Boca Bearings worth it?

[juicebass]

Gonna get my reels tuned for the upcoming season. Was wondering if maybe I should upgrade the bearings in some of my lower end reels to give them an edge (revo sx, helios, citica 209g6)

 

I honestly find all those reels cast pretty decent. Will upgrading the bearings make a huge difference? 

What am I going to gain?

 

distance?

smoothness?

 

theyre pretty expensive so I don’t really wanna waste money upgrading unless the performance blows me out of the water. 

Thoughts?

 

oh and also, does it change the sound of the reel? Curious to know what they sound like.

 

cheers

 

 

 

[Yudo1]

Bocas are louder when casting. As far as performance, if you flush and properly lube your stock bearings you may not notice much an improvement. You may notice some improvements like ease of casting lighter lures and needing less power to cast the same distance. Of all the aftermarket bearings, I like bocas the least personally. I like hedge hog and zpi better.

[DomQ]

Meh if your reels are maintained and like @Yudo1 said a good flush and lube could bring back some life into a stock bearing. I've got bocas on one of my Quantum energy reels and the stock reel casts a very impressive distance but I don't really notice more then 5 feet when I did a comparison between a stock energy and an energy with bocas. If the bearings need to be replaced and you've got the loonies to spend, go for it.

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

The Helios has ABEC 5 so no need to upgrade those. 

The Citica if you can use just one brake and able to control that easily there are gains to be had by going aftermarket bearings. 

It will basically come down to your casting abilities if upgrading bearings will be of any benefit. Most seem to get better bearings then add oil or increase braking or spool tension because the new bearings spin so freely thus they lose all the benefits. Like you will read people comment -"I can cast the same distance more easily but not any farther cause when I give the same effort I backlash"-. Thats the users fault, if that person could cast with same effort and still control the spool distance will increase its simple physics. 

I also feel the brake system will determine the gains as well. The old Shimano VBS and gen1 SVS I saw bigger gains with BOCAS than the latest Shimano SVS Infinity system. Daiwa SV reels of mine not much gains on those with ZPI or HH air.

 

 

[juicebass]

Right on, seems as tho it’s not worth the price to upgrade bearings. I have no problems casting with these reels and I’m happy with the distance. Mind you I have issues with the Helios’ spool tension nob.

-it goes from extremely tight to super loose. If I tighten it perfect it can actually loosen in a cast and cause backlashes. Is that do to the bearing or would could be that the spool tension “bolt” is stripped?

 

Also the Helios is “grinding” pretty badly, it doesn’t feel smooth whatso ever. Is that a bearing issue or could it be something else?

 

thanks

[DomQ]

14 minutes ago, juicebass said:

Right on, seems as tho it’s not worth the price to upgrade bearings. I have no problems casting with these reels and I’m happy with the distance. Mind you I have issues with the Helios’ spool tension nob.

-it goes from extremely tight to super loose. If I tighten it perfect it can actually loosen in a cast and cause backlashes. Is that do to the bearing or would could be that the spool tension “bolt” is stripped?

 

Also the Helios is “grinding” pretty badly, it doesn’t feel smooth whatso ever. Is that a bearing issue or could it be something else?

 

thanks

When's the last time you had her serviced? Maybe it could use some love. Could be dry or dirty bearings or the gears could be dry and need some grease. I think most people around here including myself do a deep clean and relube our reels during the winter brake. 

[juicebass]

5 minutes ago, DomQ said:

When's the last time you had her serviced? Maybe it could use some love. Could be dry or dirty bearings or the gears could be dry and need some grease. I think most people around here including myself do a deep clean and relube our reels during the winter brake. 

I’ve heard it’s bad to lube the bearings no??

ive cleaned them a bit but I’m not a big fan of taking them apart. I’m bringing them in... the Helios spool nob is definitely not normal being that loose tho, hope to find a fix, thoufht it would be from the bearings maybe

[Deleted account]

No.

 

[DomQ]

5 hours ago, juicebass said:

I’ve heard it’s bad to lube the bearings no??

ive cleaned them a bit but I’m not a big fan of taking them apart. I’m bringing them in... the Helios spool nob is definitely not normal being that loose tho, hope to find a fix, thoufht it would be from the bearings maybe

A drop of oil after a deep clean on the bearings is all you need. You don't want to over oil them or else you can hold the bearing up and it won't perform to its full potential. As to the tension knob, have the checked inside the knob to make sure that the little tiny pad is there? If its not then you might have taken it off when you were cleaning it in past services. Ill include a picture of what to look for, this one is on a Abu. Also it could be worn out if you keep it cranked down a lot. Depending on the material used. 

[desmobob]

On 2/12/2018 at 1:24 PM, juicebass said:

Gonna get my reels tuned for the upcoming season. Was wondering if maybe I should upgrade the bearings in some of my lower end reels to give them an edge (revo sx, helios, citica 209g6)

 

I honestly find all those reels cast pretty decent. Will upgrading the bearings make a huge difference? 

