# Two new Zhanchi cubes, questions.



## joshs2000ss (Jan 12, 2012)

Like the title says, I just received two Zhanchi cubes. One black with stickers and the other sticker less. The sticker less one feels perfect. What I would call firm-loose and moves freely. Very smooth. The one with stickers however, feels almost like a sponge. It's so loose it's almost squishy. Is this good and I'm just not experienced enough to use it? I've only been doing this for a month. 

Solves for me are still barely under two minutes. (I'm working through the beginner CFOP, keyhole method and trying to add the algorithms to move the last corner into place without disturbing the edge piece). Though I felt a bit faster on my solves playing with the new cubes.


----------



## skeletonboy (Jan 12, 2012)

Zhanchi at 2 minutes? I mean, that's perfectly fine, nothing wrong with that, but Thrawst recommends it for sub 15 sec people, I'm just saying. 

If it's too loose, you can tighten it a bit and I'm not sure what mean by squishy, I've only had the Center Caps being squishy. 
You might need to break it in, since it's brand-new from the box, it could help the speed and smoothness of the cube.


----------



## iEnjoyCubing (Jan 12, 2012)

If the cube is extremely loose, just tighten it. To get rid of that squishy feeling just spend a few days breaking it in; it will improve.


----------



## joshs2000ss (Jan 12, 2012)

skeletonboy said:


> Zhanchi at 2 minutes? I mean, that's perfectly fine, nothing wrong with that, but Thrawst recommends it for sub 15 sec people, I'm just saying.


 
Yeah, I know I'm slow but you gotta start somewhere.  I bought these because I really didn't like the feel of the Rubik's brand cube and I thought it would be good to work on once my times improve. I really like the sticker less cube. I may just leave the other in the box until I get ready for it.


----------



## skeletonboy (Jan 12, 2012)

joshs2000ss said:


> Yeah, I know I'm slow but you gotta start somewhere.  I bought these because I really didn't like the feel of the Ribik's brand cube and I thought it would be good to work on once my times improve. I really like the sticker less cube. I may just leave the other in the box until I get ready for it.


 
Yes, you would rather get a good cube once and for all which can take you all the way to the world record, rather than buying and upgrading cubes once in a while.


----------



## Cuberty (Jan 12, 2012)

Getting a Zhanchi at two minutes is very young, but if you are transferring from a storebought, and you can't afford a bridging sube, it is perfectly acceptable.

On the "squishy" one, if you grab the L and R faces and pull away from eachother, and there is a large (1cm/3/8th inch) gap between the R/L and M sections, then you should tighten it. Tightening revolves (no pun intended) on quarter and half turns, similar to a Rubik's Cube. You should start off with 1 half turn (180 Degrees), and if it feels too loose, tighten it more, if it feels to tight, loosen it by a quarter turn. If you have lubricant, I would recommend lubing the cube*.

Most Zhanchis take a while (1 month) of cubing to break in. If you want to mod it, you can. My usual general assumption to when a Zhanchi is broken in is when the three bumps at the end of the corner are smooth. Just make sure to decrease your times, which will in turn increase tps, breaking it in faster. Also, I recommend only using one cube (I would recommend the stickered) because after ~1 Year, the sube becomes too worn out, being too fragile to stay together.

*Lubrication: NO PETROLEUM JELLY!

Ok, lets first start on the cateory of lubrication. Lubrication is a method to reduce friction. There are two types of friction relating to the cube. These types are static and dynamic. Static friction relates to the amount of energy required to start moving the object. Dynamic friction relates to the amount of energy needed to keep it going. But, a successful lubricant needs to increase the smoothness while reducing the static friction.
Nerdy description ^

If you have shock oil (Traxxas, Lubix), I would recommend lubing the sufaces and core. But if you don't have these, only lube the surfaces. If you want a video tutorial, i have a few.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rMtDiT0FRs -Lubix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJEITOcb23A -Maru
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-FwjvvxWlw -Spray

I hope you read this answer, as it took some time to type.


----------



## joshs2000ss (Jan 12, 2012)

I did read. Thank you for the response. Right now the new cubes feel much smoother with no lube as compared to my silicone lubed Rubik's brand. I will take time to break them in and trust me, I'm working on the solve times. I've only had a cube since Christmas, so seeing all of these quick solves is frustrating when I'm still working on my cross and they're done.  I know it takes practice. I'll get there eventually. Once I get the moves I'm working on now down, I'm going to start going through the intuitive tutorials.


