Lew's Tournament Pro, Inside Out!

[Boogey Man]

Didn't remove the spool pin so no chance I damaged it. Didn't over tighten the tension knob. Did not remove drag star until it quit clicking and that was to see what the problem was. Maybe we should just agree to disagree that while these are good reels they may be the be-all-end-all of reels.

[aavery2]

First let me say that I service reels also, I assure you I have the correct tools to do the job, and a bent spool shaft is not what was causing the loss of distance in casting.    Two of the reels I had experienced the same issue as mentioned the clicking feature of the drag star broke.  while that in itself is not that big of a deal, the real problem was that without the extra tension that the click provided the drag star was very easy to move and even a slight bump would loosen the drag.  Lews does not have the parts needed to repair the click listed in their schematics and a call was made to get the necessary parts, good customer service by the way.  Sometime when you are cleaning your reel disassemble that area of the reel and you will see why that part is prone to breaking,  very poor design.     

 

I use only the highest quality lubricants and greases to service my customers and my reels,  TSI 301, Tungsten disulfide, Cal's and Rocket Fuel and many others that I use on occasion depending on how and where the reel will be used.   I completely disassemble the reels and wash them with safety clean, and rinse them in water, other parts are further cleaned and flushed in one of my ultrasonic cleaners, so I don't believe maintenance or lack of it was the cause either.  

 

What I did notice was after about a year the reels started becoming rough during the retrieve, when I serviced the reels, it was easy to see why, there was wear on the main gear that was visible to the naked eye, the pinion did not show the same even when examined with a jewelers loop, it looked to be normal.   The loss of casting distance was in my opinion attributed to the spool shaft ends very rough.  When examined closely they looked as if a beaver had gnawed them off to the correct length, after continued use they damaged the tension disks and there was a loss of  casting distance.   I polished the shafts and replaced the tension disks and the reels did cast better but never as well as they did  when new.

 

This is not a post to bash Lews reels, I like them, I think they are among the best in their respective price group, but to make them out to be something with exacting tolerances, better bearings and components   then their competitors is not what I experienced.  

 

The Lews, Abu Garcia and BPS reels and made in Korea by a company named Doyo Engineering, you use to be able to go to their website and check them out.

[PABASS]

This is the very reason why I quickly jumped off the LEWs bandwagon, after using there spinning gear its plain to see these reels are not meant to last, when competitors are all charging a certain price for there reels and one company comes in sometimes much cheaper with better features there has to be a reason why, longevity, quality the more time passes the more quality issues will rise, I foresee anyway.  My Calcutta 251 bought in 1997 and I still use it today and it performs like it did in the past, my Stradic, purchased in 1996 I believe, still use it every outing it has been abused though by me lol..

[Capt.Bob]

Thanks for the info aavery2!! I hope you don't think I am accusing you of bashing as that is far from my reason for  answering your post, or asking questions. I also don't want you think I am accusing you of creating the problems, and after your last post have no reason to think it was abuse of any kind. But you know as well as me, there are many who think they are doing right and are actually the cause. 

 

I also am not insinuating that Lew's can't make a dud reel, I am sure they do have their share, and that is why they have a warranty. I personally would have contacted Rick and can positively state from working with him many times, you would have had new reels or at least they would have had any questionable part replaced once they were found to be in the state your telling us. No one in the industry has been better to work with than Lew's for me. Then if you were still sorry with your purchase recovered all your money for the hassle, and that is what I would have done the first year let alone 1/2 year. Like I said I was very interested in the cause, as my TP, the only one I have, is my test reel that I am using to judge the Lew's reels. I make sure it's not babied and not over serviced and a reel world test. I only own one because after buying the Team, like it much better and have 4, as well as most other models.

 

I am more confused now after you stated your findings, as the only thing to put wear on the end of the spool shaft is plastic on the tension cap side as they don't use a wear shim for a bearing surface like most, and to me this is an area I have been watching closely, as I would think the shaft would wear it and could be a quality issue, not vise versa, and I do think this is an area that should have been protected with a fiber or copper bearing surface, (shim or wear plate whatever). But it sounds like if it is not wearing out, and the shaft is what is wearing,,,, well why is plastic that tough and at the same time that abrasive to the Stnl. Stl. shaft???? On the other end is a fiber synthetic material that the shaft uses for a bearing surface to eliminate wear on the spool shaft end and I could see how the wrong fiber synthetic could be the wrong material for this. But it seems to be the same materiel some others use in this application without problems?? They use this method of end bearing surface on all their reels, that I have or have serviced. I am also baffled as if the shaft was that way from the start you would have surely seen or noticed it casting poorly to begin with, or if you serviced it from the start. I looked mine over closely when I first got it as that is one of the items I polish on tuning upgrades to reels, and when trying the different bearings to establish the quality of the bearings,I didn't feel it needed it when mine was new, and I will now definitely keep an eye on this area after your findings!!  Like you if I find there is a need for a bearing shim in my reels to reduce damage and wear to the parts, I am going to say so, but so far I am surprised at the way they are holding up, but I do run very very little spool tension if any, on all my reels. The drive gear is an area I have been watching and if your wear is typical would be a real turn off with any of their reels. One thing I can only praise Shimano for, they are in my opinion the best producers of machine cut gears.

 

Thanks for letting us all know what to watch for as I am  also not brand bound, and if I think there is better for close to the same money, I will be looking to them, I've done it before and in time will probably have reason to do it again, but right now that's not the case. I also find your choice of solvents and lubes very tasteful as they are nearly identical to mine.

 

I would like to advise anyone not familiar with the TSI product that 301 is a more of a solvent & treatment so to speak, and to never try it on plastics, and would be very careful using it on some synthetics. Thanks for your heads up aavert2!!!

[Capt.Bob]

PABASS I would never recamend Lew's spinning gear. I also will never think any company will make everything they offer better than another,,,,a FANBOY!! I AINT!!!  That would be like me making my decision to buy a Ford Truck on the track record of a Ford Pinto!! NOT!! Or a Chevy Silverado judged by the Chevy Vega!!!  but never compare a Lew's spinning reel to a Lew's baitcaster!!
  

 

If you like that Stradic Aero or FG whichever,,,try the FJ you will be amazed and have a reason to by a new spinning reel, truely better than the FH my second all time favorite model of the Stradic.  

[jtharris3]

Great review. Thank you for posting it. I recently bought a Speed Spool SS1H and I have to say I like it more than my Citica. I fished Lew's reels back in the 80's and the Ryobi's that came after them and loved them then. Mine got regular work outs on Lake Fork and Lake of the Pines in east Texas. The new ones are obviously much lighter and I love that. When I bought the SS1H my thought was "will it hold up to the standard of the old reels?" I think it will!