What am I going to gain?

 

distance?

smoothness?

 

theyre pretty expensive so I don’t really wanna waste money upgrading unless the performance blows me out of the water. 

Thoughts?

 

oh and also, does it change the sound of the reel? Curious to know what they sound like.

 

cheers

 

 

 

In my experience, upgrading the bearings helps get a negligible amount of additional casting distance while adding a lot of casting noise.  I don't do it any more.  What IS nice to have is an inexpensive bearing flushing tool.  The bearings in our reels have very small moving parts and all it takes to degrade their performance is a tiny bit of silt or debris.  An annual flushing and re-lubing can have surprising results.  You can buy the bearing flushing tool and an assortment of lubes to try for a lot less than the price of one set of ceramic bearings.

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[OnthePotomac]

I had three Citica 200E's and put ceramic bearings in two and quality SS Abec7's in the third.   I really could not tell the difference in the ceramic performance and the SS.  Fishing heavy grass most of the time, I really do not care about the bait going a mile and in fact, grass fishing is short casts.  I have not bothered upgrading the recent Shimano reels as the bearings give me all I want in performance.

[Wurming67]

I did one reel with hawgtech bearings than I did all my reels,the biggest difference I noticed was the reels we're smoother,casted a little bit further,but the biggest difference was able to cast lighter lures.I like them ,try them on one reel if you like them keep them, if not put the old ones back in,each person's preference is different from each other's.

[CrankFate]

Bocas are worth it. They are smoother and faster than anything else and quieter when reeling than anything else. But they are expensive. If you are going to buy them buy them now because there are coupon codes for 25 to 35% out for Christmas 25HOLIDAY18 will get you 25% off. 35THANKRC18 might still get you 35% off.

 

But in terms of performance to price, Hawtech is probably best. But they make fewer sizes.

 

Smoothdrag has top quality bearings, too. They have nearly every size, even if it’s not on their lists.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

The answer to most "is it worthwhile " questions begins with your expectations. Any potential gains must be compared to a properly cleaned, flushed, lubricated and setup reel. Adding high performance parts is largely an enthusiast endeavor. Actual gains are modest at best. The cost of bearings is driven more by ABEC rating than material. A fishing reel does not experience sustained high speeds to gain from anything more than ABEC5 bearings. 7's might make sense in a true BFS application. The main advantage of ceramic hybrids is that they can be run dry. Oiling them slows them down enough to negate the gain. If longevity and silence are priority stick with SS. The exception would be in salt water reels to fight corrosion. Lastly on bearings, like many things, they're made in a couple places and rebranded by many sellers. Just stick to trusted sources to avoid counterfeiting of ABEC ratings. In my opinion here are upgrades in order of bang for the buck:

 

deep cleaning

Carbontex drag 

SuperTuning (on appropriate models)

spool bearings

after market BFS spools

bushing to bearing swap for crankshafts & levelwinds

handle bearings

other personalized parts. 

 

One more thought: improving free spool whether by cleaning, Tuning, bearings or spools aids accuracy more than raw distance which is arguably over rated anyway. 

[Wurming67]

On 12/22/2018 at 4:26 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The answer to most "is it worthwhile " questions begins with your expectations. Any potential gains must be compared to a properly cleaned, flushed, lubricated and setup reel. Adding high performance parts is largely an enthusiast endeavor. Actual gains are modest at best. The cost of bearings is driven more by ABEC rating than material. A fishing reel does not experience sustained high speeds to gain from anything more than ABEC5 bearings. 7's might make sense in a true BFS application. The main advantage of ceramic hybrids is that they can be run dry. Oiling them slows them down enough to negate the gain. If longevity and silence are priority stick with SS. The exception would be in salt water reels to fight corrosion. Lastly on bearings, like many things, they're made in a couple places and rebranded by many sellers. Just stick to trusted sources to avoid counterfeiting of ABEC ratings. In my opinion here are upgrades in order of bang for the buck:

 

deep cleaning

Carbontex drag 

SuperTuning (on appropriate models)

spool bearings

after market BFS spools

bushing to bearing swap for crankshafts & levelwinds

handle bearings

other personalized parts. 

 

One more thought: improving free spool whether by cleaning, Tuning, bearings or spools aids accuracy more than raw distance which is arguably over rated anyway. 

 

Perfectly said

[kenmitch]

Debating bearing replacement myself. As others have stated above it's hit or miss depending on the end users casting skills. I'm still researching my options....Been debating for a week already.

[lunkerboss923]

I don't see the SLX on the chart, do they not make the aftermarket bearings for them? 

[The Bassman]

13 hours ago, lunkerboss923 said:

I don't see the SLX on the chart, do they not make the aftermarket bearings for them? 

