Difference Between Curado I And Citica I

[cjam93]

Hey guys so I need to pick up a few reels in the next few weeks. I had a curado before and returned it, but now I have seen a few different posts say that Shimano reels often need to be cleaned and relubed when they first come in to make them perform the best. So I want to give it another shot. I am having trouble figuring out the difference between these two reels. I think it is just body material and one of the bearings is different? Is that correct?

[FloridaFishinFool]

This comment was posted in error due to shimano website not having up to date schematics for the citica i and I used the G series instead and can now see that the new citica i does have the same brake system as the curado i. I stand corrected!

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I think the braking system is different. You can download the current reel schematics from shimano website.

 

I always refer to the schematic and look at the internals of a reel to really see what is different about them that the specs might not convey well enough.

 

Here is the curado 201i schematic, and here is the citica 201G6 schematic.

 

Notice on the citica schematic there is a red or orange brake collar BNT 3843 and BNT 3505? These are old school centrifugal brakes shimano has used for many years and each reel carries 6 brake shoes of your choice of color or weight (heavier shoe, more braking, lighter shoe, less braking). Real old school here! But when you look inside the new curado you should notice only 4 brake shoes BNT 4652 that look nothing like the old school brake shoes or collar. There is your new technology showing up right there! Put your money on that! And it has an external dial so you can really dial in just the right amount of braking you need instantly without having to open up the reel and play with it while fishing.

 

Based on what I am seeing in the schematics for brakes, I'd go with the newer curado i centrifugal brake system.

 

I used a curado i all this past summer and it worked very well. The new braking system is very effective and can be minutely dialed in much more precisely than the older type of centrifugal brakes which the citica appears to still have. Go with the new!

 

As for overhauling the reel when new out of the box, to each their own. I did mine new out of the box, but shimano has been doing this a long time- and a reel should be ready to use out of the box, but if it makes you feel better, overhaul it!

[bass raider]

The curado has anti-rust bearings compared to the citica. That and accent colors are the only differences I know of. And imo the svs is more trouble free than the vbs. I oil my svs system maybe once a month and I usually fish 20 days out of the month. Use a very thin oil like remoil and it will blow your mind as far as distance goes

[k3bass]

The curado has 3 arb bearing and 2 stainless steel bearings, the citica has 5 stainless steel bearings. The body material is the same. The brake system and spool are the same.

Buy whichever you can get cheaper. There are zero noticeable differences between the two reels.

[k3bass]

I think the braking system is different. You can download the current reel schematics from shimano website.

I always refer to the schematic and look at the internals of a reel to really see what is different about them that the specs might not convey well enough.

Here is the curado 201i schematic, and here is the citica 201G6 schematic.

Notice on the citica schematic there is a red or orange brake collar BNT 3843 and BNT 3505? These are old school centrifugal brakes shimano has used for many years and each reel carries 6 brake shoes of your choice of color or weight (heavier shoe, more braking, lighter shoe, less braking). Real old school here! But when you look inside the new curado you should notice only 4 brake shoes BNT 4652 that look nothing like the old school brake shoes or collar. There is your new technology showing up right there! Put your money on that! And it has an external dial so you can really dial in just the right amount of braking you need instantly without having to open up the reel and play with it while fishing.

Based on what I am seeing in the schematics for brakes, I'd go with the newer curado i centrifugal brake system.

I used a curado i all this past summer and it worked very well. The new braking system is very effective and can be minutely dialed in much more precisely than the older type of centrifugal brakes which the citica appears to still have. Go with the new!

As for overhauling the reel when new out of the box, to each their own. I did mine new out of the box, but shimano has been doing this a long time- and a reel should be ready to use out of the box, but if it makes you feel better, overhaul it!

That's the older citica g

[FloridaFishinFool]

That's the older citica g

 

OK. I went with what I found on the shimano website listed for current citica models. I don't keep up with the citica's.

 

I just checked shimano website again for current citica models' schematics and this is all they have for "current" models:

 

CI201G6

 

CI200G7

 

CI200G6

 

CI200G5

 

 

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[k3bass]

<p>

OK. I went with what I found on the shimano website listed for current citica models. I don't keep up with the citica's.

