Boca Bearings - which to get?

[JFlynn97]

I saw that Boca Bearings is having a sale and have been considering getting upgraded bearings for my Shimano Citica 201I that I picked up recently. I'm a little confused as to if some of the bearings are specific to certain models and I'm not sure exactly which ones I need. I think it's these but I'd appreciate confirmation.

 

https://www.bocabearings.com/products/fr-008c-os-ld-17028?make=SHIMANO&model=CITICA 201

 

Thanks!

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Your link looks correct

Here some more info with videos

https://www.bocabearings.com/parts/Shimano-Citica

[FishTank]

I have the older Citica G and upgraded mine last year.  I had three reels at that time that I needed to either be upgraded or replace old worn out bearings, so I purchased a pair of for each and bought one of each I thought I would need.  I bought the ABEC 5 Ceramics, ABEC 7 Ceramics and a pair of the Orange Seal ABEC 7's.  In the end the ABEC 5's where fine but the 7's were just slightly better/faster.  I did not care for the Orange Seals.  All of them are loud at first and don't need to be oiled.

[webertime]

Go ABEC 5 stainless.  99% performance, 0% noise and 50% cost of ceramic. 

[FishTank]

Another thought, I did this for a friends old Curado when I cleaned it.....  He needed a new spool bearing so I was going to replace both.  He wanted the original part if available.  I went to order them from Shimano and of course they did not have a parts list for that exact reel anymore.  Most Shimano reels have the same spool bearings though, 3.00 x 10.00 x 4.00.  I ordered the stock bearings for the Antares from them instead.  It was a major upgrade for him.  They are not cheap, $16 but he definitely likes them. 

[OnthePotomac]

20 hours ago, webertime said:

Go ABEC 5 stainless.  99% performance, 0% noise and 50% cost of ceramic. 

The Shimano rep has always stated that a bait cast reel cannot reach the spool RPM's which warrant anything above ABEC 5 for improved performance.  I finally gave up on ceramics because I got tired of the noise even properly lubed, which the SS do not have and frankly did not see any difference in performance from SS.

[webertime]

6 hours ago, OnthePotomac said:

The Shimano rep has always stated that a bait cast reel cannot reach the spool RPM's which warrant anything above ABEC 5 for improved performance.  I finally gave up on ceramics because I got tired of the noise even properly lubed, which the SS do not have and frankly did not see any difference in performance from SS.

Testify!

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Ceramics are really only an advantage in specific applications like BFS and saltwater. A main advantage is ability to run dry. As for the noise, it’s a little overblown in my experience but to each his own. Unless they’re worn out, Shimano’s bearings are good and just need flushing and light oil. 

[OkobojiEagle]

Ah, the beauty of becoming hard of hearing... all the benefits of ceramic, none of the distractions.

 

oe

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

The reels I saw the most improvement were 50e and core50mg and CI4. The curado70 with new brake system not much difference. There is no doubt you can get more distance. I had spots I could not reach with stock bearing in the 50e/core50 but threw past spot once aftermarket bearings installed. 

Its not about maximum speed of the bearing any cheap stock bearing can handle the relatively slow speed of these spools. It more to do with better efficiency less resistance. Oh and mostly the ability of the user to extract that performance benefit.

[OnthePotomac]

I am not sure what testify means, but I am referring to Bantam 1 from Shimano, who I believe many on here already know.