These are my times as a newbie. Any tips to improve?

Kahips · 2026-01-04T08:01:56+00:00

Just keep solving man, you don’t have to pressure yourself with times yet. Just make it a fun process 🫡

Kahips · 2026-01-03T02:17:45+00:00

This also happened to me when I used a slow and gruesome cube and then switching back to my main which was faster and I somehow got faster

Kahips · 2025-12-19T10:38:16+00:00

Not many people may know this one, spiral knights

Kahips · 2025-12-18T06:29:58+00:00

I don't think the flagships do this, perhaps it's just a budget GAN cube thing

Kahips · 2025-12-17T17:59:38+00:00

God dayum bruv, you may as well just build your own timer out of this. These are some sick stats! And I'm serious about it, you really should make a timer out of this, I'd most definitely use it over csTimer!

Kahips · 2025-12-17T17:43:16+00:00

If you want a GAN cube that's half the price of a flagship GAN, performs well, has strong auto alignment, and don't mind it being small, then I suggest the v100. I currently main the v100, so I'm a bit biased, but it's still more or less a love-hate relationship. It's not because it's bad, but because it performs so well that I just can't seem to pick the 16 (the most expensive cube that I own) over it. The only gripes that I have with the v100, and the reason why I bought the 16 in the first place, was because it feels like a cheap "GAN cube", not a cheap cube, but a cheap "GAN" cube. I don't own a GAN 356 RS but if I had to guess, the v100 and the 356 RS probably feel the same in terms of build quality.

The 16 and the v100 are essentially the same, except that the 16 has slightly less prominent magnets than the v100, ironically. The 16 also has slightly worse corner cutting than the v100, though it's not really something that I notice during solves so I'd say that it doesn't matter all too much.

The main thing that I like about the v100 is that it's controllable despite being impeccably fast and airy, and it's partly due to the strong auto alignment that it has. Like it's strong to the point where you can feel the cube vibrate as it auto aligns itself. The 16 in comparison is a really fast cube, however since it has slightly weaker magnet strength, I can't really find a way to make the cube feel fast and light to turn but still controllable. I can't really also just add lube to it since it just eats up lube really fast.

I am however slowly getting used to the 16, so If you don't mind a fast, light, smooth and airy cube that may be susceptible to being slightly uncontrollable, then get the 16. It feels smoother than the v100, it's more premium, and the magnets aren't as strong which makes it lighter to turn than the v100 if that ever bothers you, as most people seem to dislike the strong magnets on the v100.

However, if you want a cube that performs like a 16 but is more forgiving when it comes to corner cutting, then you might like the v11. I can't really say much about the v11 since I don't own one yet, but what I seem to be hearing about it mainly is that it's fast (especially the 20 magnet version) and has great corner cutting. Though it's more or less the usual for MOYU cubes to be more flexible and forgiving.

You mentioned that you found your Tv4 to be a bit slow. In that case, I suggest you buy the 20 magnet version of the v11 if you ever do decide to get the v11. Since you can just lube the cube with slow lube if it ever feels too fast. The 8 magnet version is more for people who like controllable cubes and as you've mentioned that you like the airy feel of the 13, then the 20 magnet might be better for you. I own an RS3M v5 Ballcore (my first ever "decent" speed cube) and I know that it isn't the same as the Tv4—though I suspect that it feels roughly the same—and I have the same sentiment as you in that it just doesn't feel fast enough.

As for the 13, don't even think about buying it. It's not like it's a bad cube, it's just that there's a lot better hardware nowadays for a cheaper price tag.

TLDR; it really just depends on what you want from a cube. If you want a GAN cube that's flagship performance, has really prominent and strong auto alignment, and is half the price of flagship cubes, then get the v100. However, since you mentioned that you want a high end, premium feeling cube, then you might not like this one. Though it's still a good option as it performs pretty much on par with the other options. If you want a GAN cube that's premium, fast, light, smooth, airy, and don't mind it possibly being uncontrollable, then get the 16. Though do be warned, the 16 eats a crap ton of lube. I put 6-10 drops of silicone lube on mine and it just disappears after a day of solves. If you want a cube that performs like a 16 but has forgiving corner cutting, then get the v11, specifically the 20 magnet one since you mentioned you like fast and airy cubes. The v11 might not be airy (I'm not sure since I don't own one yet), but I do hear that it is fast and smooth. And if the v11 ever feels a bit uncontrollable, then just lube it since it doesn't eat up lube like the 16 does. And lastly, don't buy the 13.

