Casting Distance - I Must Be Doing Something Wrong

[JGBassinAL]

If you did some research into abec standards, you would understand that the differences between 5,7,9 are tolerance for VERY high RPH. Im sorry but our reels are not spinning at even 1/50th of that rph load. In my old chronarch I had I first put in abec 5's and swore I noticed a gain. Then I measured, about 40-45 yards on average. Then I upgraded to abec 7 ceramics, and again swore I noticed the gain......until I measured. about 40-45 yards. The only thing I gained was a loud cast and lost 40 bucks.

 

The only true gain I experienced was in pitching. And then maybe only a few yards max and I see no need to pitch a bait that far. I atribute this to being able to run the ceramics dry

Maybe it is in my head, as I did not measure the casts. It sure did seem like I was casting farther, maybe it was just me wanting it to cast farther. But his ABEC 9 ceramics are only $20, which are cheaper than ABEC 7 Orange Seals so I'm not complaining.

[frantzracing0]

I would use abec 7 ceramics again in a heartbeat if I could afford a dedicated pitching setup. The startup for the pitch is improved a good bit in my opinion. But for overall casting, I saw no real world gains. Im down to 3 setups these days simply due to cost restraints. (I used to have 7) and and making the most out of every investment these days is very important. To a beginner or someone like me whos broke lol I would never recommend them honestly. Hell a stock bearing, once flushed and clean is a major improvement over stock

[Cgrinder]

My gut tells me that if they cost $20 for a pair, they aren't ABEC 9.

[JGBassinAL]

My gut tells me that a guy who has cleaned and supertuned Shimano reels for 20 years with a spotless reputation is not going to lie about ABEC 9 bearings. The $20 price is with a service on your reel as well, so they might be more expensive if you just bought them straight up.

[Cgrinder]

Well then you're either getting the best deal in the history of the world, or they aren't truly ABEC 9. I don't really have a dog in this fight, so you keep on doin' whatever you like.

[iabass8]

 

Well then you're either getting the best deal in the history of the world, or they aren't truly ABEC 9. I don't really have a dog in this fight, so you keep on doin' whatever you like.

Dan offers great prices on products if you get your reel cleaned by him. He's a very reputable person in the reel servicing industry. I wouldn't hesitate to believe that he sold him legitimate abec9's for 20$ on top of service. 

 

with that said, the casting distance between abec 9s and 7s is most likely in your head. 

[Cgrinder]

Dan offers great prices on products if you get your reel cleaned by him. He's a very reputable person in the reel servicing industry. I wouldn't hesitate to believe that he sold him legitimate abec9's for 20$ on top of service.

with that said, the casting distance between abec 9s and 7s is most likely in your head.

That's good to know.

[JGBassinAL]

 

 

Dan offers great prices on products if you get your reel cleaned by him. He's a very reputable person in the reel servicing industry. I wouldn't hesitate to believe that he sold him legitimate abec9's for 20$ on top of service. 

 

with that said, the casting distance between abec 9s and 7s is most likely in your head. 

 

Thank you iabass8. I talked to Dan after this whole thread started to get out of hand and he assured me that they are ABEC 9 bearings. Side by side with ABEC 5s they blow them out of the water. I may be naive, but I will listen to Dan on this one. Instead of knocking them everyone should give them a try and see for themselves.

[frantzracing0]

been there, done that. Im not knocking them, but in my opinion anything over an abec 5 is a novelty item. Cool to have but no real use

[Preytorien]

Just a quick update (and momentary diversion from the ABEC discussion)....

 

I cleaned the bearings by soaking them in acetone for 24 hours, then let them dry several hours. I used a very high-quality bearing oil - very light but the same kind of oil we use in competitive bicycle wheel bearings.

 

Additionally I downsized my braid from 65lb to 40lb.

 

Summed up.....it's a world different. I don't know which one made the most difference, but likely it's a compilation of the two, but the casting difference is significant.

 

Thanks for the help.

 

As for bearings, I don't use ceramics - for a number of reasons but I won't get into that. But I do use them on the bearings in my wheels, crankset, and pulley wheels on my competitive bicycle. While the higher ABEC ratings are significantly more expensive, lab testing has only shown marginal gains at extremely high speeds for ABEC ratings over 7. What that translates to for reel bearings I'm not sure. I just know that it means for us, ABEC 5's do just as good as ABEC 9's. But hey, if the 9's weren't twice as expensive (and for bike components that equates to about $400-500 for a total bike bearing switchout) I'd probably run 9's just to ensure I've got the best. Additionally, I'm not sure what kinds are available for reels, but we use almost exclusively silicon nitride bearings. But for us, the majority of the advantage lies in just simply how tough they are against wearing out (causing inefficiency). I can imagine ceramic would be at an advantage for very specific applications, like a reel, where any problem with a bearing can translate to significant performance degredation.

 

As for me, I keep toying with the idea of upgrading to ceramics, my problem mostly lies in hearing stories of how they're more noisy. Maybe it's my bike background or something, but I hate my components to make too much noise....I enjoy silence!

 

As for the type of oil I used, it's definitely NOT a reel oil, so I'm sure that violates some kind of fisherman's code, but this stuff is more expensive and used for very very high quality applications for bearings and other lubrication needs, so I'm sure its fine. If you're interested it's called Boeshield - has a lot of applications, particularly ones where water exposure is a consideration.

 

http://boeshield.com/

[Preytorien]

Another update.....

 

So I bit the bullet, and for my birthday, treated myself to some Hawgtech ABEC 7 bearings.

 

Noisy? Yes. I used a very very slight amount of oil - as in not even a drop, less than that. Which did quiet them down a bit more, a lot more to my liking.

 

Casting distance? Marginally better when using a standard (for me) 3/8-1/2 lure, but where it really shines is when I use weightless soft plastics, which I use quite a bit. I use a weightless Caffeine Shad or Senko that complements my frogging rig (as a follow up bait on a missed blowup), and it absolutely makes a difference casting very light lures. I'm sure it's due to lower rolling resistance making it easier for the spool to spin up.

 

My overall thoughts? The Hawgtechs were an upgrade I hesitated to do initially, but I'm VERY glad I decided to go that route.

 

Thanks Hawgtech!

[iceintheveins]

My Curado E outcasts all my other baitcasters. Yet I only have three other models, a Shimano Cardiff for swimbaits and catfish, four bps pqs, and a Lew's Tournament MG speed spool in which so far I am disappointed with the distance in.

[Catt]

Great read guys!

Saved me some research