Shimano CU200BSF Super Free - what type new bearings?

[JimInAlabama]

This has probably been asked but I can't search up an answer.  I realize there are different opinions and I'd like to hear 'em from people that have first hand experience.

 

I have a bunch of CU200BSF reels.  I've paid to have some pro serviced but I'm an old guy on a tight budget and I have a few I'd like to just replace spool bearings in.  I've always used steel bearings comparable to what Shimano shipped them with, and I can do that again but there's a lot of buzz now about hybrid/ceramic bearings.  I don't need to spend $30-$40 each for Boca on these old reels.  Are the $15-$20 or hybrid ceramic bearings junk?

[bulldog1935]

I prefer unshielded spool bearings, either undersized Air bearings for distance with light weights, or hybrid ceramic for HD.  I'm running these on all my baitcasters.  

On my surf CT reels, I've tried the whole gambit of bearings (starting with ABEC 7 orange seal), and ended up with unshielded hybrid ceramic and full ceramic for the longest possible casts with wide range from 1/4 oz lures to big spider weights and meat.  

Have to oil them more often, but I get to pick the oil and they out-cast all shielded bearings. Also prefer this since I'm most often in the salt, where "seals" don't really help as much as people think.  

 

   

There's not much to changing out spool bearings, but you do need the right pin tool for your spool to replace the main spool bearing.  

The pin tool can range from $10 to $40.  

  

 

Note for your drive bearings and especially for spinning reel bearings, you don't gain anything with hybrid ceramic - factory lubed shielded bearings are best there.  

 

There are many good bearings out there that aren't junk, especially if you shop Japan.  There are also very good bearing suppliers on ebay - I can reccommend HPRbearings.  The big names that gets touted are often simply over-priced.  What you may gain with shielded Boca bearings is better quality lube.  

 

I have run both Boca and "knock-off" SiN bearing balls in Campy bicycle hubs with no difference in performance or life of the ceramic balls and matched steel races - I'm a pretty big boy at 6'3" and 210 lbs.  The big difference was life of the bearing grease chosen - how long until it waxes and quits wetting the bearing balls.  

[FishTank]

I use to have this reel (about 5 of them and sold them all).   I have tried a couple different bearings in them and the best for the price are the ABEC 7 metal shield from Boca, despite the cost.  You can usually find a coupon code for 15% or even 25% off.   The ABEC 5's are OK but they are not much of an upgrade from the stock bearings from Shimano.  The most noticeable casting improvement is in the 7's.

 

I have swapped several for guys over the years and I put in what they want.  Usually the ones from ebay that are cheap are just that cheap and they are hit and miss as to whether they are good from the get go.  I would get the cheaper stock bearings from Shimano instead.  

 

https://www.bocabearings.com/products/fr-008c-zz-7-ld-19897?make=SHIMANO&model=CURADO CU-200 BSF (SPOOL)&feature=BAITCASTER

 

https://fishshop.shimano.com/collections/cu200k   

You will need BNT4343 x 2 or you can do BNT3627, one of Shimano's better bearings.

 

 

[CrankFate]

I like Boca orange seals, especially throwing 3/16 or less. The Lightning’s are good, too, but noticeably slower. Which a lot of people might prefer. I prefer shielded bearings. I think it’s because I cast so hard that the oil is gone after a few casts unless there are shields. If price is a concern, I’d go Hawgtech. They are great bearings. SmoothDrag also has some really good bearings at different price points.

[Bankc]

1 hour ago, BaitFinesse said:

If you run a spool tension greater than zero then I dont see the benefit to a more free spinning bearing myself.

There's some truth to that.  I went through a phase where I was upgrading bearings in my reels, and even the best bearings didn't really make a worthwhile difference, in my opinion.  That's assuming you're comparing them to freshly cleaned and properly lubricated bearings that weren't worn out.  If the bearings are dirty, worn, or have too much or too thick of oil in them, then new ones will make a huge difference.  But if you're replacing good bearings with better bearings, there's not a whole lot to be had.  Spools don't rotate at ultra high speeds, nor are they subjected to high pressure loads that would warrant high end bearings, in my opinion. 

