Moyu TangLong Review

Hey guys,

So I haven't posted in months, I know, as I've been much more busy with The Geek Circle YouTube channel- if you haven't checked that out, make sure to do so here. 

Onto the review.

Today, I'm going to be reviewing Moyu's latest 3x3, the TangLong. I got this cube for £12 on theCubicle.us, and if you haven't checked them out, you should as they are a very reliable source of cubes, the only problem being they charge A LOT to ship to the UK.

The TangLong was released in September last year, so is fairly new. My first impressions of the cube were that the turning is extremely crisp, like the AoLong, but my AoLong is extremely over - lubed, with cubicle weight 3, a lube way too heavy for me. I thought the TangLong would just be a remake of the AoLong, but it isn't - the mechanism is completely different, as can be seen here:

The corner-cutting off the TangLong is just under 45°, and reverse is half a cubie. Corner twisting is possible, but it requires some force, so would not happen during a solve. Stock tensions were perfect, and didn't need any tweaking, although the white face makes some springing noises when turning.

The stickers are of course of excellent quality, as is to be expected with Moyu cubes. The stickers are larger than the ones on the AoLong, leaving less border, which I quite like the look of. The Moyu shades are very bright and look excellent as usual, as can be seen here:

All in all, this cube is great, and I would greatly recommend it to any speedcuber, whether new or experienced.

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Moyu AoLong Review

Hey Guys,

So recently I ordered a Moyu AoLong V2 from Amazon, but it was from China so I expected not to get it before I went on holiday (check out my YouTube Channel for videos on that soon!). I got the cube a week or so ago, and have had some time to get used to it. First of all, I don't think what I was sent was an AoLong V2 - I heard one of the main changes in the V2 was that it reduces corner twists, yet my cube has frequent corner twists.

The turning is good along with corner cutting, although there are infrequent minor locks. All in all, I think that this is one of the best speedcubes on the market, and is definitely worth the £12 ($18).

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Moyu LingPo 2x2 Review

Hey Guys,

Sorry that I've not posted recently, but I've been very busy working on the new Geek Circle website that should be up soon. If you want to check that out, you can download the latest release here. I've recently had the Stickerless Moyu LingPo delivered, and after using it a bit, decided to write a post about it.

The LingPo has extremely fast turning - the best I've ever seen on a cube. Corner-cutting is good, at 45° and 15 reverse. When the cube came, it needed a bit of work - tensioning and lubing, but after that it was fine. Pops and lockups are non-existent, apart from the occasional minor catch. 

All in all, I'd greatly recommend this 2x2 to absolutely anyone that wants a good 2x2, wether you're a beginner or the new Feliks Zemdigs - especially as it is only £12 (~$18).

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Moyu Skewb Review

Hey Guys,

So I've recently bought a few cubes, the Moyu Skewb being one of them. This is  my first Skewb, so I had to also learn how to solve it. I used Monkeydude1313's 1-algorithm method, which allowed me to solve Skewb easily. When I first tried to solve the Skewb, I had a lot of trouble, and even with the tutorial I was struggling to understand how it worked. After watching the tutorial a few times, I got my head around how the Skewb worked and I am now able to easily solve it. 

Onto the cube itself. The cube was out of the box tensioned, but needed lubing. The stickers are bright and easily recognisable, as well as being thick and sturdy. Corner-cutting is ok, but is not needed due to the ball bearings that click the pieces into place. Pops are non-existent, along with lock-ups - making the cube reliable and lets you feel more free.

All in all, I would greatly recommend this cube to anyone who wants a high quality Skewb, as this is probably the best on the market and is only £11 (~$15) so good value for money.

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QJ Speedtimer Review

Hey Guys,

So If you've read any of my earlier posts, I've recently had a birthday, and have got plenty of technology. One of the cubing related things is a QJ speed timer. This is a timer for things such as cubing or cup stacking, but mine is made by QJ - a speedcube manufacturer. It has two pads to put your hands on, and when you take your hands off, the timer starts. You then solve the cube, and once you are done you put your hands back on the pads. Here is a picture of the timer:

One of the problems with the timer is that the green and red ready lights flash while you are solving. This can be distracting and can mess up your colour recognition. Also, I occasionally have times where I finish, but the timer doesn't stop - I have to take my hands off and put them back on the timer.

Other than that, I would recommend this timer if you are a cuber wanting some practise for competitions.

