GES/GAN Elasticity System for GAN speed cubes

If you are interested in speed cubes by GAN, you will often notice the term ‘GAN GES’. GES stands for «GAN Elasticity System», a tensioning system for the springs of GAN speed cubes. You still can’t quite picture it? Then we will show you.

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What is the GAN GES (GAN Elasticity System)?

When you hold the GAN cube in your hands, the individual cube pieces can be pulled apart. In some cubes more, less in others. This is because of the set spring tension. The tension of the springs also affects how easy your cube can be turned and how much friction is created between the pieces. In most other speed cubes, screws are used to adjust the tension. With this form of continuous adjustment, it is difficult to set all cube sides to the same elasticity. The speed cubes made by GAN, on the other hand, can be customised very precisely and uniformly in terms of spring tension.

GAN has developed its own tensioning system for this purpose and patented the GAN Elasticity System. That means you won’t find this type of tensioning system in any cube made by any other brand. Aside from the tensioning of the springs, the GAN GES also reduces the noise of the springs during turns. Sounds very promising!

How does the GAN GES work?

The advantage of the GAN cubes with the GES tensioning system is that all cube sides can be adjusted uniformly and precisely. This gives your GAN speed cube a smooth rotation feel.

The GES consists of a GES nut, containing the nut, a spring and a spring cap. The term ‘GES nut’ is a familiar one among speedcubers. The GES nut is available in different tension levels, whereby a different colour is assigned to each level. The colours indicate the elasticity of the springs. You can change the individual nut at the centre piece of your cube.

So far, there are five versions of the GAN GES. Let’s take a closer look at these versions:

GES V1

With this version seven different colours, i.e. seven elasticities of the springs, are available. When you buy a GAN speed cube, its tensioning system already has a GES nut preinstalled. The colour depends on the model and design of the GAN cube. Note from the cubeless team: The GAN cubes that we’ve looked at came mostly fitted with yellow nuts. With some GAN cubes, several colours are included in the delivery. And you can easily buy the other colours separately. This overview shows you the characteristics of each colour:

GAN GES V1: Summary of GES nut colours and elasticities

The colours of the GES nuts help you differentiate between the different spring elasticities:

Purple: This is the weakest spring. The GAN cube can be rotated quickly but is also very flexible and therefore less controllable. The cubelets can be pulled far apart. Corner cutting is not optimal due to the increased risk of popping.

Blue: The GAN speed cube still feels very flexible but does have a higher tension than with the purple GES nuts. The cube pieces can no longer be pulled apart that far. An advantage for corner cutting.

Green: With the green nuts, the GAN cube becomes more controllable and more stable. This tension level gives the twisty puzzle a comfortable rotation feel but it loses speed.

Yellow: The yellow nuts fall into the medium strength category. With this colour, you will get a good median between stability and speed. The cube feels comfortably flexible and is still fast. Yet, you can control the GAN cube even better and corner cutting is no longer a problem.

White and Orange: Past the yellow colour, the GAN cube becomes more and more difficult to turn. Such is the case with the white and orange nuts.

Red: The red nuts give your twisty puzzle the highest spring tension.

This version is compatible with: GAN Air 3x3 and GAN RSC 3x3.

GAN GES V2: Summary of GES nut colours and elasticities

GES V2

In this version, the GES nut is also comprised of three components. The spring is located between the coloured nut and the slightly smaller colourless spring cap. However, there are small differences in the appearance of the nuts. For example, the lower indentation for the spring is smaller. But, the elasticity of each colour is the same as in the GES V1.

The colour that comes with your cube depends on the model and design of the GAN cube. With some GAN cubes, several colours are included in the delivery.

This version is, for example, compatible with: GAN356 Air S and GAN 356 Air SM

GAN GES V3: Summary of the four GES nut colours and elasticities

GES V3

This version differs from versions 1 and 2 in the design of the GES nut and the selection of elasticity levels. The GES V3 is available with four levels instead of seven: purple, blue, green and yellow. With the GES V3, the purple GES nut has, once again, the weakest spring elasticity at 1.8 N. However, the strongest spring is the yellow GES nut with 3.4 N spring elasticity. You can recognise the GES V3 by the fact that the colourless spring cap is put over the coloured nut.

This version is, for example, compatible with: GAN356 Air (2019), GAN356 Air S (2019), GAN356 Air SM (2019), GAN356 R, GAN354 M V2 and GAN356 X (IPG V5).

GAN GES V4: Set with seven GES nuts each in yellow, green, purple or yellow, green and blue

GES V4

The GES V4 is available in two sets with seven nuts per colour: green/yellow/blue and green/yellow/purple. In addition to the colour, you can use the dual adjustment system to adjust the axis distance and the tension of the GES nuts to two other settings: 0.8 mm and 0.6 mm. (These values indicate how much the spring is compressed.) This has an additional effect on the elasticity of the spring. The GES V4 can be recognised by the fact that the spring cap is coloured and put over the clear nut.

This version is, for example, compatible with: GAN356 M, GAN354 V2, GAN356 RS and GAN Pyraminx M.

If you want to equip your GAN cube with additional GES nuts, you can see in the video which effects the different elasticities have on speed solving.

GAN GES V5: Also know as GES Pro. The strength of the blue GES nuts can be adjusted with the GAN GES tool.

GES V5 - GAN GES Pro

This version is also called GAN GES Pro and is based on a different concept. Instead of changing the GES nuts by colour, you set the tension with the number of GES nut turns.

The tensioning system consists of a clear nut, plus a smaller nut in light blue or dark blue. This smaller nut is set into the larger nut. The two colours, in turn, symbolise two tension levels. With the special GAN GES tool, you can adjust the tensions by turning the clear nut.

This version is, for example, compatible with: GAN 356 XS, GAN Skewb M, GAN 11 M Pro, GAN 11 M duo, GAN356 Air M and GAN356 X V2.

How do I change the GAN nuts?

The tensioning system for the springs hides behind the centre piece of your GAN speed cube. Remove the centre cap, and the tensioning system will be revealed.

If a GAN GES tool was included in the delivery, use it to remove the existing GES nuts. If you don’t have a tool, you can also loosen the GES nuts with your fingers. When you are done, all sides of the cube should have a nut of the same colour. Decent speed solving is not going to happen if you installed different elasticities.

Our tip: To help you keep track of which nuts you have already changed, we recommend that you only put the centre caps back on the centre pieces at the end.

Once you removed the GES nut, it becomes possible to detach the entire layer from the core. Don’t be alarmed if, all of a sudden, you hold the outer layer in your hands. You can simply place it back onto the core.

In the GAN video, you can see how the GES nuts are changed, using the GAN356 Air as an example:

Discover GAN Cubes with the product finder

Would you like to discover cubes by the brand GAN? With the cubeless product finder, you can easily find the perfect cube. In the product finder, all cubes and their accessories are clearly displayed on one page. Various filters help you discover our assortment of twisty puzzles and accessories. In addition to selecting the brand option, you can also apply other filters such as surface, product type, magnetisation and colour. Now you can discover the GAN product range with just a few clicks and find the cube you want.

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What is the GES for GAN speed cubes?