----------



## samchoochiu (Jan 12, 2012)

*facepalm

out of all the cubes you can get as a beginner you get a zanchi?
I avg 13-14 and I still think its hard to control


----------



## skeletonboy (Jan 12, 2012)

samchoochiu said:


> *facepalm
> 
> out of all the cubes you can get as a beginner you get a zanchi?
> I avg 13-14 and I still think its hard to control


I think a Zhanchi is fine. I mean, it's a very good cube and it's smooth and fast and such. It's just having the RIGHT mental state of mind to control the Zhanchi before it's too late.
I just don't get why people say it's too fast. My Zhanchi is around the same speed as my Shenshou 3x3. A $5 cube and a $14 cube. 

If you use silicone spray, it shouldn't be too fast, if it does, tighten it as tight as you can and put like 500 ml of lube in it (you know what I meant). That should make it slow enough to be controllable.


----------



## cubersmith (Jan 12, 2012)

skeletonboy said:


> Zhanchi at 2 minutes? I mean, that's perfectly fine, nothing wrong with that, but Thrawst recommends it for sub 15 sec people, I'm just saying.


 
People who say you should buy a slower cube just because you're 2 minutes are stupid.


----------



## Bapao (Jan 12, 2012)

There's no such thing as a "pro cube" IMO. There are cubes that are a pain to solve and there are cubes that are pleasant to solve. Although it's often deemed a myth, stickerless or non black cubes often feel nicer than their black counterparts.


----------



## Noob at Cube (Jan 12, 2012)

Lol @ people saying you are too slow for zhanchi.

As soon as I leaned to solve a storebought I ordered a guhong and a zhanchi and never looked back.
They aren't harder to control and they don't teach you bad habits, although a bad cube will (just try doing your regular finger tricks on a stock rubiks cube, it's near impossible)

On top of all the above a good quality cube will feel nicer and make your cubing sessions more enjoyable.
Buying a lesser quality cube because you are slow is silly and just a waste of money.

I would try tightening your cube as recommended by Cuberty if it feels a bit sloppy.


----------



## Godmil (Jan 12, 2012)

samchoochiu said:


> *facepalm
> 
> out of all the cubes you can get as a beginner you get a zanchi?
> I avg 13-14 and I still think its hard to control



My 18month old son can turn my ZhanChi's fine, what exactly do you find so difficult about it?

OT: Other than tension issues there is a general opinion that the coloured cubes have a nicer feel to them because of the possibly better quality plastic in them (though it may be very subtle).


----------



## Goosly (Jan 12, 2012)

Godmil said:


> My 18month old son can turn my ZhanChi's fine, what exactly do you find so difficult about it?


 
LOL
There's a difference between your son turning it 'fine', and turning it at 5 tps during speedsolves


----------



## Godmil (Jan 12, 2012)

The other putdown I was thinking of using was along the lines of how if he couldn't control a ZhanChi then he clearly should have started out with much better cube...
Either way, I think it's bad to criticise new members, especially when the new member seems to have made very wise purchasing decisions.


----------



## gundamslicer (Jan 12, 2012)

skeletonboy said:


> Zhanchi at 2 minutes? I mean, that's perfectly fine, nothing wrong with that, but Thrawst recommends it for sub 15 sec people, I'm just saying.
> 
> If it's too loose, you can tighten it a bit and I'm not sure what mean by squishy, I've only had the Center Caps being squishy.
> You might need to break it in, since it's brand-new from the box, it could help the speed and smoothness of the cube.


 
It doesn't matter when you decide to switch to zhanchi, your just saving yourself from getting rubiks thumb and improving


----------



## pdilla (Jan 12, 2012)

One of those things that I've noticed is that black Zhanchis have a, as you have put it, "spongey" feel as compared to the more crisp and solid feel of the white and stickerless Zhanchis. It is just one of those things The plastic's density, likely, has much to do with it.

It is sort of like how blue Type-Fs kicked ass over the black and white ones.


----------



## joshs2000ss (Jan 12, 2012)

I've been using "stickers" all day and it's developed a springy click sound on the white and blue side turns. Reading through some other posts I've seen the solutions for taking the cube apart and filing the springs to remedy this issue. If I do that, can I only work on the sides that are noisy, or should I do it to all of the sides at the same time. I'm not opposed to doing this but thought maybe I should give it some more break in time before I take it apart to see if the issue goes away on its own. I will say I'm a bit unsure about re-tensioning the cube after the fact and getting each side set equally.


