On silicone, steel and plastic

The NVx release has been very successful so far. I am very pleased. With it being the first official yoyo carrying our new Axle & Reponse 2.0 system (A&R2), we observed a lot of questions popping up, which need to be addressed.

--> "Can you use flowable silicone with the the NVx (and with any A&R2)?"
Answer: Yes you can.
There were concerns that the recess was too shallow. It isn't. It's 0.8mm deep and 2mm wide. That provides plenty of "wall" for the silicone to hold on to, and is narrow enough to stay "stuck" in there. We have tried this even with blank aluminum on the prototypes and during weeks of testing, the silicone did not fall out. See picture above for illustration.

Consider also: The CUT yoyo is NOT equipped with the A&R2. The recess is 1mm deep and 4mm wide. There is much less "wall" relative to the width for the silicone to hold on to, yet it stays, and many of our CUT lovers have siliconed their yoyos. If it stays in the CUT, it definitely stays in the NVx.
Tip for the CUT: Only silicone one half to avoid it getting responsive. The NVx can be siliconed on both sides though.

A siliconed CUT.

--> "Why is the hybrid steel-plastic bearing so great?"
Answer: It has the lowest friction of all bearings we have tested, and spins the longest. It is basically on par with ceramic bearings. It has shields removed to further reduce friction, low "stiction" friction between the "balls" and the cage, it is extremely durable - and affordable!
Read more: http://www.hspin.com/webpage/?q=node/1129

--> "Will my bearing cleaning solvent ruin the bearing cage?"
Answer: No it will not.
Lighter fuel, mineral spirit, white spirit, thin lube and soap water are the most common solutions to clean bearings. All of these work fine. The bearing cage isn't made of just any plastic... it's very durable. Go wash your bearings. Any questions, please contact us.

Thank you for reading,
Chris

A close-up of the hybrid 685 bearing.