, but if they based it off the regular Air, then that actually sounds feasible. I mean, they did have a set of weights that you could install on the screw shafts in each piece, why not interchangeable magnets~
Then again, there wasn't a Gans Air M because something about weight balancing required that they gut the screw shaft from each piece and glue it (or maybe this project?...), and the Air UM is based on the Air U which doesn't have a screw shaft in the first place. Maybe the screw shaft interferes a little too much.


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## jaredye (Jan 23, 2017)

I've done the UM mod myself and to be honest it's very easy. It took only a bit more than an hour. The only concern I have is that I've cutting some parts out in the pieces, whereas the official UM version has the pieces modded differently to be lighter, so the durability and strength of the pieces will be better. Gluing back the cube is much easier than I thought. I'm not a mech engineer, but modding Gans Air doesn't need a mech engineer anyway.

As for its worth, I would gladly pay ~50 for it. I consider my time much more valuable than 20 per hour.


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