----------



## samchoochiu (Jan 12, 2012)

Godmil said:


> My 18month old son can turn my ZhanChi's fine, what exactly do you find so difficult about it?
> 
> OT: Other than tension issues there is a general opinion that the coloured cubes have a nicer feel to them because of the possibly better quality plastic in them (though it may be very subtle).


 
LOL
anyone CAN turn it, but will you be over shooting when you speedsolve? get it?


----------



## Olji (Jan 12, 2012)

samchoochiu said:


> LOL
> anyone CAN turn it, but will you be over shooting when you speedsolve? get it?


 
I'm averaging sup-20, but I'm still able to control it in a speedsolve... You're probably not used to it yet I'd say.


----------



## skeletonboy (Jan 12, 2012)

Turning 5tps is not a big problem on a Zhanchi, you're either not used to it or you need to improve your lookahead. I turn around 2-3 tps and it's perfectly fine for me. I average 40 sec and it is like a boss. It is smooth, fast, controllable, cuts corners, rarely locks up; just as I expected. I am just...I don`t get why it is "too fast".


----------



## OldSlowCuber (Jan 14, 2012)

I am new to the world of speedcubing. I just bought a white stickerless Dayan 5 ZhanChi. Reading this thread makes me wonder what I have gotten myself into. My solve times are in the 2 minute range. While I recognize that the ZhanChi is designed to go much faster, my thinking was that I would learn F2L/OLL/PLL on a cube that moves smoother and faster than my Rubik's brand cube. My hope is that I can also learn the necessary finger tricks to seriously improve my solve times. Is this the wrong way to look at it?


----------



## Olji (Jan 14, 2012)

Nope, the way I see it is that you got a good cube so you don't need to upgrade later on.
Fingertricks will come with time with any cube, but injuries and stuff will follow if you use a stiff one like most Rubik's brand storebought, so you're not doing anything wrong, the only downside is that you may become a little sloppy in turning (relying on corner cutting) and that you may overturn in the start, but when you get used to it you'll stop with overturning, the sloppy turning is fixable by tightening the cube a bit so the corner cutting isn't as great, or use a older cube with not as much corner cutting, like an F-II or similar.

All in all, getting a Zhanchi wasn't a bad choice, it would be worse to continue with the Rubik's brand IMO.


----------



## 3x3x3 (Jan 14, 2012)

Stating that beginners should use a bad cube instead of a good one is just plain dumb. It develops bad habits? That statement contradicts everything science says about the brain and hand/finger coordination. Like you can´t relearn or change something you know or do?


----------



## pdilla (Jan 15, 2012)

3x3x3 said:


> Stating that beginners should use a bad cube instead of a good one is just plain dumb. It develops bad habits? That statement contradicts everything science says about the brain and hand/finger coordination. Like you can´t relearn or change something you know or do?



When one suggests that using a good cube too early develops bad habits isn't to suggest that one can't relearn how to turn accurately. That is a gross misrepresentation of the position.

Rather, the position goes that one should learn how to turn properly early on so one *doesn't have to* relearn proper turning sometime down the road which is a pain to do and is a waste of time. This goes without saying that it is certainly _possible_ to relearn proper turning and control later on, but the point is that it is a waste of time and it can be avoided by learning it early on with a cube that isn't so forgiving.


----------



## Robocopter87 (Jan 15, 2012)

I personally think that the only reason people are a little rough on beginners with Zhanchis is because we all were forced to start with Rubiks Brands, and when we only got Zhanchis at around 30 seconds. It looks kind of greedy of the beginner.

I have a friend who I recently taught how to solve and he goes at a rate of three minutes. He uses a decent Rubiks Brand. But he got a Zhanchi. It didn't take his time down at all. Why? Because he full palm twists each side. It annoys the crap out of me that he bought a Zhanchi. But in reality there was nothing wrong with buying the Zhanchi, if you learn how to handle it then the best time to get it is right away. 

(But my friend isn't that bright, and one of the reasons I taught him was kinda to prove you don't need to be a genius to solve it. But I won't tell him that.  )

So yeah, if you really are interested in becoming a speedcuber, by all means, buy the Zhanchi. But respect it.

Good luck Cubing!


