Duncan Freehand Zero Modified by Alex Franke
Reviewed by Chris Rhoads
May 21, 2010
Introduction
Modding has been around for quite some time. Just like any other hobby on the market, there is always going to be a group of people that want to take what is stock and improve upon it. Today we are looking at a mod from forum regular Alex Franke, Cyclontzy on all the major forums. Pretty much everyone has heard of him, or heard from him. Alex is a very knowledgeable and outspoken person in the community. So much so that he has been affectionately given Troll status on the Extreme Spin forums, a badge that he wears with pride. Relatively recently, Alex decided to enter the modding arena and began selling his own brand of modified wares. Now the big question, do Alex’ modified yo-yos have what it takes to stand out in what is becoming a crowded field?
Specs
- Diameter: 57.15 mm
- Width: 38.10 mm
- Gap: 2.85 mm
- Weight: 64.60 grams
- Bearing: A-Sized cleaned bearing
- Response: Black RTV Silicone
Construction
The first thing that immediately came to mind when I pulled the Freehand Zero from the post office mailer was the attention to detail that went into making look like a minty fresh store product. It would have been easy to for Franke to remove the yo-yo and discard the packaging. Instead, he cut on the underside of the retail bubble package and slid the yo-yo out for modding, then when finished he slid it back. All of this went into retaining that “retail” look. After carefully removing it from the package I immediately noticed the first mod done to this FHZ. The white caps are not the normal white molded plastic that you see on a stock FHZ. Instead, they are clear caps that have been painted white on the underside. The paint gives an extra bit of depth to them that you otherwise do not see on stock FHZ side caps. Moving on to the body of the yo-yo, it has your typical FHZ look; a very rounded and classic butterfly shape. You will not see the next major modification until you open this yo-yo up. Upon doing so you will notice that the sticker lip, the guide molded into the plastic for installing a sticker response, has been removed. In place of the lip and sticker area there is an extremely well implemented silicone recess channel that has been expertly carved into the yo-yo by Franke. Both mods are very well thought out and look like they were always a part of the yo-yo. It is always a sign of a great modder when their mods are executed in a way that it is hard to tell what was done to the product. In this case, his look factory installed. As for the rest of the yo-yo, the color is flawless, no blotches or inconsistencies in the plastic. The only marks in the plastic are the tell talk marks of an injection mold plastic product. All in all, a stock looking Freehand Zero with extra touches of class all around.
Weight
This Freehand Zero is no different from a stock Freehand Zero when it comes to the weight department. It is highly center weighted, just like my daughters Higby FHZ and plays very stable. It has a good deal of spin to it but it is a plastic so anyone who started off with metals should not expect the spin times of a metal yo-yo. I know that last part is a no brainer for most but there are some out there that have never played a plastic.
Response and Bearing
The newly implemented response is what this yo-yo is all about. On a stock Freehand Zero the response is a pair silicone stickers that sit on the gap of the yo-yo, causing a stock FHZ to play tug responsive. The modified response is carved into the gap of the FHZ and filled with black RTV silicone; allowing for super tight binds and dead unresponsive play.
The bearing is a stock Duncan bearing that has been cleaned. It gives a great amount of spin and stays relatively quiet in the yo-yo. Not much to say about it, the bearing works and it works well.
Playability
To be honest, I was never a big fan of the stock Freehand Zero. I think it comes from the fact that when I got into 1A play I started with a YoYoFactory Velocity set with just enough response to teach me how to bind and then I upgraded quickly to a Lyn Fury that I siliconed 10 minutes after I opened it. I just never got into responsive 1A play. I have played my daughter’s FHZ quite a bit and I like the feel but I just could not get past the responsiveness. That all changed after I played this modified Freehand Zero. The unresponsive nature of the yo-yo is a joy to play even for a metal hound like myself. It weaves quickly in and out of tricks with ease. I have been able to pull off all the hooks, hops, and long combos that I would normally do on my Flying V. Just about the only thing I can’t do with a Freehand Zero is grind. The surface is a sticky plastic and the caps block access to any sort of IRG that is contain within.
Final Thoughts
I am not a fan of plastic yo-yos but I am looking at picking up a Freehand Zero from Alex Franke in the near future, this should give you an indication of how I feel about the mod. He took, what I considered to be a ho-hum yo-yo and transformed it into a yo-yo that I wouldn’t mind putting into my pool of daily carries. His mods are superbly implemented and the play is vastly improved due to their presence. If you are looking to add a Freehand Zero to your collection I would recommend you talk to Alex about commissioning one of his works.
