Frequently asked questions about cubes and speedcubing

Here we answer all your questions about the cube and speedcubing in the form of a short answer and sometimes a link to a longer blog post. If you can’t find an answer to your cube question, write a comment and we’ll take care of it!

Most speedcubes have a screw in the center on each side of the cube. Simply lift the center cap located over the screw, and use a screwdriver to tighten or loosen the screws to adjust the cube. Try to aim for even settings on all side to aviod one side being more loose than the others. The more you unscrew the screws, the faster and lighter they will feel. But be careful; if you unscrew them too much, the puzzle will become more prone to popping. In case of popping, the cube is not broken but you just have to put the pieces back into the cube again.

Modern speedcubes can often be adjusted in more ways than just using the screw. Sometimes, the tension of the spring can be adjusted to make the cube feel faster or slower, but without it being more or less prone to popping. The magnet strength can also be adjusted on some models. As adjustment options vary greatly between models, you should look at the product page of your desired puzzle to see what adjustment options it has.

Almost all speedcubes and puzzles we sell have springs that, together with the screw, are attached to the core of the cube. Directly from the factory, these can sometimes squeak and make noise when you turn the cube. To avoid this, you need to lubricate the core of the cube. Simply remove the center caps to make the screw and the spring visible. From here, the fastest way is to put some heavier silicone lube (i.e. Traxxas 50k) directly under the screw and on the spring. For the best result however, we recommend taking the components apart before lubing the contact points between the screw, spring, washer and plastic before putting the components back into the cube.

Almost all fast Speedcubers use magnetic cubes. For beginners, it doesn’t matter that much though. Nowadays, most speedcubes only come in magnetic options, but if a non-magnetic option is available, it will usually be cheaper. If you plan on speedsolving a lot with the cube, or even start to compete at speedcubing competitions, we definitely recommend investing in a magnetic speedcube.

“Dual Adjustment” is a concept popularized by MoYu, and seen in most of their speedcubes in recent years, including the best-seller MoYu RS3M 2020. This means that there is not only a screw under the center piece cap, but also some form of systems to adjust the spring strength of the cube. How this system works can look very different among different models and companies, but we can take MoYu’s popular implementation as an example.

To begin with, you can use the screw itself to adjust how tightly the cube should be screwed. If you loosen the screw, the cube’s pieces will slide less tightly against each other, which gives it a looser feeling. It will reduce the friction between the pieces and make the cube faster (with improved corner cutting), but also increases the risk of pops and corner twists. If, on the other hand, you tighten the screw, the same effect reverses. The cube becomes tighter and slower, but more corner twist and pop proof.

An adjustment of the spring strength, on the other hand, has no effect on the cube’s likelyhood to pop. Instead, it will only affect how fast or slow (controllable) the cube will feel. On MoYu’s 3×3 cubes, this adjustment is done using a small blue included tool and the blue ring that surrounds the screw under each center piece. In position 0 (the starting position) the spring is as long as it can be, and the cube will feel very fast. For each step that the ring is turned counterclockwise though, the spring will be compressed, causing the spring force to increase and the cube to feel more and more controllable. There are eight steps on MoYu’s cubes, and when you have gone through these 8 settings, the ring slides back to position 0 again. This makes it very easy to adjust how fast or controllable the cube should feel without having to risk more frequent pops, which has made the system very popular with speedcubers worldwide. The ability to adjust both the screw (sometimes called, for example, center travel or axis distance) and spring strength is also what gave rise to the name “Dual Adjustment”.

Most speedcubes these days come with small magnets pre-installed inside the puzzle. In addition to that, more and more flagships are starting to come in what is commonly referred to as “MagLev” design. This means that there are two ring magnets around the screw that repel each other, instead of the spring that usually sits there. This solves the problem with spring noise (see above), which can otherwise be quite annoying on some products. In addition, it reduces the amount of maintenance needed to keep the cube performing at its peak level, and generally makes the cube a bit faster than it’s non-MagLev counterpart.