----------



## 3x3x3 (Jan 15, 2012)

@Pdilla: I was merely stating the position that alot of the "noobs should start with bad cubes"-position has got. It´s not at all a "gross misunderstanding of the position". Rather my position leads directly up to your statement, that you should learn things correctly *the first time*, which is sound. Just stating the fact that you can change something if it has gotten wrong. I´ve read quite lengthy about getting a speedcube when you are a beginner, and come across quite a few discussions like this one, where people jump on beginners for wanting a good cube.

I would say that getting a Zhanchi has been a good investment for me as a beginner. My first goal was to go sub 1 minute, and the Zhanchi has certainly helped me to do that. Not so much for the fingertricky part of it, although something like *F (R U R' U') (R U R' U') (R U R' U') F'* is a hell of alot easier now. But mostly because it begs me to take it out and use it. Or abuse it, rather. I crave its smoothness. It feels so good in my hands. Goddammit! I want to sleep with it!!!


----------



## ThomasJE (Jan 16, 2012)

My recommendation: Tighten the screws as far as they go. Then, as you need a faster cube, loosen the tensions again. I was averaging about a minute, maybe a bit less, when I switched to my ZhanChi. Why do you need different cubes with different turning speeds when you can have one that can go at the speeds of both cubes when you tension it?


----------



## ch1caum (Jan 24, 2012)

I also think the whole "you have to be sub-whatever to use X cube" is nonsense. That being said, I started off with a dianseng that can't cut corners for **** and I think that was a good thing for me in the beginning. After a month or so when I broke it in it actually got pretty decent, I still do like it's blocky feel. The fact is: using dayan cubes does make you sloppy, albeit it also makes you faster, but for starting off I wouldn't recommend such cubes with such extreme corner cutting. Getting used to having to make precise movements (god that DS is sentimental, one degree off and it locks on you) will make you less prone to locking up further down the road. Of course, like it was discussed, it doesn't mean that you would never again be able to cube precisely. If I were to recommend a cube for a beginner today I would recommend an FII, it's got a nice feeling, it's very fast, good for training your precision.. in fact I still use it quite a bit. Saying money is an issue (and I get there are lots of kids who are cubers) and that's why beginners shouldn't get "whatever" is also pretty stupid, what's the difference between a zhanchi and a bad cube, like 6 bucks? That's like a whole happy meal of a difference. Either way, cubing for me is just as much about getting new cubes as it's about getting faster. I never did care if a cube was "too fast" for me or whatnot. I actually wish a could use my rubiks brand more since a just recently got it for my collection(it's a small collection but what's a rubiks cube collection without an actual rubiks cube?) but one of the stickers started peeling and since a like the original stickers I retired him . I'm no pro mind you, i'm still in the high 20s and have been cubing for 6 months, but that's just my two cents... 

On the topic of the zhanchi and going on a tangent, I would recommend the following: do not mod it. I think I overmoded mine, even though I was careful not to, and it seems to be a slower then it was when I first set it up. I did 48 pt edge mod, rounded the corner a bit and scraped a bit off the center pieces where it makes the clicky sound which was annoying me. My lingyun just flys and feels much better, but it's been broken in pretty decently, probably would be my main today. The lingyun seems to "glide" more. I recently got a lunhui and another guhong (i had a colored and a got a stickered, the colored went to my girlfriend's house since it seems like it's one of the quietest of the bunch) and the lunhui seems faster then the modded zhanchi as does the guhong, which I also did 48pt edge mod. Does it maybe just need more breaking in? I've been rotating between cubes so I don't know how long I've been breaking it in but I guess I would have like 3 weeks worth of equivalent single cube breaking in time. I'm thinking it was the center piece mod but don't know.. maru makes it better, more so considering I use a bit of traxxas on my other cubes, but still no cigar. I would appreciate the input if someone went through a similar situation.

cheers


----------



## carbon131 (Dec 3, 2013)

today my cube was felling really loose and i was wonderin what happen


----------



## RubiksJake12 (Dec 12, 2013)

carbon131 said:


> today my cube was felling really loose and i was wonderin what happen



More info would probably be necessary for anyone to help you. Looseness could be due to you loosening the screws, you breaking in the cube over time, you lubing the cube, hell, it could possibly be some kind of "break" in the screw/spring system if you're saying it just randomly started being loose after one solve or something. (probably not likely). 

Only thing to do to make it not lose is to tighten all of the screws or to overlube it (which will slow down your cube). Unless you're experienced with lube, this probably isn't your best bet.


----------

