# F-II in the mail!



## will6680 (Sep 9, 2010)

Mah new F-II came today! (I also ordered an alpha v. Itll be here soon.) And I have so many mixed emotions. 

Compared to my storebought its suuuuper fast and light. Ungodly corner cutting. It cuts corners at maybe 35º. Its so amazing. Comes pre-lubed so no need for lubage. Which saves me allot because I'm almost out of CRC. Its smooth and sounds really nice. If I were an OHer I would use this, buuuut I'm not. It has cut my time down 30 seconds.

On the other hand. The orange and yellow stickers are indistinguishable. And the piece caps occasionally fall off. Nor has it poped ever.

Otherwise...

Turning: 8/10
Corner cutting: 10/10
Stickers: 6/10
Lubrication: 9/10
Overall: 8.25/10 
*A-*


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## KboyForeverB (Sep 9, 2010)

will6680 said:


> Mah new F-II came today! (I also ordered an alpha v. Itll be here soon.) And I have so many mixed emotions.
> 
> Compared to my storebought its suuuuper fast and light. Ungodly corner cutting. It cuts corners at maybe 35º. Its so amazing. Comes pre-lubed so no need for lubage. Which saves me allot because I'm almost out of CRC. Its smooth and sounds really nice. If I were an OHer I would use this, buuuut I'm not. It has cut my time down 30 seconds.
> 
> ...


stickers are a bit hard, but the lubrication does kinda, rub off easily, so try not to disassemble that much and if you do, relube it with something


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## JeffDelucia (Sep 9, 2010)

will6680 said:


> Mah new F-II came today! (I also ordered an alpha v. Itll be here soon.) And I have so many mixed emotions.
> 
> It has cut my time down *30 seconds*.
> ]



Umm what?


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## WeIsPrius (Sep 9, 2010)

The F II is awesome. You might like the Alpha V more when it comes. At least I was that way. The F II just feels too bubbly now. 

There is also a mod for the FII where people carve out the edge pieces. Pop the edge piece and you'll see an engraved plastic square on 2 adjacent sides (sorry I don't have a picture). anyway it's a soft(er) plastic that can be punctured through and hollowed out. Suffice to say, I've done this mod and haven't felt a difference. It may reduce the weight by like 1 gram, hahaha.


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 9, 2010)

will6680 said:


> Mah new F-II came today! (I also ordered an alpha v. Itll be here soon.) And I have so many mixed emotions.
> 
> Compared to my storebought its suuuuper fast and light. Ungodly corner cutting. It cuts corners at maybe 35º. Its so amazing. Comes pre-lubed so no need for lubage. Which saves me allot because I'm almost out of CRC. Its smooth and sounds really nice. If I were an OHer I would use this, buuuut I'm not. *It has cut my time down 30 seconds*.
> 
> ...



Wait, what??

Were you averaging 8:00 with a storebought, and are down to 7:30 with the F2? You don't just lose 30 seconds with a new cube.


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## will6680 (Sep 9, 2010)

Ger who said I was averaging 8:00? I was averaging 1:45. Average now of 1:15?! I havent memorized all of 2look oll and pll yet. I'm in training for the Harvard competition. So I'm not so fast.


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## cyoubx (Sep 9, 2010)

I wish I had a DIY when I was at 1:45  Congrats on your improvement, though!


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## Kynit (Sep 9, 2010)

I remember how excited I was when I got my F-II 

You should be under 60 seconds pretty soon now!


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 10, 2010)

will6680 said:


> Ger who said I was averaging 8:00? I was averaging 1:45. Average now of 1:15?! I havent memorized all of 2look oll and pll yet. I'm in training for the Harvard competition. So I'm not so fast.



Either way, you don't drop 30 seconds ONLY because of the cube. It's because you practised.


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## a small kitten (Sep 10, 2010)

> Either way, you don't drop 30 seconds ONLY because of the cube. It's because you practised.



Sure you can. If you have a cube that's extremely hard to turn, then a new cube that turns easier can bring down your time significantly. Practice helps. Anyway, we don't know what to attribute the time drop to so let's leave it alone?