I just checked shimano website again for current citica models' schematics and this is all they have for "current" models:

CI201G6

CI200G7

CI200G6

CI200G5

If they listed the new citica schematic how would they sell any more curados? Lol

[IAY]

Those are Citica Gs and the current ones are Citica Is. I would honestly pick up whichever ones you can find cheaper, unless you plan to do a lot of inshore/brackish water.

[bootytrain]

They are they same except for the bearings and the handle and star are not machined like the curado, but stamped if I recall.

[PitchinJigz]

I have both. They're both good reels. The frame and spools are the exact same dimensions. The Citica paint and protective coat I have found to be less durable. After one season, the shiny dark grey coat has turned very matte looking on the hood of the reel. Whether this is from the sun or just from my thumb being on it, I'm not sure. I haven't experienced this problem with the Curado, though, and in my opinion, the Curado is better looking to begin with. The paint on the Curado is definitely higher quality with higher quality gloss.

Like I said, the spoils are the exact same dimensions. The Curado spool fits in the Citica. The only difference is the Curado spool is double anodized. This contributes nothing to its performance, and is only an aesthetic feature of the Curado.

As for the braking systems, they're also exactly the same. There is literally nothing different, contrary to some comments in this thread.

The bearing count is exactly the same. However, the Citica has 5 standard stainless steel ball bearings and one anti reverse bearing. The Curado has 5 anti rust ball bearings and one anti reverse bearing. The bearings are higher quality in the Curado, but the Citica bearings come packed with less grease. If you don't clean your reels (especially after dropping them in the water) the Citica bearings will wear out sooner than the Curado bearings. Performance wise, I believe their ABEC ratings are around the same, but I haven't totally flushed both reels' bearings yet, so I can't tell you for sure.

The handle on the Curado is a silver, stainless steel handle and the Citica has a black finished stainless steel handle. The Curado's handle looks to be higher quality, but I can't see problems arising with either. The knobs on both reels are Shimano's "septon" Power II grips. They're super comfortable grips.

The gears and basic internals of both reels are super similar. I have taken apart the Citica, but not the Curado, but I have seen the schematics for both. I do suspect there is a small difference in the drag system from feel, but it could be that they have different amounts of factory grease in the drag stack. Since Shimano markets them both for having the same drag system, I wouldn't necessarily take my word for it.

In conclusion, both reels are very good. The I series reels from Shimano are a game changer from the old G series. The Citica has less grease in general in it straight from the factory, but anyone who knows how to take apart a reel can put the amount of grease/ oil they prefer in their reels. One major difference I noticed that justifies the price difference for me is the tighter tolerances in the Curado. It feels more connected and smooth to me, but it's not quite night and day.I would obviously suggest the Curado over the Citica, but if you want to save $30 and get the Citica, I think that's a great deal too. I don't see a huge advantage of one over the other, but there is definitely a lot of smaller differences that can add up.

[k3bass]

I have both. They're both good reels. The frame and spools are the exact same dimensions. The Citica paint and protective coat I have found to be less durable. After one season, the shiny dark grey coat has turned very matte looking on the hood of the reel. Whether this is from the sun or just from my thumb being on it, I'm not sure. I haven't experienced this problem with the Curado, though, and in my opinion, the Curado is better looking to begin with. The paint on the Curado is definitely higher quality with higher quality gloss.

Like I said, the spoils are the exact same dimensions. The Curado spool fits in the Citica. The only difference is the Curado spool is double anodized. This contributes nothing to its performance, and is only an aesthetic feature of the Curado.

As for the braking systems, they're also exactly the same. There is literally nothing different, contrary to some comments in this thread.

The bearing count is exactly the same. However, the Citica has 5 standard stainless steel ball bearings and one anti reverse bearing. The Curado has 5 anti rust ball bearings and one anti reverse bearing. The bearings are higher quality in the Curado, but the Citica bearings come packed with less grease. If you don't clean your reels (especially after dropping them in the water) the Citica bearings will wear out sooner than the Curado bearings. Performance wise, I believe their ABEC ratings are around the same, but I haven't totally flushed both reels' bearings yet, so I can't tell you for sure.

The handle on the Curado is a silver, stainless steel handle and the Citica has a black finished stainless steel handle. The Curado's handle looks to be higher quality, but I can't see problems arising with either. The knobs on both reels are Shimano's "septon" Power II grips. They're super comfortable grips.