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Laser-etched Fisher Cube

Hey Guys,

So a few days ago, I was lucky enough to be given a very old but pretty cool-looking puzzle, as a friend had it but didn't want it. I think it is a "fisher cube" but I am not totally sure as it is not the same as most. It actually has 10 different colours, two for the top and bottom, four for the sides and four for the edge pieces. The stickers are also laser-etched, giving them shiny patterns of colour. The 4 different sides can be seen here:

This colour scheme with 10 different shades confused me, but I managed to work it out eventually. I also had some problems with getting impossible 3x3 parities, but I think this was due to me putting the corner colours in the wrong arrangement - there is no centre piece to tell what colour goes where. Eventually, I got fed up of scrambling and solving it, as it is so tight and my fingers started to hurt. I had to open the cube and fix the parity manually. I put a bit of lube inside the cube, that improved the turning a bit, bit it's still pretty bad. This is a nice cube but only as a collector's item - not a cube for solving often.

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Moyu HuaChuang 5x5 Review

Hey Guys,

So I was lucky enough to be given a Moyu HuaChuang (Can be bought here) as an early birthday present. The HuaChuang is Moyu's latest 5x5, and is a highly commended one too. The cube is pre fluorine-modded like the Yuxin 4x4 (if you have not already, check out my post about it here) the colors are very nice, and the stickers are very thick and sturdy - not like normal factory stickers. This can be seen here:

The size of the cube is a bit more than the Yuxin and can be seen next to a standard 55mm DaYan ZhanChi here:

The corner cutting is just under a piece, and the turning is extremely smooth. One of my only problems with this cube is the fact that it can get out of shape if you try to corner-cut with is too far. This can be seen here: 

It happens fairly frequently when trying to speedsolve it, and can be a pain to resolve. For anyone who was wondering, here is a photo of the mechanism: 

All in all, I think this is a good cube for anyone wanting a quality 5x5, the only problem being the disforming issue. If you just want a 5x5 but not for speedcubing, I do not recommend this as it is quite expensive - ~£28 ($38). 

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Yuxin 4x4 Review

Hey Guys,

So this is my second review of the cubes I got from theCubicle.US, and today it's going to be about the Yuxin 4x4 (can be bought here). The Yuxin is a medium-speed and very stable puzzle, as I have never had a pop. The shades of the cube are very similar to that of a Rubik's brand and can be seen here:

The inner layers are smoother than the outer ones, with the outer layers having slight lockups regularly. The corner-cutting is OK, with both layers cutting 1/2 a piece and a full piece with force. There is no inverted cutting at all. This puzzle is pre florain-modded, meaning it has rounded off edges on the insides of pieces, making the smoothness and corner cutting better. Here is a picture where you can see the roundness of the edges easier.

The mechanism is fairly simple, not like an old 4x4 mechanism I have seen. This can be seen here: 

There is no corner twists at all, and I have even tried turning and it gets 80% of the way then when you let go it just pops back to it's original position.

All in all, I think this is a great cube for anyone with prior cubing knowledge, as a 4x4 is not a good cube to start with. This cube is a brilliant bargain at only £10 ($14) and I would definitely recommend it. 

Shengshou Pyraminx Review

Hey guys!

So a few days ago I got a delivery from theCubicle.us containing 3 items - a tube of cube lube, a Yuxin 4x4 and a Shengshou pyraminx. Today, I am going to be reviewing the Shengshou pyraminx (can be bought here). First of all, a pyraminx is a four sided pyramidal puzzle simmilar to a 2x2 in difficulty. This is what a pyraminx looks like:

It had two ways of moving per axis, the tips and the main segment. This can be seen in the next picture:

Here you can see the base layer, the middle turned layer and the tip. The center pieces (the blue pieces) can be seen here:

The centers, unlike a 3x3 or other odd numbered cube, have three showing faces, and can rotate so are not always the same. Although the pieces may rotate, they cannot actually move relative to the other faces of that piece as they are fixed to the core. The pieces between two centre pieces are the moving pieces like edges on a 3x3, and are what you have to solve.

Onto the review. The puzzle turns extremely fast, only partially hindered by the ball bearings to keep the layers in place. This problem is not relevant, as you would never need to turn a pyraminx more than one as it has only three possible places to turn to. The ball bearings in the sides of the pieces add speed to the turning as well as lock the pieces into place so that you don't have to be as accurate with turning. For a size comparison, here is a picture of the pyraminx next to a standard 55mm ZhanChi:

One piece on the pyraminx is the size of one and a half pieces on the ZhanChi. The corner-cutting is a third of a piece and no inverted, but this is not needed due to the ball bearings. Locks and pops are both non-existent, as the puzzle turns very well. I have brought my average down to 20s and my PB is 12s

I would greatly recommend this cube to anyone with a previous puzzle knowledge, as a pyraminx is not the best puzzle to start with. This puzzle is extremely cheap at only ~£8 (~$12) at theCubicle.us and is definitel worth it.