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## Joker (Sep 10, 2010)

theanonymouscuber said:


> will6680 said:
> 
> 
> > Ger who said I was averaging 8:00? I was averaging 1:45. Average now of 1:15?! I havent memorized all of 2look oll and pll yet. I'm in training for the Harvard competition. So I'm not so fast.
> ...



Lol Anonymous is right. 
Maybe a few seconds, not 30.
Lol its all in your mind


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## The Puzzler (Sep 10, 2010)

Trust me, my friend used a $1 and when he got a rubiks brand his time went down by 45 seconds!


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## Whyusosrs? (Sep 10, 2010)

will6680 said:


> *Ungodly* corner cutting.



Wait what?



will6680 said:


> On the other hand. The orange and yellow stickers are indistinguishable. And the piece caps occasionally fall off. Nor has it poped ever.



Sentence coherence :E Saying all the bad things about the cube and then say "nor" as if it's a bad thing it's never popped. 

FII is good.


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## a small kitten (Sep 10, 2010)

The FII may be good, but I hate the FII =D


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## WeIsPrius (Sep 10, 2010)

You can certainly impute the high quality of the cube to a 30 second differential.


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 10, 2010)

WeIsPrius said:


> You can certainly impute the high quality of the cube to a 30 second differential.



No.


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## CharlesOBlack (Sep 10, 2010)

theanonymouscuber said:


> WeIsPrius said:
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> 
> > You can certainly impute the high quality of the cube to a 30 second differential.
> ...



Yes.

(useless post, so why not fill up the boards with more useless posts? Next time, try presenting evidence, or, at least, a theory.)


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## Joker (Sep 10, 2010)

Whyusosrs? said:


> will6680 said:
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> > *Ungodly* corner cutting.
> ...


Ungody corner cutting...well the GuHong cuts better, as most people say.


CharlesOBlack said:


> theanonymouscuber said:
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> > WeIsPrius said:
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Dude he averaged 1:45.
Do you think you could average that on a 5x5, then drop 30 sec cause of the cube?


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## ElectricDoodie (Sep 10, 2010)

Joker said:


> Whyusosrs? said:
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:fp

This isn't on a 5x5. It's on a 3x3. You can't make the same comparison.












Joker said:


> theanonymouscuber said:
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> > will6680 said:
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When I only had a Rubik's Cube store bought, I averaged 1:00 minute. It was horrible at turning and corner cutting.
I bought an Alpha V, and my times dropped down to 40 seconds, within 2 days, without learning any new algs or anything new, whatsoever.

*It is completely possible to lose 30 seconds, when you average 1:45.*


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## Edward (Sep 10, 2010)

He's at a time where his times will drop like a rock. I truly believe he dropped 30 seconds shortly after using this cube.


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 10, 2010)

CharlesOBlack said:


> theanonymouscuber said:
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> > WeIsPrius said:
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I had a pos rubik's brand too. At this time I averaged 38 seconds. When I got my F2, that dropped my times to 33 seconds. That's not that big of a difference. His case is even less reasonable. At 1:45, you will NOT be doing anything fingertricky. The F2 will not drop your times by 30 seconds. Maybe 5-10.


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 10, 2010)

Edward said:


> He's at a time where his times will drop like a rock. I truly believe he dropped 30 seconds shortly after using this cube.



Not because of his cube. Because of him and his practice.


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## Edward (Sep 10, 2010)

theanonymouscuber said:


> Edward said:
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> 
> > He's at a time where his times will drop like a rock. I truly believe he dropped 30 seconds shortly after using this cube.
> ...



Using storebought at a time where his times can drop because of just about anything. Switches to F2. Almost immediately, times drop. I'm thinking it's mostly the cube.


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 10, 2010)

Edward said:


> theanonymouscuber said:
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Are you being sarcastic? Because you sure sound it.


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## cincyaviation (Sep 10, 2010)

theanonymouscuber said:


> I had a pos rubik's brand too. At this time I averaged 38 seconds. When I got my F2, that dropped my times to 33 seconds. That's not that big of a difference. His case is even less reasonable. *At 1:45, you will NOT be doing anything fingertricky.* The F2 will not drop your times by 30 seconds. Maybe 5-10.