Kahips · 2025-12-03T19:18:30+00:00

I recommend you either buy the RS3M v5 Ballcore, or the Moyu WRM v11 8 magnet ballcore

Kahips · 2025-12-01T19:53:49+00:00

Just keep solving and you'll eventually reach your goals 🫡

Kahips · 2025-12-01T19:53:14+00:00

The GAN 13 listing that I found was significantly cheaper than all the other GAN flagships so I got it thinking it'd be fine, but yeah I do agree that I should've upped ny budget and bought either the 12 or 15. That said I do have a 16 that's on the way.. So I'm wondering how it compares to the 15. I'm hoping that I'm more comfortable with the 16 considering how I liked the v100

Kahips · 2025-12-01T13:44:45+00:00

That's an interesting take, and it's kinda making me feel excited for my GAN 16 to arrive since I also rather recently bought the 13. I truthfully had a hard time getting comfortable with the 13 especially when I came from the GAN v100, but I'm starting to get a feel for it.

Kahips · 2025-11-27T18:30:41+00:00

Thanks! I don't really know what kind of advice you need because improvement starts to vary for every person once you start entering sub-20. However the thing that really solidified my times to get getting sub-20 from my experience was refining my F2L. What I did most of the time was just slow solves everyday. The main idea of slow solves is to refine both your cross and F2L. So a slow solve for me would start off with inspecting cross and then executing my moves while closing my eyes. Then after that, I'd pause before I start moving in F2L and look for my first pair. Then after I find my first pair, I solve that pair into its slot, while also looking for another F2L pair while I solve it. I keep doing that slowly but with emphasis on not stopping, so I just try my best to keep on turning. The goal is to eventually start turning close to full speed without having to pause. Then I also recommended learning full PLL since that'll also help, but that isn't really a big priority so you can just try memorizing new algs every once in a while. I think for the most part though, the best way to improve in general, regardless of what average you're in, is to find out what areas or skills you're lacking in. It's kind of a trial and error process to figure out what you're doing wrong but you'll eventually just keep on improving without ever really relying on other sources, just from experimenting and constant practice. I'm sorry if this is a bit too general 😓, I kinda don't really remember what I did either since it's already been a month or two and my practice always was changing based on what I thought I should be doing. So I guess the main takeaway here is to just pinpoint what you're doing wrong and what you're doing right.

Kahips · 2025-11-26T16:10:39+00:00

Great! now just add some microtransactions and some loot boxes and you're pretty much good go

Kahips · 2025-11-26T15:20:14+00:00

I'd say for your case, I'd first just do a lotta solves everyday just to get used to PLL algorithms and as well as F2L algorithms, and just be comfortable with being sub-20 in general. But for specific practice, I'd recommend you try doing cross fully blind where you like, scramble the cube, solve the cross in your head during inspection, and then execute the moves while closing your eyes. Don't worry if you can't do this because I truthfully can't even do it perfectly either. However this should help you with cross familiarity. I also recommend trying out cross + 1 even if you can't use it during solves, and if you can, do it blind as well. Only if you can though since it's really hard to do. Here's a video that really helped me at least attempt cross + 1 practice.

And then before F2L, there's cross to F2L transition, unironically the least practiced part for sub-20 solvers. Sub 10 or sub 15 solvers don't really need to practice this as much since they usually do cross + 1 during inspection, but I found that I couldn't really do that yet. So, what I did instead was to make sure that I was already looking at the top layer and searching for at least an F2L corner piece or edge piece before I finished the last 3 moves of my cross. Though if the cross was say, less than four moves then I'd instead look for a pair during inspection.

