# Gans II. Initial impressions (review to follow)...



## Bapao (Jun 24, 2011)

I picked up my Gans II at the post office today. 

I don't like the Gans I as a speed cube that much and wasn't expecting the Gans II to be all that much better. But I was pleasantly surprised. 

First off, sorry for the bad quality pics. I only had my phone to use as a camera. Did my best touching them up though, they were even darker at first. 

I thought I'd throw the Gans I into the review too, as it's the cube I'm comparing the Gans II with for my initial impressions. 






The cube on the left is the Gans II. 

The first thing I noticed is how perfectly the stickers have been applied. Either the person who applied them has mastered the legendary skill of "transfer foil application", or it was done by a machine. I'm pretty sure the stickers were applied mechanically though. 

*Gans I* 





Gans I close up to show the logo. The logo is embossed into the red and orange center caps. Weird choice of colours for logo placement. You can also see the groove for removing the center caps. Some of the center caps aren't flush with the centers on mine. They don't fall out or anything though. 





Unassembled Gans I edge. A very intricate design. CC, eat your heart out.





Assembled Gans I edge. 





Gans I corner piece. Pretty huh? 

*Gans II* 





Gans II logo. You can see how perfectly the stickers have been applied on this pic. Never seen this kind of accuracy before. 





Gans II edge piece assembled. 





Dissasembled Gans II ede piece. Yes, the screws and springs are part of the edge piece. 





See? 





Gans II edge piece in it's rest state... 





...and now with stress applied to the edge tips. You can alter the tensions. How cool is that? 





Gans II corners. Screws in a 3x3x3 corner piece. That's a first as far as I know. Lots of metal in this cube. 

*Summary so far* 

The Gans *I* is a fast turner although somewhat clicky. What lets this cube down really badly though are the lockups. It locks up like crazy. The GhostHand-II is a saint compared to this cube. I like playing with it because it has personality. I like that in a cube. Wouldn't use it for speed solving though. It feels nice when you're just solving casually. But who does that  

The Gans *II* feels totally different. It doesn't turn as fast as the Gans I but mine isn't broken in yet, so I can't diss it in that aspect. The lube that it came with is kinda suspicious, will replace it with something better before I do the review. 
It hardly locks and feels very malleable, like a LingYun. You can be really sloppy with this thing but still get minimal lockups. I really love that in a speed cube 

So yeah, my Gans II needs breaking in and a relube before I can place it amongst my other 3x3x3s (not to mention twice as much tensioning as other cubes). I'm actually liking this cube a lot better than my Alpha CC straight out of the "box"... 

Will post a review soon. Might even do a vid review, which would be my first ever


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## sa11297 (Jun 24, 2011)

this is an interesting cube. cant wait for the review


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## emolover (Jun 24, 2011)

I have never heard of this cube. Where might I get one?


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## timeless (Jun 24, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> .


whered u buy it?


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## Bapao (Jun 24, 2011)

http://www.witeden.com/goods.php?id=318

Just look at that price though...insane for the quality of this thing. I can't imagine how they're making a profit 
The most initially rewarding cube purchase I have made since getting my first LingYun.


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## timeless (Jun 24, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> http://www.witeden.com/goods.php?id=318
> 
> Just look at that price though...insane for the quality of this thing. I can't imagine how they're making a profit
> The most rewarding cube purchase I have made since getting my first LingYun.


 
shipping to canada says $4.53 
and 3.4%+0.3 not sure why theres this fee?


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## 4EverCuber (Jun 24, 2011)

Nice first initial impressions. I might have to add these cubes to my slowly growing collection. Looking forward to seeing your review.


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## Bapao (Jun 24, 2011)

timeless said:


> shipping to canada says $4.53
> and 3.4%+0.3 not sure why theres this fee?


 
Just wait till LighTake get it in. They already have the Gans I. Free shipping.


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## Bapao (Jun 24, 2011)

4EverCuber said:


> Nice first initial impressions. I might have to add these cubes to my slowly growing collection. Looking forward to seeing your review.



Go for it. They're both really impressive mechanically and more than worthy of your collection if not for that reason alone. But the Gans II has "main speed cube potential" written all over it. Looking forward to experiencing how this cube turns out.


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## fiftyniner (Jun 25, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> It hardly locks and feels very malleable, like a LingYun. You can be really sloppy with this thing but still get minimal lockups.



Thanks. Am always looking for a dayan alternative.
At the price, it even beats old FII and new FIII. Will keep my eye on lightake for this...

edit: am surprised that, with all the metal parts, it weighs in at on 86g...


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## jskyler91 (Jun 25, 2011)

Are there any other places its sold?


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## Bapao (Jun 25, 2011)

jskyler91 said:


> Are there any other places its sold?