I was at that speed.


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 10, 2010)

cincyaviation said:


> theanonymouscuber said:
> 
> 
> > I had a pos rubik's brand too. At this time I averaged 38 seconds. When I got my F2, that dropped my times to 33 seconds. That's not that big of a difference. His case is even less reasonable. *At 1:45, you will NOT be doing anything fingertricky.* The F2 will not drop your times by 30 seconds. Maybe 5-10.
> ...



Well, I sure wasn't. Not enough to warrant getting a speedcube.


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## Edward (Sep 10, 2010)

theanonymouscuber said:


> Edward said:
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Mind telling the flaws in what I'm saying?


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 10, 2010)

Edward said:


> theanonymouscuber said:
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No, It's just you said his times could drop because of anything, and then you say "I think it's the cube." I just don't really understand what you mean by "anything".


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## Edward (Sep 10, 2010)

theanonymouscuber said:


> Edward said:
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> > theanonymouscuber said:
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By anything, I meant, just about anything he changes for the better will drop his times significantly, whether it be turning faster, learning algs, or a new cube :I.


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## Joker (Sep 10, 2010)

Edward said:


> theanonymouscuber said:
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> > Edward said:
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My times dropped about 3 seconds for using the F-II. I was averaging 40, then 37. thats not even a 10% difference.
I doubt he could drop 30 whopping seconds by the cube.


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## Edward (Sep 10, 2010)

Joker said:


> Edward said:
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> > theanonymouscuber said:
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>at a time when his times will drop like a rock

At 40 seconds, you're just kind of slowly stepping down the ladder, not sliding.


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## Andrew Ricci (Sep 10, 2010)

Edward said:


> theanonymouscuber said:
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Alright, I get it.

My last statement: When I was at this stage, working on my F2L and such, It was me getting faster at first two layers that made my times drop, not the cube I was using. No more arguements. Kthxbye


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## Chrish (Sep 10, 2010)

Joker said:


> Edward said:
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10% of 40 second is much smaller than 10% of 105 seconds. And even if 10% of 105 is 10.5, that doesn't prove your statement by any means. Because the faster you are, the harder it is to improve. It's harder to get from 13 seconds to 12 seconds than it is to get from 20 seconds to 19 seconds.

Imagine the speed it takes to solve a cube in 1:45, then imagine the speed it takes to solve it in 1:15 seconds. It's not very fast. Improvements will happen quickly, and possibly by a lot.


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## Edward (Sep 10, 2010)

My last statement: You're not him. I'm going by what's generally reported (and what I experienced). Because you had a different experience doesn't take away from what most others have had. 

>generally reported
I mean the time drop, not the cube dropping the times.

Glad to end this civilly. How did I get through without an anime reference? ;-;. Kthnxbai


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## Chrish (Sep 10, 2010)

Your zucchini is adorable, Edward. Cucumber? Whatever that is.


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## Edward (Sep 10, 2010)

Chrish said:


> Your zucchini is adorable, Edward. Cucumber? Whatever that is.


Yeah it's a cucumber. It's Janna's cucumber. I put Gurren brigade glasses on it...


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## uberCuber (Sep 10, 2010)

I used a rubik's brand until averaged ~25-26 seconds. got F-II...now average 27 seconds...am getting more sup-30 solves than i have for a long time (6 out of my last 20 solves were sup-30..)


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## ElectricDoodie (Sep 10, 2010)

I'm going to put my story up again.

I was at 1:00 minute, using a store bought Rubik's brand. Horrible turning and corner cutting. Could only use wrists, no finger tricks.

I then bought an A5, preassembled, with tensions set and prelubed. My times went to 40 seconds, withing 2 days. No learning anything new. The only thing I did differently, was doing finger tricks, since the new cube allowed it, and the Rubik's storebought only allowed wrist turns.

So, I dropped 20 seconds. I stayed at 40, until I started learning PLLs and F2L intuitively.