However, there are also certain disadvantages with MagLev, which means that the choice between “regular” springs and MagLev is not always obvious. Firstly, MagLev cubes are always more expensive than the standard version, a price difference of around € 3-8. Many of today’s speedcubes are already naturally incredibly fast, where the MagLev variant can unfortunately have the opposite effect and make the cube uncontrollably fast instead. Finally, the ability to cut corners (corner cutting) often decrease a bit with MagLev compared to without.

Magnetic cubes (with edge to corner magnets) have taken the cubing world by storm ever since they were first released. So-called “Ball Cores” are, however, a new phenomenon that is becoming more and more common in the best speedcubes on the market, those that are supposed to be flagship-quality puzzles, adapted for competition solving. Here, the cube has been given a small ball at the very core with eight magnets directed towards the corners. In the base of the corner pieces there are also magnets attached, which are attracted to the magnets in the ball-shaped core. It provides an enhanced magnetic feel that is appreciated by many speedcubers.

Note that some models (eg the MoYu WeiLong WR M V9 3×3 Ball Core) have not only attracting core to corner magnets, but also repelling edge to core magnets. The principle is the same as above, with the difference being that the magnets attached under the edge piece repels the magnets of the core. This causes the cube to constantly strive to return to its cubic shape when you are in the middle of a move, and gives the layer an extra push in the right direction when a move is about to be completed. This gives an even stronger magnetic feel, and makes it almost impossible to get lockups due to a layer being in the wrong position when you want to start the next move.

UV coating has recently been popularized by companies like GAN and MoYu as a way to make flagship quality puzzles even more luxurious. UV coating means that a protective varnish has been added on top of the colored pieces on the outside of the puzzle. This gives your cube a sleek and shiny look that really stands out. In addition, this varnish protects against scratches and other damage, which means that the cube will look new for a longer and extend its lifetime.

You don’t break world records with the beginner’s method. There are a few different methods to make the solution faster where CFOP is the most popular and has been used to break several world records. In addition to CFOP, Roux is another method that has started to gain popularity recently. This method solves the pieces in a different order compared to CFOP, and the method requires a lot more M-moves to finish of the last 6 edges, which is the last step of the method. But many continental records have been set with this method, and even a couple of one-handed solving world records.

Today there are loads of cubes from many different brands, shapes and sizes, all of which are good. Which one is best can vary from person to person. At the link below, we have put together a buying guide to help you find which puzzle will suit you the best.

 

Buying guide

 

Here you can find out which puzzles we recommend here at Cuboss. All WCA-puzzles are included, sorted by different features, selling points and price ranges. In addition, you can find tips on some non WCA-puzzles and speedcube lubes as well.

There are no specific rules for it, but here are some guidelines:
2×2: 50 seconds.
3×3: 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
4×4: 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Buy a speedcube in our online store!

When you turn the cube quickly you will inevitably loose some accuracy. With the classic original cube you had to align the layers before you could make your move. With modern speedcubes the layers can be misaligned and you will still be able to turn the layers. The cube will “cut corners” and snap into place.

Speedcubing is basically solving the cube (or similar puzzles) as fast as possible. But it can also be competitions, experiments and other fun stuff!

 

What is Speedcubing?

 

Speedcubing is the sport that involves solving the Rubik’s cube and similar puzzles in the shortest possible time. Here you can read more about competitions and the exciting events that you can participate in, in addition to solving the classic Rubik’s cube.

The original cube was not made to be solved quickly, you had to sit and figure it out for a long time. Today’s speedcubes are made to be as fast as possible so that it can be used for competition – and the differences are big!

 

What is a Speedcube?

 

In this article, you will learn the major differences between a Rubik’s Cube and Speedcubes. We cover eight different aspects that you can take into account when choosing a cube.

Speedcube lubricants, often called lubes, can be used to produce several different effects. For example, one lube can make the cube slower and another lube can make the cube faster. Feel free to check out our comparison of 20 different lubes below!