The gears and basic internals of both reels are super similar. I have taken apart the Citica, but not the Curado, but I have seen the schematics for both. I do suspect there is a small difference in the drag system from feel, but it could be that they have different amounts of factory grease in the drag stack. Since Shimano markets them both for having the same drag system, I wouldn't necessarily take my word for it.

In conclusion, both reels are very good. The I series reels from Shimano are a game changer from the old G series. The Citica has less grease in general in it straight from the factory, but anyone who knows how to take apart a reel can put the amount of grease/ oil they prefer in their reels. One major difference I noticed that justifies the price difference for me is the tighter tolerances in the Curado. It feels more connected and smooth to me, but it's not quite night and day.I would obviously suggest the Curado over the Citica, but if you want to save $30 and get the Citica, I think that's a great deal too. I don't see a huge advantage of one over the other, but there is definitely a lot of smaller differences that can add up.

Only 3 out of the 5 bearings on the curado are arb according to the specs on the box. I've taken apart both reels and the internals are all identical including the drag except the 3 bearings. If you set both handles side by side you can't tell any difference besides color.

[a1712]

Go to Tackle Tours Home Page and click Reels, scroll down the list and you will find reviews on both reels. Brian.

[PitchinJigz]

Only 3 out of the 5 bearings on the curado are arb according to the specs on the box. I've taken apart both reels and the internals are all identical including the drag except the 3 bearings. If you set both handles side by side you can't tell any difference besides color.

I knew that about the bearings, I accidentally mistyped. The Citica handle is cast (like a cookie cutter) and the Curado handle is machined. They're the same size, but you can tell there's a small difference.

[PitchinJigz]

Go to Tackle Tours Home Page and click Reels, scroll down the list and you will find reviews on both reels. Brian.

They don't have a review on the Citica.

[a1712]

They don't have a review on the Citica.

They have a write up on it and do a lot of comparisons to the Curado 1.

[k3bass]

I knew that about the bearings, I accidentally mistyped. The Citica handle is cast (like a cookie cutter) and the Curado handle is machined. They're the same size, but you can tell there's a small difference.

Right but most people wouldn't even notice it unless it was pointed out, they are the same size and shape. There isn't a difference performance wise one way or the other between the two handles.

[PitchinJigz]

They have a write up on it and do a lot of comparisons to the Curado 1.

It's nothing you can't see on the description on Tackle Warehouse. It was just the initial preview.

[PitchinJigz]

Right but most people wouldn't even notice it unless it was pointed out, they are the same size and shape. There isn't a difference performance wise one way or the other between the two handles.

Of course it doesn't make any differences in performance. I was just pointing it out.

[a1712]

It's nothing you can't see on the description on Tackle Warehouse. It was just the initial preview.

Correct, the OP ask for a comparison and they compare it to the Curado 1, the reel he was asking for it to be compared too. Sorry I couldn't be of service, won't happen again. Brian.

[k3bass]

One major difference I noticed that justifies the price difference for me is the tighter tolerances in the Curado. It feels more connected and smooth to me, but it's not quite night and day.I would obviously suggest the Curado over the Citica, but if you want to save $30 and get the Citica, I think that's a great deal too. I don't see a huge advantage of one over the other, but there is definitely a lot of smaller differences that can add up.

I've often said that shimano could take 2 identical reels and label one as a curado and one as a citica (which is basically what they've done this time) and people will still claim the curado is better. "Tighter tolerances" seriously? These reels use identical parts. Do you really think they build separate frames and sideplates specifically for the citica? Or that they use gears and other parts that aren't machined as precise? Or they go through less detail when being assembled?

[PitchinJigz]

I've often said that shimano could take 2 identical reels and label one as a curado and one as a citica (which is basically what they've done this time) and people will still claim the curado is better. "Tighter tolerances" seriously? These reels use identical parts. Do you really think they build separate frames and sideplates specifically for the citica? Or that they use gears and other parts that aren't machined as precise? Or they go through less detail when being assembled?

The pinion and drive gear are tighter together on the Curado. They don't rub on eachother as much. At least that's the case with my reels. You have to take into account that every reel is a little bit different.

[IAY]

The pinion and drive gear are tighter together on the Curado. They don't rub on eachother as much. At least that's the case with my reels. You have to take into account that every reel is a little bit different.

 

Maybe its because you used it more? Nice evenly distributed grease from the gears meshing could cause this.