When someone is in the 1:45 average, they can easily drop 30 seconds, by just beginning to use finger tricks. People saying that they didn't drop 30 seconds when switching cubes, when they averaged 40 seconds, don't get the point. It's a much bigger difference to drop 30 seconds when you are at 1:45, then when you are at 40 seconds. 

Dropping 1:45 to 1:15 can easily be achieved with finger tricks, which can be used on speedcubes, and sometimes impossible on storebought Rubik's brands. Dropping below 40 seconds means you have to start learning F2L, and to go even further, even some PLLs. 

So, stop giving ridiculous examples, such as saying you didn't drop from 40 secs to 10 secs, because of a cube.

And trying to compare 1:45 on a 3x3 is not the same as 1:45 on a 5x5. Obviously dropping 30 seconds at that average, on a 5x5 is much harder, than dropping 30 seconds on a 3x3, when you are averaging 1:45.


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## ElectricDoodie (Sep 10, 2010)

uberCuber said:


> I used a rubik's brand until averaged ~25-26 seconds. got F-II...now average 27 seconds...am getting more sup-30 solves than i have for a long time (6 out of my last 20 solves were sup-30..)



Again, at sub30 secs, the cube makes less and less of a difference.
At sup-1:30, the cube makes a big difference.


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## bigbee99 (Sep 10, 2010)

When I was averaging 1:45, and I got a DIY (Alpha II), my times dropped 20 secs, I believe that he could drop 30 secs with an F II


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## Eleredo (Sep 10, 2010)

theanonymouscuber said:


> will6680 said:
> 
> 
> > Ger who said I was averaging 8:00? I was averaging 1:45. Average now of 1:15?! I havent memorized all of 2look oll and pll yet. I'm in training for the Harvard competition. So I'm not so fast.
> ...



That's true.
I average around 45, with a best of 36,74, with my good old trusty storebought.
It's practicing that is lowering your times.


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## Micael (Sep 10, 2010)

Man!!! When I was 1:45 I did not even know the existence of better cube than storebought! How did you come up with that (the conscience that better cube exist)? I think I needed about one week to be there (1:45) so I cannot figured out how you get well informed so fast. You just started cubing and immediately order a F-ll??? Please, help me to understand:confused:


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## ElectricDoodie (Sep 10, 2010)

Micael said:


> Man!!! When I was 1:45 I did not even know the existence of better cube than storebought! How did you come up with that (the conscience that better cube exist)? I think I needed about one week to be there (1:45) so I cannot figured out how you get well informed so fast. You just started cubing and immediately order a F-ll??? Please, help me to understand:confused:



I don't know about the OP, but this is how I did it.

I started cubing in 2006. Only using the Beginner's Method as a way to show off, and it took me about 2 minutes. 

In May, 2010, I started speedcubing, but only using the Beginner's Method. All I did was pretty much turn faster... but, I had to use wrists, because my Rubik's Brand storebought, sucked. By the end of May, I was able to lower my times to about 1:00.

I knew decided to watch videos on YouTube, to see how fast people could solve it. I was amazed at seeing times under 15 seconds. I noticed these people could turn the cube with their fingers, which was something impossible on my cube. So, using common sense, I figured, "There's gotta be better cubes, like professional cubes, out there." There is a "Pro" version of pretty much anything. I used to like Yo-Yo-ing, and they had "Pro" Yo-Yos, so why wouldn't the Rubik's Cubes?

So, I searched "professional Rubik's Cubes," which took me through a ride of YouTube reviews of FII and A5, and others. I found out they are more commonly called "speedcubes," which helped my search. I then looked up more and more information on different types of cubes, looked through forums, and online speedcube stores. I liked both those cubes, but got the A5.

When I got it, I was able to use finger tricks, on the moves I wanted to do, most noticeably the Sune and Anti-Sune. All the other ones, too. But, finger tricks dropped my time down to 40 seconds. I wasn't getting faster, and remembered that there were more advanced methods. I used this excellent guide to learn, http://peter.stillhq.com/jasmine/rubikscubesolution.html, and I remembered that at the bottom of the guide, she had links to more advanced and intermediate levels, if we wanted to learn. From there, I started learning PLLs and some intuitive F2L, and am now sub-30.