A comparison of speedcube lubes

We did a big test at Cuboss where we compared 20 different speedcube lubricants (lubes) and gave them points in different categories. Here you can get a good overview and tips if you are going to buy lube.

No! If you want to figure out how to solve it all by yourself, you need to be very smart. But do like us, learn the methods online and master the cube in just a few days, almost completely without thinking! There are endless resources available online, and the easiest way to learn is likely through YouTube.

A Stickerless cube is a variant of a cube that has no stickers. Instead, the plastic itself on each side has different colors. In other cases, the plastic is a solid color instead, usually black. Until 2015, Stickerless cubes were not allowed at speedcubing competitions. But nowadays, they are completely legal! In fact, around 90% of speedcubers compete with Stickerless cubes, and it is the most popular option by far. Using Stickerless cubes removes the need to care for your stickers on a stickered cube, as those can wear down a bit over time.

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When a cube “pops” it means that one or more pieces fall out of the puzzle. Don’t worry, this does not mean that the cube is broken. Just like a jigsaw puzzle the pieces in your cube is only held in place by the other pieces. You simple need to put the pieces back in place and your cube is good to go again.

How to avoid popping

If your cube pops often your puzzle might be too loose. Every single cube we sell in our shop is adjustable, and to tighten the puzzle all you have to do is tighten a few screws. The screws you can find underneath the six caps on the center pieces. The caps are easily removed by hand. For best result, turn each screw the same amount. Often one or two full turns on each screw will do the trick.


A corner twist is what we call it when a corner turns around its own axis. When a corner turns in place like this the cube will become unsolvable with regular turns. To fix this you must grab a corner piece and turn it into correct position (just like in the gif).

How to avoid corner twists

If you often encounter corner twists it could mean your cube is too loose. To adjust the tension in the cube you have to remove the caps on the centerpieces on each six sides. Underneath them you will find screws. Turn the screws clockwise to tighten the puzzle. For best result, tighten each side the same amount.

My cube is not solved and I think I have a corner twist. How do I know which one to turn?

This might seem a bit odd, but it actually doesn’t matter which corner piece you turn. Only the amount of turns. As you can see in the GIF the corner piece has three positions and one of them is correct. This means that if you turn a corner piece randomly you have a 1/3 chance that the piece will be in the correct position. Now you can try to solve the cube again. If it doesn’t work, turn it one more time and now it should be solvable again. Make sure you always turn the piece the same direction. Another method is to solve the cube up until the last step – in which it should be pretty clear which rotation the piece should have. From a solved position the cube is always solvable again.

There are many different questions related to speedcubing competitions. Thus, we have made a guide that goes through everything you need to know about them. See the article below.

 

A guide to speedcubing competitions

 

On this page you will learn everything from competition instructions to registration and rules. You will also find frequently asked questions and answers related to speedcubing competitions.

⟵ Back to more Speedcubing

6 thoughts on “Frequently asked cubing questions

  1. Nikolai Dyrkolbotn-Brown says:

    i wondered if it is possible to use any lube to any speedcube and which lube should i buy ?

    • Viktor Strindell says:

      Technically yes, but the lubricants have been designed for a specific purpose. So for example you might not want a lubricant that is designed to slow your puzzle down if your puzzle is already slow. I recommend that you take a look at our guide to find the lube you need: https://cuboss.com/speedcube-lube-comparison/

      Two strong recommendations for a general lube is Luboss Drive and Cubicle Silk. 🙂

    • Viktor Strindell says:

      Technically, yes. But low viscosity lubricants won’t last long and you may hear spring noise again after a while. I would also not recommend water based lubricants on metal, since it may corrode.

  2. Matias says:

    Hey! I couldn’t find customer support from anywhere. But anyway, my friend bought a 3×3 cube from here, but when it arrived one of its corner plates was broken. Is it bossible to get a new one?

    • Viktor Strindell says:

      Hello Matias! Yes, absolutely. You can find our contact form on the right side of the main menu (the red one). Or from Customer service in the footer at the bottom of the page.

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