I recently recieved a Rubik's deluxe cube from the 80's and manufactured by Ideal Toys. What I'm wondering is does anybody know of these being good speedcubes? I really wanna use it but if they're awful I'll just keep it sealed. Thanks

Lol? No way. Give me this cube and I'll give you 3 speedcubes (of different types) . Don't open it!

Rubik's? Good for speedcubing? Never!

Opening it will devalue it by a bunch

It's more of a collector's piece, so if you want a good speedcube, buy one instead!

Doesn't matter if it is really good(not sure if it is or not), I would keep it sealed for a collectors item, and just buy a speed cube

I have always wondered about the movement with the flat center pieces, though.

The 1980 tiled Deluxe Edition Rubik's Cube by Ideal makes the best speedcube. My fastest solve, 9.5 seconds, was on a deluxe. There are several things that recommend it:

1. The tiles never wear out like stickers do, and unlike a lot of tiled cubes there tiles are aligned and are sunk into the cubies, not just glued to the cubies' surface.
2. Having screws, it can be tuned to turn easily, and stop when you let it do. You don't have to crank on it to turn or stop its motion to go onto the next move.
3. The plastic is thick and hard and smooth, not thin and fragile like almost other cubes.
4. The underside of the centers are arched, which means that the cube doesn't tend to pop edge pieces out.

These are the highest quality cubes that have been made yet.

Cheers,

David J

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Some of my best speedcubes were Rubik's Brand. They work really well with just 10 minutes of modding.

Hi Kyle,

Do some research on this and other forums and you'll find that there are plenty of folks who swear by these cubes as great speed cubes. As far as not opening it to retain it's "collectors value". I say, if you bought it, why not enjoy it?

Mike

And your best times being?

15:41 is my best single, with a 3-look LL and intuitive F2L.

that's....a bit too slow isn't it? Even those who first learned how to solve the cube usually doesn't take more than 5~10 minutes. 15 minutes is a bit too far...

I believe he means 15.41.

Oops. Yeah thats what I meant. Its not much of 'speed'solving it if takes 15 minutes with 3-look.

I'm sorry, but I fail to see how best times are really all that relevant in this situation. It might back up a point to a certain extent, but I would not base too much of my judgment on it. I could have the best speedcube in the world, but it would still probably take me 45 seconds to solve it.



From the point of a collector, it would be very foolish to open it to play with. By breaking that gold seal, the puzzle would have devalued by as much as half, if not more.

I have owned two deluxe edition cubes, and they turn terribly "unmodified". Comparing it to a store-bought 3x3 right out of the box, the current store-bought cube would turn much better. I haven't tampered with any of mine to see if they would turn better as I have a DIY cube that I was extremely pleased with, but I honestly can't see what can be done to improve it greatly.

A cheaper alternative to the Deluxe Edition cube would be to buy a Rubik's Game. The cube utilizes the deluxe mechanism and has tiles, the only difference is that it has holes in the tiles for pegs. Perhaps you could experiment with that to see if you are satisfied with how it turns out before you make any decisions?

Just throwing out some suggestions...
Ben

I just put silicone spray into my friend's storebought cube that was quite bad beforehand, and beat my record with it! 20 seconds!

Alex

In the old days cubes were tightened by hand and some of the Deluxe cubes were too tight. The screws can be adjusted and then then they are superb. Some are incredible with no adjustment.

The Rubik's Game suggestion is a good one.

David J

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There were a couple of these on ebay a few weeks ago.
I was so close to winning but got sniped by the same guy on both cubes at the last second.

I never have any luck with these auctions.

They were new in the cylinder package and went for ~ $50.

It can't be as fast as a guhong or a Yj or a memory cube.
It is not meant for being a speed cube just leave it sealed!

I just took a look at the bidding for the Deluxe with the yellow center logo: 2**a bid 5 times and m**m bid 8 times, both unnecessarily bidding in the fashion used in another kind of auction.
Considering that in the last several actions, before those two, the sealed Deluxe cubes went for between about $125 and $350 why did they bid so little?
The person who outbid you bid once and gave you no chance to counter.
If others are given a chance to nibble away and find your top bid, you end up paying more if you win it. Offhand I'd say make up your mind what you are willing to pay and snipe.

Good luck next time.

David J

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Here was a Deluxe for $50:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dl ... SS:US:1123

DJ

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Indeed, those cubes are quite good for solving. But they stopped me from using it
at one of the speedsolving competitions, because of the tile-regulation.

Oh well... maybe they were afraid I was going to break the world record!
(it takes me an average of two minutes to solve it)




Pantazis


PS. Note that I am not making fun of the judge (who is also a good friend of mine)
and the regulations (which are as good as they can get). I am just denoting that it
cannot be used at official competitions.

An official Rubiks Cube is not permitted at a Rubiks Cube Solving competition because it is not meeting the requirements of what it ought to look like.
Cheers,
Burgo.

Faced with this restriction a speed solver would pop off the tiles and resticker it.

Boy am I glad you're not a speed solver Pantazis

Dave

LOL me too Dave, me too (and for many more reasons besides the Deluxe Cube).




Pantazis