 
Not as far as I can tell. WitEden seems to have exclusive rights for the sales at the moment. The Gans 3x3x3s aren't that well known in our parts but it should be a different matter in China. After all, Mr. Gan is one of their cubing legends and this cube is named after him.


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## Tall5001 (Jun 25, 2011)

I want this cube but i dont want black. I have the Gans I in white so when this starts being carried in white i will totally get it because it looks awesome!


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## Bapao (Jun 25, 2011)

Tall5001 said:


> I want this cube but i dont want black. I have the Gans I in white so when this starts being carried in white i will totally get it because it looks awesome!


 
I guess there will be a white one soon  Do you share my opinions on the Gans I?

*Update*

So after solving it for a while, it was still pretty sluggish to turn. So I took it apart and did the following:

- Removed factory lube
- Re-lubed screws, washers and edges with Lubix
- Opened all of the edges and loosened the tensions on those somewhat (be careful with this though, the pegs on the edge "halves" break _really_ easily. As I found out several times. Glue)
- Reassembled added Lubix to pieces
- Worked Lubix in
- Loosened the tensions on the centres

I'm afraid it's not looking good at the moment. It's only slightly less sluggish than before doing the above.
I was really hoping that the new lube and loosening the tensions would help. Those 2 things work miracles on DaYan cubes.

Needs more breaking in. Which is my last hope for getting this thing faster...


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## Bapao (Jun 25, 2011)

Phew! Break-in is helping at last...this thing had me scared there for a while.
The cube is LOUD though...damn...like it's shouting at me to get better at cubing or something...


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## 4EverCuber (Jun 25, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> Phew! Break-in is helping at last...this thing had me scared there for a while.
> The cube is LOUD though...damn...like it's shouting at me to get better at cubing or something...


 
Louder than an Alpha V?


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## Erzz (Jun 25, 2011)

Does it work without the screws in the edges/corners? Or do they hold the pieces together?


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## Bapao (Jun 25, 2011)

Erzz said:


> Does it work *without the screws in the edges/corners*? Or do they hold the pieces together?


 
They hold the edges and corners together so no, that wouldn't work...
Dude, this thing would already have won me over if it could turn as fast as a LingYun or a LunHui. It's trying, but it's not there just yet. It might not even get there at all. The break-in period is helping it show its true colours though. It's not a DaYan, but it's giving the Alpha CC a thorough bashing. I'm seriously impressed.

For the price, it is more than worth the purchase as I see things right now.



> Louder than an Alpha V?



It's louder than an AV and even louder than an AV-f...The AV-f sound has more "bass" to it though. This thing is producing more of a high pitched rattle type of sound. It feels far more substantial than an AV or an AV-f in terms of weight and quality materials though.


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## 4EverCuber (Jun 25, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> It's louder than an AV and even louder than an AV-f...The AV-f sound has more "bass" to it though. This thing is producing more of a high pitched rattle type of sound. It feels far more substantial than an AV or an AV-f in terms of weight and quality materials though.


 
I don't know, never really liked my AV-F. Don't know if it's a tension issue or just a bad cube I got. It tends to lock up a lot on me. And the stickers it came with were odd. The edge stickers are wider than the corner stickers so ite makes the cube look funny. Didn't want to resticker it because I knew it wouldn't be my main right out of the box.

I got it hoping to get an alternative for my A V, but I was very disappointed.


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## Bapao (Jun 25, 2011)

4EverCuber said:


> I don't know, never really liked my AV-F. Don't know if it's a tension issue or just a bad cube I got. It tends to lock up a lot on me. And the stickers it came with were odd. The edge stickers are wider than the corner stickers so ite makes the cube look funny. Didn't want to resticker it because I knew it wouldn't be my main right out of the box.
> *
> I got it hoping to get an alternative for my A V, but I was very disappointed*.


 
I was too, at first. I HATED it with a passion. But after spending more time with the "f", it has grown on me. It's still _the_ cube that I have the most respect for. It just forces you to alter your style to get the most out of what it has to offer, far more than any other 3x3x3 that I own. But when you do find mutual ground with it, it's an extremely rewarding cube to solve with. What the AV-f is for Alpha, the LunHui is for DaYan. Character cubes, both of them.


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## iSpinz (Jun 25, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> Not as far as I can tell. WitEden seems to have exclusive rights for the sales at the moment. The Gans 3x3x3s aren't that well known in our parts but it should be a different matter in China. After all, Mr. Gan is one of their cubing legends and this cube is named after him.


 I'm stocking it soon, but unfortunately it's not available in white...