All Shimanos are 10x3x4 mm

[FishTank]

So far I have upgraded the following reels with Boca bearings.....

 

Shimano Citica G > ABEC 5 Ceramics

Shimano Core 101> ABEC 7 Ceramic Metal Shield 

Shimano Chronarch 51E> ABEC 7 Orange Seal Ceramic

Shimano Calcutta 251 X 2 > ABEC 5 Ceramic

Shimano Curado G > ABEC 7 Ceramic Metal Shield

Shimano Antares 16 > ABEC 7 Ceramic Metal Shield

 

I have also upgraded a few friends reels from various manufactures at their request with new boca bearings....

 

So my thoughts.......  They are great bearings but depending on which reel you buy the stock part bearings may be the best replacement for the reel.   How you fish and far you want to cast may influence your choice of bearing as well.   I found that the stock bearings that go in the Antares worked better than the Boca's but the Boca bearings I put in a few Curados (including my own) made a big difference and were better than the stock ones.   I did not care for the orange seal bearings from Boca.  The ceramics will be loader if left unlubed. 

 

Another thing I did was put a set of stock Shimano Antares bearing in a Shimano Curado B, just for fun at first, and the results were just mind blowing.  I tried these same bearing in other reels and same result.  They are far cheaper than the Boca's but work almost as well, if not better.   I get the impression (not any real proof though) that the bearings when they are new in the reel are not as good as the part bearings you can order from the manufacture.

 

I think if you are questioning whether or not to replace a bearing, do as stated above first... Soak them in cleaner and re-lube.  I have found several bearings that are just fine after this is done.  Keeping the reel properly lubed and cleaned in some cases will be a better upgrade/choice than just a set of spool bearings. 

[FishTank]

On 2/13/2018 at 12:11 PM, juicebass said:

Right on, seems as tho it’s not worth the price to upgrade bearings. I have no problems casting with these reels and I’m happy with the distance. Mind you I have issues with the Helios’ spool tension nob.

-it goes from extremely tight to super loose. If I tighten it perfect it can actually loosen in a cast and cause backlashes. Is that do to the bearing or would could be that the spool tension “bolt” is stripped?

 

Also the Helios is “grinding” pretty badly, it doesn’t feel smooth whatso ever. Is that a bearing issue or could it be something else?

 

thanks

I also had a Helios Air that started to grind.  I contacted Okuma and unfortunately, after two repairs, three reels, and a few months of trying to get them to work, I had to finally return them.  I am not for sure of the cause but I don't think it was the spool bearings.  I think the problem was with the main gear and the pinion.  It was a shame because new out of the box, this reel was amazing. 

[NOC 1]

On 2/12/2018 at 12:36 PM, Yudo1 said:

Bocas are louder when casting. As far as performance, if you flush and properly lube your stock bearings you may not notice much an improvement. You may notice some improvements like ease of casting lighter lures and needing less power to cast the same distance. Of all the aftermarket bearings, I like bocas the least personally. I like hedge hog and zpi better.

I second the ZPI and HH recommendation. I have not had anyone explain how Boca can sell ABEC rated bearings that they source from China, Germany, and Japan. bearings from those counties would be rated under JIS, DIN, ISO or other standards not the American Bearing Committee. It's a trust thing.

 

And pretty meaningless too. I doubt that anyone could tell much difference between a ABEC-3 and an ABEC-7 rated bearing in a fishing reel. In the wallet yes. I could send you a pair of $3 Chinese orange seal bearings and you might never know it.

 

I don't know what the ZPI or HH are rated, but they are always very good bearings.

 

any of the Hybrid bearings using steel races and ceramic balls, or full ceramic bearings are going to have less rolling resistance, but they will not be as quiet.

[ike8120]

2 hours ago, NOC 1 said:

I second the ZPI and HH recommendation. I have not had anyone explain how Boca can sell ABEC rated bearings that they source from China, Germany, and Japan. bearings from those counties would be rated under JIS, DIN, ISO or other standards not the American Bearing Committee. It's a trust thing.

 

And pretty meaningless too. I doubt that anyone could tell much difference between a ABEC-3 and an ABEC-7 rated bearing in a fishing reel. In the wallet yes. I could send you a pair of $3 Chinese orange seal bearings and you might never know it.

 

I don't know what the ZPI or HH are rated, but they are always very good bearings.

 

any of the Hybrid bearings using steel races and ceramic rings, or full ceramic bearings are going to have less rolling resistance, but they will not be as quiet.

Where did you buy the ZPI or HH bearings?

[NOC 1]

11 hours ago, ike8120 said:

Where did you buy the ZPI or HH bearings?

ZPI no longer sells them I think. but there are some still out there. Try The Tackle Trap, or E-Bay. Hedgehog Studio (HH) bearings as are the ZPI are from Japan and can be had either from their website or again, try the Tackle Trap in the US.