When I put a wide bearing on my YYJ Classic, it doesn’t bind. No matter what I do. I throw it, do a front mount, then cross the loop and string and try to tag and noting happens. The yoyo doesn’t catch…
When I use the normal bearing, it binds fine, so I assume the rings are good. But even then, this happens only at high speed. If I let it slow down (or if I snap start) it doesn’t bind.
Any tips?
Are you binding from a front mount, or a back mount?
Your front mount is for brain twister and such, but to bind, you need to hop off and hop on the other side of the string. Maybe that will help? Still not quite sure what you’re doing wrong, as we can’t see it. Maybe post a video if you’re able?
I do it from front mount (my throw hand is closer to my body). This works great at high speeds. With the under mount, I get tangles (the yoyo winds around the loop instead of eating it)
Try re watching the bind video.
You don’t bind in a front mount.
You reverse it first, then bind.
I think that’s the problem, but maybe a better yo-er will come along in a minute.
That would be almost any yo-er…
No… if you’ve done a front trick and then a front bind, you’re still doing it right. 
Are you pinching the string when you bind? Assuming you’ve done a front throw, get into the bottom mount (TH closest to body, Non-TH holding the loop on the front side of the yoyo’s gap). Pinch the loop with the NTH forefinger and thumb. The entire loop is between your finger tips at that point (it’s not “around” your forefinger anymore). Make sure your pinch is nice and light-- just enough to hold the loop in place. Start pulling the TH up and back a bit. You can go as slow as you want (better than going too fast!). Do not let go of the pinch until bind happens.
Assuming you’re in at least a bit of a “V” shape (not totally straight up and down), you have to be TRYING to hit yourself in the NTH. More likely when the bind hits, it will pull the loop out of your pinch and the yoyo will go towards your TH for the catch.
No matter how many times I tell newcomers “don’t let go of your pinch until the bind actually happens… it’ll just pull the yoyo out from between your fingers!” people still drop the loop. Do not let go of that pinch!
For the love of Zeus, do not let go of that pinch!
I’m not sure of much advice other than that if the string isn’t grabbing at all. There a lot more tips/tricks for better binds, but that’s not the issue here. Watch more video and then try to really pay attention to what you may be doing wrong in relation to them. Not even the hint of a bind is strange. You have to be missing a key element here like letting go of the pinch too early to get no catch at all.
What sort of string are you using?
I have a Velocity (narrow bearing) and learned to bind with it in “pro mode.”
Once I got my MYY N12 with its wide bearing, after I used the factory string and replaced it with one I already had it didn’t bind well at all. In fact, it would sometimes not grab at all until I learned to be really careful.
If you don’t have a solid bind, a really unresponsive yoyo might seem like its not binding at all.
Are both response pads still there?
Like some of the other basic techniques, binding can be one of the harder things to learn, so don’t be discouraged!
A couple of notes:
*When you throw a forward toss or an around-the-world, the yoyo is spinning the opposite way from what it does when you do a regular sleeper, which means that you’ll need to bind backwards (the same way you would if you snap hand-started.) This may seem obvious to some people, but I spent a lot of time in frustration before I realized that I was doing it backwards on those throws.
You must be talking about push/hand starts. Snap starts are spinning in normal front direction and require a normal front bind.
You are totally correct. previous post has been edited.
I apologize if I’m necro-ing unacceptably, but I had this exact issue with my YYJ classic upgraded, so I feel like it’s relevant. Even if OP has already figured it out, it may be helpful to others who come across this.
The trick for me was to start out by lowering my throw hand very close to the yoyo after mounting, and make sure to pinch the string with my opposite hand, then pulling up with my throw hand and letting go of the pinch.
You have to let go of the pinch after you start pulling, and you need to make sure the string between the yoyo and your throw hand has no slack before you let go of your pinch (you’ll feel the resistance of the string starting to wind.)
The timing of everything can be tricky, so it helps to start with slow and intentional movements and speed them up as you practice.