How much does the cube pop? I know you compared it slightly to the LingYun, and we all know how that pops... Just wondering


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## Bapao (Jun 25, 2011)

iSpinz said:


> I'm stocking it soon, but unfortunately it's not available in white...
> 
> How much does the cube pop? I know you compared it slightly to the LingYun, and we all know how that pops... Just wondering


 

It pops. But I still haven't figured out the tensions properly yet to be fair on the Gans II. The way it pops is entertaining though. I was like "It popped...... what did I do to provoke that though?". Twice as many screws and springs in this cube than in any other 3x3x3 out there. Impossible task for me to deal with at the moment it seems... 

Hope one of the faster and more dedicated 3x3x3 cubers get this thing soon and then do a review though. I'm not entirely sure what this cube is trying to tell me at the moment to be honest


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## Tall5001 (Jun 27, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> I guess there will be a white one soon  Do you share my opinions on the Gans I?


 
Yes i do it has an amazing feel especially when lubed with lubix. But it locks up WAY TOO MUCH!!! For casual solving its fun. Also the White is a creamy color and the yellow is ugly. Check out my review if you havent....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O85-RXKXwns


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## teller (Jun 27, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> It pops. But I still haven't figured out the tensions properly yet to be fair on the Gans II. The way it pops is entertaining though. I was like "It popped...... what did I do to provoke that though?". Twice as many screws and springs in this cube than in any other 3x3x3 out there. Impossible task for me to deal with at the moment it seems...
> 
> Hope one of the faster and more dedicated 3x3x3 cubers get this thing soon and then do a review though. I'm not entirely sure what this cube is trying to tell me at the moment to be honest


Fascinating stuff...I was wondering how much trouble it would be to tension all of those different screws. So many moving parts!


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## Bapao (Jun 29, 2011)

Tall5001 said:


> Yes i do it has an amazing feel especially when lubed with lubix. But it locks up WAY TOO MUCH!!! For casual solving its fun. Also the White is a creamy color and the yellow is ugly. Check out my review if you havent....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O85-RXKXwns


 
I just watched you review. Thanks for the link bruv  I've actually seen that review before. But at the time, I didn't know that it was you though  

So I've been messing around with the Gans *I* parallel to breaking the Gans *II* in (which has stagnated in its progression btw). The Gans *I* sure does have hidden potential deep down. Damn locking though. I'm trying to devise a mod for it. 

There _has_ to be way of getting the locking down to a minimum on the Gans *I*. Because other than the locking, it feels really nice. I've been studying the mech, but I'm kinda afraid that it is flawed in general...Any ideas that might help me out here bruv? 



teller said:


> Fascinating stuff...I was wondering how much trouble it would be to tension all of those different screws. So many moving parts!


 
A lot it seems. I've kinda given up on the Gans *II* to be honest. No matter what I do, it just persists in feeling sluggish and unwilling to perform in terms of the turning speed. . Like it's pulling the breaks on me... 

When I first got the Gans *I*, I didn't really care for it. Mainly due to the extreme locking compared to what I was using at the time (LingYun). But since I've been comparing the two cubes (Gans I/II), the tide has turned slightly. Gah! the irony...


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## Tall5001 (Jun 29, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> I just watched you review. Thanks for the link bruv  I've actually seen that review before. But at the time, I didn't know that it was you though
> 
> So I've been messing around with the Gans *I* parallel to breaking the Gans *II* in (which has stagnated in its progression btw). The Gans *I* sure does have hidden potential deep down. Damn locking though. I'm trying to devise a mod for it.
> 
> There _has_ to be way of getting the locking down to a minimum on the Gans *I*. Because other than the locking, it feels really nice. I've been studying the mech, but I'm kinda afraid that it is flawed in general...Any ideas that might help me out here bruv?


 
haha thanks funny i guess the review is popular but its funny you didnt know it was me.

I think that the whole mech is flawed to be locky though i do love the cube. I was thinking that since the Gans *II* has stickers and doesnt have the weird mech of the Gans *I* it would be a lot better but i guess not dang o well


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## Bapao (Jun 29, 2011)

Thanks for the feedback bruv. But try to get your hands on a Gans II if you can. The more opinions, the merrier right?


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## Tall5001 (Jun 29, 2011)

b4p4076 said:


> Thanks for the feedback bruv. But try to get your hands on a Gans II if you can. The more opinions, the merrier right?


 
when it starts coming in white i will order one!


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## SoulSeeker (Jun 30, 2011)

got mine yesterday, and i know exactly what you know by "sluggish feel" but anyhow its a really decent cube out of the box. did u have any problems in removing caps of edges and centers? because i do.. i dunno if they are glued to it or if im just that stupid.. well i'll figure it out somehow 
i'll tell more after breaking it in

edit: exacto knife did the job  (definitly no glue, just a lil force..)


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