A fishing industry secret?

[Riprap]

No doubt many of you have read the latest issue of SA Bass:



I have some older reels that could really do with some fine tuning and upgrading so I looked into the superior bearing replacement story here:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-applications/fishing-reel/bearings">http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-app ... l/bearings</a><!-- m -->

The cost factor is a bit of a deterrent and standard manufacturer bearings are readily available. Can anyone vouch for the effectiveness of going this route?

[Whitts]

Riprap I guess it would depend on whether you're planning to go the ceramic route or their standard range. If ceramic then I would say its worth the money, ceramics are really taking over in the bicycle market etc. But if you're going to be using the standard range for your reels I'd just stick to a decent brand, as you say, they're readily available and the price is generally lower. Just stay away from the chinese rubbish.My 20 zim dollars.

[Josvanheerden]

There is a chap locally who does the same thing and the okes here in KZN only have good reviews. Here is a link to his site <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.darksidetuning.com/">http://www.darksidetuning.com/</a><!-- m -->

[Riprap]

Thanks guys.
Jos - their site is down for upgrade, any other details?

[Josvanheerden]

His name is Mike Hassaan - I will see if I can get you his contact number.

[Josvanheerden]

his email address is mikeh at darksidetuning dot com

Send him a mail and he could possibly send you some more details.

[Whitts]

I spoke to him a while back via email and he knows his story. His custom reels also look wicked.

[Bassaholic]

Yip , Mike Hassan is the guru in SA when it comes to super tunning or hyper tunning your reels. His contact no is zero828five15six76.

But be warned. From what I am told, when your reels come back, it will be like learning to cast with a bait caster all over again as the line just peels off the reel with minimal casting effort. Tighten all your casting control adjusments to the maximum and replace you expensive line with cheap line until you master the art of casting with a super tunned reel.

[OldTimer]

Running orange seal ceramics in all my casting reels and it is worth the extra costs.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bocabearings.com/search.aspx?ComponentItemID=17940&ProductGroupID=51">http://www.bocabearings.com/search.aspx ... GroupID=51</a><!-- m -->
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit12218">http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit12218</a><!-- m -->

you will notice a reasonable price increase between the ABEC 5 and the ABEC 7 bearings but the difference in casting is not that big between the 2. I have brought in bearings from VXB as well and it is the same quality.

[Riprap]

Aha, very interesting stuff - so it has been a secret!
The price of ceramic bearings for replacement almost equal the reel cost!
Do any of the current top quality reels come out with ceramic bearings from new?

The 5 & 7 I would imagine is the bearing tolerance?

[OldTimer]

The 5 & 7 I would imagine is the bearing tolerance?

I hope this will help :
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.lushlongboards.com/workshop/abec-ratings-explained-c-199_200.html">http://www.lushlongboards.com/workshop/ ... 9_200.html</a><!-- m -->

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABEC_scale">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABEC_scale</a><!-- m -->

[Riprap]

Thanks OldTimer. Herewith some more info:

"Ball bearings are rated in a classification system know as ABEC....Annular Bearing Engineering Committee. Bearings in the ABEC system are all called 'precision bearings' and rated from 1 to 9, 9 being the highest precision. The numbers jump from 1 to 3 to 5 to 7 to 9. A 'standard' bearing is an ABEC 1, a super expensive bearing is an ABEC 9. Shimano's come stock with an ABEC 3 bearing in them. Because these are a very fast bearing, they are also a little noisier than stock. Chances are you won't notice while you're fishing, just a nice 'whirrrr' to them."

The more and heavier oil you use on bearings, the slower they are!

[Riprap]

This may or may not be applicable but the principles are the same and makes for interesting reading:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.realsreels.com/servicing/ReelTuningoldAmbassadeurs.pdf">http://www.realsreels.com/servicing/Ree ... adeurs.pdf</a><!-- m -->

[Riprap]

....and some bearing and lubrication info.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-info/fishing-reel-bearing-maintenance-installation-guide">http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-inf ... tion-guide</a><!-- m -->

[breedesmallie]

I've read artickles about anglers buying the cheaper baitcasters, finetuning them, pollish certain parts and replace the bearings and they are as good as the top models. They let it even custom paint.