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[Dizzy]

Hello all.

I have a small victory to report.  I successfully executed the cable-car today.  Hooray for me!  I don't know why, but this trick is very aesthetically pleasing to me, so I'm thrilled to add it to my repertoire.  I was able to repeat the trick several times with both a Mexi-Jumbo and a Colors series (Dizzy, of course), but I am thus far unable to manage it with any of Dale's tops. (Practice man, practice)

Thanks as always ta0, for your great instructions and demonstration videos.

And thanks to everyone else for indulging my vanity.  As I said, this trick is particularly appealing to me, and I am forced to brag about my accomplishment to you, my fellow spinners, because you guys know where I'm coming from.  You see, my wife will just grin sadly and shake her head like she always does when I show her the trick, and my 11-month-old son is still too young to appreciate anything but a basic spinner.  (And I think that's just because it gives him a chance to put something from the floor into his mouth-yuck!)

Now if I could only get those regenerations down...

[Apex]

That is awesome.  I have to say that cable car is one of my favorite fixed tip tricks to do and to watch.

[pplgrande]

Congratulations Dizzy, not an easy trick to learn
I feel your pain, my lady isn't interested on trompos either, she looks at me like is a toy, you know a kid can do that
It dosent bother me though, honestly playing with my trompo distracts me from everything else, I can play for hours
Congrats on your progress, when i learned that trick all I can think about is learning Neff's "zorro" trick, very amazing trick

[ta0]

That's great! The cablecar/teleferico is a wonderful trick. Much more appealing than the double wirewalker. From there you could go the Zorro direction or the vertical-teleferico/elevator direction.

[Neff]

Well done sir, keep up the good work.  The wirewalker tricks are among my favorites.
Dale's tips and Rip Cord tips wirewalk very, very fast.  Keep trying with these tips though, it will teach you tension control, which you will need in about 3 months when you are learning Staircase to Heaven.   

[Pulpowsky]

A diabolo shape point will help you with cable car.

Upon its dominated yo could try to do it with the returning behind the head. Espectacular!

[Larry D.]

Congratulations on your achievement!  I have yet to successfully accomplish the cable-car, but will keep practicing and someday will make it too.

Dizzy, you have a talent for writing, you captured the essence of a Top Spinner's plight and aptly put into words feelings I can certainly relate to with a SMILE. 

My wife and daughter are much the same way (Although at 24 my daughter now keeps most things on the floor away from her mouth - I am so glad she outgrew that !)

I spun tops as a kid in the Bronx never knowing that tricks existed ;  Battling with overhand hard throws was all I knew in those days.  I picked it up once again most recently (decades and decades later) and am having a blast learning and catching up.

[ta0]

Welcome as a member, Larry! I am guessing from your post that you have been a lurker for a while 

[the Earl of Whirl]

Yes, welcome Larry D.  Great to have a spinner with New York roots.  You must have some good battling stories from your youth.  I am envious because I never threw a top until I was in my 40's.  Maybe you could also tell us about the group of top spinners you hung around with in the Bronx?  Where did you guys get your tops?  What tops did you throw?

[Larry D.]

Thanks for the welcome ta0 and Mike.  Lurker?  Hummm....never thought of myself as a lurker before...also never thought of myself as a Newbie either (it's kind of flattering at my age!).

I was spinning with the kids in the Bronx in the 1950’s.  Tops were purchased in Mom & Pop Candy stores.  I don't recall any particular brand names They were pretty primitive, cost about 10-15  cents as I recall, wood with nail type tips, painted in primary colors both solid and stripes.  It was rare to see a round tip on a top in those days; we called those tops Dancer's. 

We would sharpen the tips with metal files in the hopes of splitting an opponent's top with a center hit. It did not take long for our tops to show their battle scars, paint chipping and chunks of wood split out.  The older kids (16 and 17 year olds) were devastating in this sport; it took a lot of practice and you trashed a lot of tops trying to compete at their level.  But the victories, although few, were so very sweet.

We played in the street, there was a tow truck company at the bottom of our street and often games were abruptly stopped as we dove for safety every time an tow truck cam barreling out of its garage to reach an accident first.  (Kept us agile!).

Today's tops are a far cry from those of yesteryear.  I particularly enjoy the tops from Spain (Saturno Roller), and I am very anxious to receive my Strummol8s from Maurizio soon.

Thanks again for the welcome.

[Dizzy]

Thanks to everyone out there for the words of encouragement.

I don't know exactly what it is about these crazy tops that we're all so obsessed with, but this sure is one tightly-knit (albeit rather small) group of hobbyists.

Cheers!

[ta0]

Great story Larry, thanks for sharing it. 

The older kids (16 and 17 year olds) were devastating in this sport; it took a lot of practice and you trashed a lot of tops trying to compete at their level.

I guess that's why they say that growing up in the Bronx made you tough 

[Puma]

is any chance than duncan or spintastic make diabolo shape points for their tops?

[poptop]

Nice work Diz!

Got any pointers on how to master this one?  I've struggled with it off and on (without success), but always just moved on to other stuff.

Anyone?

[Dizzy]

Hey there, pops.

Thanks for the props.

Okay, I know that was pretty bad, but I can't help myself sometimes. 

Anyway, the thing that helped me the most was this little blurb taken directly from the instructions written by ta0 in his description/demonstration of the trick:  "Move the hand so the top leans towards the string"

I allow (or force) the top to precess a little bit (not too much) and when the top is almost leaning towards the string I send it on it's way.  You have to act fast here and be prepared in advance because if you wait until the top is leaning directly at the string to send it along, it will likely have precessed too far and it will actually be leaning towards your other hand (not good) by the time you get it moving along the string.  It's kind of like shooting a shotgun at a moving target if you get my drift.

Good luck!