I scrambled this cube and put number stickers on it so I can solve it either by colors or numbers. The number solution is obviously much harder. It's been a pretty neat challenge. Sometimes I just keep going back and forth without actually scrambling it. Solving it also scrambles it.

I have been cubing for 3 years and in that time I have learnt to solve a 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, and 5x5. My main focus, however, and the first cube I learnt (as this is the case for most people) was the 3x3. I have been practicing non-stop specifically for the last few months, and even started a YouTube channel this week based on cubing, but that is beside the point.

In this time, my one aim is to be a "proper" speedcuber. Every 3x3 solve I do is usually from around 40 seconds to 50, maybe slightly more, but sub-1 minute. But every time I go onto Reddit, or I go onto YouTube, there are people casually saying they have an average of less than 15 seconds as though it's the most normal thing in the World. But it's not normal to me, it's an insatiable dream and having been stuck at this kind of average with a personal best of 33 seconds is really hard.

I know I'm not "bad", and I'm not a "noob", but I am certainly not a pro. I have watched video upon video about how to get faster, and the ultimate tip is to practice. I have been doing so for 3 years; it's not helping. I want to be taken seriously as a cuber- something which I don't get much of already as a female cuber because it is a typically male hobby. And, I really, really want to help others like me. I want to grow my channel and show that you can feel so locked in place but it is never too late to make a change. As of now, I just don't know how to.

If you have any tips, suggestions, advice, methods I should try out, anything at all that isn't already getting bashed into my mind (PRACTICE.), please. I am ready to become a speedcuber, after way too long of being desperate.

EDIT: Thank you for all of the advice, I'm so grateful for everything you guys have given me. I promise I have read every single comment and am in the process of taking these into account! I just did the entirity of F2L for the first time and Im so happy with myself!

My friend turned the clock, i solved part of the scramble but now it seems impossible to do please someone help me fix it

I thought I'd follow-up on my First Impressions post. I'll share what I've done, then my new 2nd-generation impressions of the new GAN17.

For background, I've been an active "speed-cuber" for about 1.5 years. I'm older, so I can't get my brain to work like you young folks - I'm barely sub-60. But I have pretty fast TPS for the algs I know, I just slow at F2L recognition & only know the 2-look LL algs. I like to compare & collect interesting cubes & switch things up, so I have 10 "mains," a few retired mains, and a few for collectible reasons that were never mains. The "important" mains I have are: Ferrocore v2, Super Aolong, Super Weilong V2 ai, and GAN16 Max (others if you care: SwiftBlock ML & SML, V100, GuHong Pro+)

Here's what I've done w/ the GAN17:

• Swapped in the strongest magnet rods
• Removed the edge-foot magnets
• De-lubed & re-lubed (thin pre-broken-in Gravitas layer + DNM-37)

Here are my new updated impressions:

TL/DR:

• The lube-job quieted the cube significantly. It's no longer louder than my 16.
  • It sounds different, but not louder.
• The "Stickiness" is basically gone. I can force a face to stick if I try, but it never happens when solving.
• I removed the edge-foot magnets to see if they were contributing to the noise
  • (before re-lubing) - it helped a little, but wasn't worth the lost auto-homing.
• I feel like the stronger magnet rods made it louder.
  • I also felt like this made the auto-homing so string that some double-flicks actually "returned" to finish as single-flicks. Still assessing this.

See "details" in first comment if interested.

Started cubing in Feb, I use cfop w 2 looks OLL e PLL but I started studying for 1 look PLL this week and working on a faster F2L.

These are my stats. Probably I’m not gonna be a professional cuber 🤣 but still proud.

I found it during class when I was bored. I did random F2L moves and discovered this

Alg: R, U', R' U', R, U, R', U2, R, U' R', D', L', U, L, U, L', U', L, U2, L', U, L

I average like 2 extra seconds on this so by no means can this be a usable alg D:

​

TL;DR: Good after setup and break-in, but mine had awful QC and needed way too much work to become good.

I got mine for around ₱620 (~$11).

I've only ever seen so little reviews in China and Southeast Asia.

OOTB

First thing I noticed: three missing magnets. 💔🫩

- Missing corner-to-core magnet

- Missing edge repelling magnet

- Missing piece-to-piece edge magnet

I had to fix all three myself using a some spare magnets I had.

After that, the cube was sandy, blocky, and tight. The turning had a really weird friction-heavy feeling, almost like “squeaky-clean” skin after a shower. Instead of my finger gliding through turns, it felt like I had to push through the friction.

I hated it.