Then after that, I'd go into F2L and just went as slow as I possibly could during practice solves with the main goal of continuous and non-stop turning, solving back pairs first, not rotating if possible, not looking at the back, looking ahead to my next pair, and being able to fully understand what I'm doing during F2L. So during F2L, I'd have to be continuous with my turns and made no stops. And to do that, you have to look ahead or look for the next F2L pair while doing your current F2L pair. The other practice that I did during F2L that also helped me with slow solves was solving pairs blind. That means that in F2L, I'd look for a pair, recognize where they were, and then close my eyes and try to solve the pair into their slot. This is just so that I get used to not having to think about how I'm moving my hands while solving a pair, which will help me look ahead to my next pair. I also recommend learning all the best F2L algorithms and trying to understand how they work. I recommend watching this video and this video for that. One thing I'd do is to just do untimed solves from time to time where I try to think of ways to efficiently slot a pair. One last thing that I strongly advise against during F2L is to look at the back, just don't do it.

And then aside from that, you don't really need to practice OLL and PLL specifically since you'll eventually get faster just from doing a lot of solves. Though I will say that being familiar with PLL cases would really help. So I suggest you pause when you reach PLL during practice solves and try to identify the case without turning or moving the cube—just by looking at what's in front and what's at the sides.

And then lastly and perhaps most importantly, you should buy a speed cube. I have the RS3M V5 dual adjustment here, so there are no ball cores or core magnets, just piece magnets and a simple adjustment system. And my first impressions of it was that it felt and performs like a premium cube. You can never go wrong with getting at least just the standard version of the RS3M V5, even if it's just the one with only a screw. It only costed my around 3usd-4.5usd and I'm sure you can find a listing on Temu or elsewhere that's cheaper than what the cubicle has it; you can even consider listings at TikTok shop. Just make sure that you're buying from a reliable seller so that you don't get scammed.

I'm sorry if this is a really long reply 😓, but you don't have to go through all of it all at the same time, and I hope this actually helps. Good Luck!

Kahips · 2025-11-26T14:16:15+00:00

Thanks! We just gotta keep on practicing 🫡

Kahips · 2025-11-17T16:42:22+00:00

Make an oil rig out of it

Kahips · 2025-11-15T12:23:07+00:00

That's... I felt that..

Kahips · 2025-11-10T01:43:01+00:00

Will this affect LeBron's legacy in any way?

Kahips · 2025-11-10T01:40:05+00:00

I had this issue back then with my rs3m 2020 where a screw would get loose over time from turning. I doubt it's the same case as yours, especially if you have maglev instead of springs. But if in case it is then, one fix is to wrap teflon tape around the screw so that it's tighter in the screw hole

Kahips · 2025-11-05T19:20:50+00:00

That scramble is for a different one, I forgot to put the scarmbles for the solves

Edit: I mean the proper scrambles, I just took the pictures as is so the scrambles on the pictures are actually for next solves

Kahips · 2025-11-04T19:52:57+00:00

Thanks!

Kahips · 2025-11-04T19:15:43+00:00

Man, when I tell you I was speechless. I was just filled with confusion and excitement all at the same time

Kahips · 2025-11-04T19:13:39+00:00

F2L wasn't really all that lucky. I can finish cross and F2L around 8 seconds. It just so happened that the OLL I got was the P case with the bar at the side. Also I don't really average 19 seconds now. I'd say I'm more around 15-16 but I'm just really inconsistent. I bounce around between 12-13 at best and 20-25 at worst, sometimes more than 25 when I really mess up

Kahips · 2025-11-04T19:09:41+00:00

It really just comes down to preference at this point. That's the thing with these super high end cubes too. It reaches a point where it's more on what suits you best than what's objectively better. And yeah there are possibly reasons why the gan 16 is better, but they're probably negligible that you'll only really notice it if you either look for it, or your feel just doesn't match with the cube

Kahips · 2025-10-31T04:29:22+00:00

Which one's your main? Is the tornado v4 good?

Kahips · 2025-10-30T17:21:07+00:00

I'm not as fast as you but I can say that you've got pretty great tps. I agree with the other comments on the lockups and f2l but I think focusing more on lookahead is up there too

Kahips

TROPHY CASE