So, that's how I transitioned.

TL;DR: To answer your question, Common Sense.


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## will6680 (Sep 10, 2010)

Well, My other speed cube (storebought with CRC.) Got really locky because it was reeeeally crappy quality. Pieces were being eaten away. The center was cracking too. And it couldnt even cut corners. F2 feels like butter :/


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## ArcticxWolf (Sep 11, 2010)

Times drop hyperbolically, which means that a cube that reduces your time by 1 second when you average 15 seconds is about the same as a cube that reduces your time by 30 seconds when you average 1:45.

EDIT:






The more I think about it, the more sense it makes. x (time) never goes below and never equals zero because time can't be negative and if it is zero, then that would mean that you can never solve the cube, hence the asymptote. Also, you will never reach 0 in the y axis (time require to solve) either, because that would mean you solve the cube infinitely fast! Of course, the scale is off, but those are minor details


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## ElectricDoodie (Sep 11, 2010)

ArcticxWolf said:


> Times drop hyperbolically, which means that a cube that reduces your time by 1 second when you average 15 seconds is about the same as a cube that reduces your time by 30 seconds when you average 1:45.
> 
> EDIT:
> 
> ...



I love when mathematics proves things.
No one can argue about their ridiculous scenarios, now.


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## Kynit (Sep 11, 2010)

Switching from a storebought to an F-II brought my averages from about 42 to about 32. 10 seconds off of 40 seconds scales up to 30 seconds off of 2 minutes.

Sounds reasonable to me...


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## hic0057 (Sep 13, 2010)

Wouldn't the best way to get the answer was to time him on his old cube and time him on the fii with the same scramble. This should see if it is the cube or practice


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## Godmil (Sep 13, 2010)

Just to emphasis some other peoples points: I got a Rubik's DIY about a week after starting with my storebought and from my first solve with it my average went from 2:15 to 1:25. That's the difference between finger flips and painful wrist grinds.

If people are saying x cube isn't so good that it can make you that fast... try flipping it around and thinking - y cube can be sooo bad that it can really hold you back.


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## CriminallyVulgar (Sep 13, 2010)

Also, after 2 years of not cubing at all, I got an AV to replace my old store bought to see if I could get into the speedstuff again, and my average of 1:10 stayed pretty much the same, despite being pretty damn out of practice. Not an acid test, I know, but also indicative. Also, after I'd gotten down to under a minute, I picked up my old old cube, a truly awful piece of machinery, and got a 1:31. Lack of fingertricks makes the whole LL a nightmare, and slows down some stages of F2L (in Petrus, at least, i assume even moreso in Fridrich)


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## incessantcheese (Sep 13, 2010)

ElectricDoodie said:


> ArcticxWolf said:
> 
> 
> > Times drop hyperbolically, which means that a cube that reduces your time by 1 second when you average 15 seconds is about the same as a cube that reduces your time by 30 seconds when you average 1:45.
> ...



the general idea might make sense, but you can't just take a random graph shape and say it models the situation *coughexceptwhenyou'reineconomicscough*. it certainly doesn't "prove" anything. 

but yes, i agree that a 30 second drop is very possible. i can even get close, right now. if i time my OH times on a guhong and a storebought cube, i'm more than twice as slow on the storebought cube. yes, this is extreme, but it's likely pretty easy for someone to drop their time by about 1/4 or 1/3 just by switching cubes.


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## incessantcheese (Sep 13, 2010)

hic0057 said:


> Wouldn't the best way to get the answer was to time him on his old cube and time him on the fii with the same scramble. This should see if it is the cube or practice



this guy. is a genius. -_- (absolutely no sarcasm, i just can't believe nobody's suggested it yet).


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## Chapuunka (Sep 13, 2010)

incessantcheese said:


> hic0057 said:
> 
> 
> > Wouldn't the best way to get the answer was to time him on his old cube and time him on the fii with the same scramble. This should see if it is the cube or practice
> ...



A scramble is much easier the second time.


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