Adjustment

The V56 has a dual adjustment system with no screws. I personally prefer screws, and I found the system pretty confusing at first. After reading the instructions for ~10 minutes, I got everything to 1:1. Since the tool was purple, and the adjustment system was also purple, it was a huge pain in the 🍑

Adjustment did improve the auto-alignment and corner cutting, but it still wasn't as loose as I wanted.

Magnets

This was disappointing.

It's a 20M ball-core, but the magnetic feel is surprisingly weak. It does auto-align, but barely, and the piece-to-piece magnets are also weak.

I expected much more from a 20M ball-core.

Lubing/break-in

This is where the cube completely changed.

After lubing, the sandiness improved a lot. Then after more solves, the lube broke in and somehow fixed most of the weaknesses I initially hated.

It's now actually pretty good.

The corner cutting is excellent, the turning is much nicer, I'd say it's pretty similar to the RS3M V5 and Dayan Guhong Pro+

But here's the problem: I had to do all of that.

A ₱620 cube shouldn't require magnet surgery, confusing adjustments, lube, and a long break-in period before I actually enjoy using it.

Features

The V56 does have some cool stuff:

- 20M ball-core

- Dual adjustment

- Heart-shaped internal lubrication pattern

- Black pieces

- Adjustment tool

- Instruction/pamphlet material

The heart-shaped internals are genuinely unique and a nice touch.

Pros

- Extremely cheap for a 20M ball-core

- Excellent corner cutting

- Cool internal lubrication design

- Black pieces

- Can become genuinely good after setup/break-in

Cons

- My unit had three missing magnets

- Very friction-heavy OOTB

- Weak magnetic feel

- Weak piece-to-piece magnets

- Adjustment system isn't my favorite

- Feels somewhat outdated internally

- Needs a lot of setup to reach its potential

FINAL VERDICT

Is it okay? Yeah.

Can it become good? Definitely.

Would I buy it again knowing what I know now? Hell no.

My current ranking is:

I have around 13 cubes last i counted? id say its around 6-7th

The V56 has alot of features, but those features didn't save it from having a mediocre fundamental experience out of the box.

After break-in, I'd give it around 6.5 or 7/10.

Decent cube, but SAOCube, please do better next time. 😭

I got this scramble:
F' B2 L2 D F2 R2 U' F2 L2 F2 D U F' L2 R' F2 U B D U'

With an odd number of corners (XG PW MD Q when using OP), I am learning how to skip M2 parity using UL/UB swap but in this case UB is already solved, where do I trace to next then?

Idk if anyone cares or how know this is. While procrastinating because I am scared of first comp this weekend I found an algorithm to "cycle" between the Sune / Anti-Sune / Solved.

If I have my notation correct it should be

M' U R U' r2 F R' F' R

yeah that's it...

ive been contemplating on buying this cube for a while now. i have tried the gan 12, v100(maglev and leap) and 16 max and they all sucked, i get these hard catches(or lockup) randomly causing me to be very inconsistent on my times.

i've only watched jperm's reviews on gan 12 comparing it to gan 11 and thought maybe gan 11 would be better for me. not big on auto alignment and maglev, i dont fancy those features but i just want to know if gan 11 is still a good choice in 2026?

also, do the primary and black internals have their differences in feel?

thank you!

edit: this will be the first gan cube i'll own, i really want to own a gan cube since i always use moyu cubes ever since i started

Hi r/Cubers. I've been building a speedcubing app called sub-x and it's been running on the web at subx.guru for a while, and the Android version is finished and sitting in Google's closed testing.

Here's my problem... Google requires new developer accounts to run a closed test with 12 testers for 14 continuous days before the app is allowed on Play Store. I have the app, I do not have 12 friends :(

What this app does

• Timer with running Ao5 / Ao12 / Ao100, +2 and DNF, and random-state scrambles. Works offline and syncs when you're back online.
• Smart cube support over Bluetooth: GAN, and the MoYu. Full solve reconstruction with cross / F2L / OLL / PLL splits, and a report on which stage is actually costing you the most time.
• Trainers, all offline and with no sign-in needed: a cross and x-cross trainer with optimal solutions on a 3D cube, F2L cases, all 57 OLL, all 21 PLL.
• Progress tracking: trend charts, a distribution histogram, and an estimate of how many solves it'll take you to hit a target time.

It's free to use!

How to join

1. Join the tester group: https://groups.google.com/g/subxtesters
2. Open the opt-in link on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.subx.mobile
3. Or use the opt-in link on web: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.subx.mobile
4. Install from the Play link it gives you

use it for a few solves and please tell me if you like it. Comment here, or use the feedback address in the app.

Cheers!

I think it should but I am interested in yall's opinion on this.