How a cube works

Hey Guys,

So today I'm going to be doing a less review - like, more mechanical post. In this post I'm going to be explaining how a cube works. All of the pictures in this post will be of a DaYan ZhanChi cube. My review of this cube can be found here and the ZhanChi can be bought here. So as we all know, A cube has six faces, with nine different "cubies" on each face. There are three different types of piece - a corner, edge and centre cap. The centre caps never move as it is an odd numbered cube, they can only rotate. This can be seen here:

The beige bit can never be seen, but the caps are visible. You can pop of the front of the caps to change the tensions on the springs in the core if your cube is too loose or too tight. Here is a picture of the pieces of a cube:

You can see the two types of pieces that you can get on the top - the three-coloured corner piece and the two-coloured edge piece. Both pieces are made of three parts, but in some cubes the edge piece only consists of two parts. The second row of pieces makes up the edge piece, the two outer pieces enclosing the middle 'torpedo' piece. This torpedo is not in all cubes and is not necessary at all, but is used to prevent pops. The bottom row of three pieces creates the corner piece. You can see how the cube goes together in the next picture: 

In the left section, you can see how the edge pieces fit into the core, with the torpedoes in the gap between the parts of the core. In the right-hand section, you can see how the edge pieces attach to the corners, with the torpedoes holding the edges in place. I hope that this post has better helped you understand how a cube works, and expanded your cubing knowledge.


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LanLan 2x2 Review

Hey Guys,

When I ordered my DaYan ZhanChi 3x3 cube (See my post about it here), I saw a recommendation for the LanLan 2x2 on Amazon here. It was only £2.50 (~$3.80) so I thought, what the heck, and bought it too. It was being delivered from China, and so took ~3 weeks to arrive, but it came a week ago, and I have been using it since.

First of all, I must say that it is definitely not the best 2x2 out there, but that would be expected as it was so cheap. When I got it the turning was clunky, and it was very tight. I have since loosened it and it is now better, but still cannot corner-cut and is barely finger-trickable. I put some silicone lubricant in it, but it is very strange and seized up the cube, making it difficult to move. This was what happened when I lubed my Rubik's 3x3 so I expected it, and after a few days of using it, it became faster than it originally was. I learnt to solve it by learning the 2-alg beginner’s method, and am now learning the Ortega method.

All in all, I would only recommend this if you are not a speedcuber, and are looking for a generic 2x2 for a low price. This was not what I expected, but I guess you get what you pay for. 

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DaYan ZhanChi Cube Review

Hey Guys,

So lately, I've been into cubing, and my branded Rubik's cube is very slow and clunky. I wanted to get a new cube, and so after a bit of research, I decided the DaYan ZhanChi was the correct one. I bought it off amazon here. It was £8.50 (~$13) which I think is a decent deal.

So. The performance. The corner cutting is good, about 45 degrees max ( this is how out of alignment the cube can be for it to turn in another direction see this video ) The turning speed is very fast, with almost no resistance, this way I can easily turn the faces with one finger to speed up algorithms.

I'm still learning to solve with CFOP (speedcubing method) as there are many algorithms to be able to do this. Check out the sheet I am using to learn this here. Overall, I would greatly recommend this cube, as it is very reliable, smooth and cheap.

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YouTube Channel + Lego MindStorm MindCuber

Hey Guys,

This is just a quick post to let everyone know about my YouTube channel and also the Lego MindStorm I built to solve a Rukik's cube. So, I have created a YouTube channel here for this blog, so if I want to do a video, I can upload it there. I have also uploaded my first video, a demo of the MindCuber robot I built - can be found here.

Make sure to like and subscribe to my channel!

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Rubik's Cube

Hey Guys,

Lately, iv'e got into Rubik's cubes, as i was assigned a project at my local CoderDojo to write a solving program. I was also given a booklet explaining how to solve it ( can be downloaded here ) I had a go at solving it with this guide, and it worked surprisingly well! I could already solve the top face - it's pretty easy, but had never done a complete cube. i'm currently trying to master the second row, as it one is a bit more challenging, but still not too hard.

I also checked out some of the world records - this is a 3x3x3 cube in 5.66s!

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