 

In my opinion, the best thing you can do for bearings is to clean them regularly and use a very, very small amount of a low kinematic viscosity lubricant.  I prefer Nye 140C.  It won't last long, but it'll get the most out of your bearings if you're into such things.  That's a much better upgrade, in my opinion, than swapping out bearings.  

 

Try not to get bogged down in ABEC ratings.  The ABEC number, if it's even accurate, just describes the tolerance under which it was created.  It doesn't describe the quality of the materials.  Reels aren't running at speeds of 50,000 RPM's, and aren't subjected to high loads of lateral torque, so advantages offered by such high precision bearings aren't going to be fully realized anyway.  Besides, a lot bearing manufacturers lie about this number.  I've seen ABEC 11 bearings, when the scale only goes up to 9, as an obvious example.

[JimInAlabama]

15 hours ago, FishTank said:

I use to have this reel (about 5 of them and sold them all).   I have tried a couple different bearings in them and the best for the price are the ABEC 7 metal shield from Boca, despite the cost.  You can usually find a coupon code for 15% or even 25% off.   The ABEC 5's are OK but they are not much of an upgrade from the stock bearings from Shimano.  The most noticeable casting improvement is in the 7's.

 

I have swapped several for guys over the years and I put in what they want.  Usually the ones from ebay that are cheap are just that cheap and they are hit and miss as to whether they are good from the get go.  I would get the cheaper stock bearings from Shimano instead.  

 

https://www.bocabearings.com/products/fr-008c-zz-7-ld-19897?make=SHIMANO&model=CURADO CU-200 BSF (SPOOL)&feature=BAITCASTER

 

https://fishshop.shimano.com/collections/cu200k   

You will need BNT4343 x 2 or you can do BNT3627, one of Shimano's better bearings.  I may bite the bullet and try a set of the Boca Orange Seal in a reel I use to throw weightless plastic

 

 

Thanks for the help, I didn't realize there were other Shimano bearings that fit my reels ? !!  The Shimano parts list calls for BNT0194 but Shimano doesn't have 'em on their site any more.  I bought a supply several years ago but have used 'em all.  I'll try the 4343s and I'm sure they'll be fine for most of my setups.  I may bite the bullet and try a pair of higher spin bearings in a reel I use to throw weightless plastic, just hate to spend $40 on these old reels. 

[bulldog1935]

find your reel on This Chart - All bearings are standard sizes.  

 

Better-running and lighter-weight spool bearings lower your spool inertia - the resistance of a spinning mass to change - both starting and stopping.    

This helps prevent both major backlash modes - you can get past start-up overshoot with less non-linear brake, and past mid-cast wind backlash with less linear brake.  

This means longer casts and less effort.  

[JimInAlabama]

1 hour ago, Bankc said:

That's assuming you're comparing them to freshly cleaned and properly lubricated bearings that weren't worn out.  If the bearings are dirty, worn, or have too much or too thick of oil in them, then new ones will make a huge difference. 

Yes thanks, that makes a lot of sense, I probably don't clean often enough and maybe not well enough.  I fish 10-15 hours a week and flush the bearings on my four go-to reels once a year, the others less often.  I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner, I put 'em in a tall slender glass of acetone, let 'em sit a few hours, swirling 'em around in the acetone occasionally, take 'em out and spin the acetone out, repeat that a few times and let 'em dry out good and put a single drop of lightweight oil on each.  Before I order bearings I'll see if I can bring these back to life.

[Bankc]

2 minutes ago, JimInAlabama said:

Yes thanks, that makes a lot of sense, I probably don't clean often enough and maybe not well enough.  I fish 10-15 hours a week and flush the bearings on my four go-to reels once a year, the others less often.  I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner, I put 'em in a tall slender glass of acetone, let 'em sit a few hours, swirling 'em around in the acetone occasionally, take 'em out and spin the acetone out, repeat that a few times and let 'em dry out good and put a single drop of lightweight oil on each.  Before I order bearings I'll see if I can bring these back to life.

That's usually what I do, and I do have an ultrasonic cleaner.  It's just not usually worth the effort to get it out, unless they're really gummed up.  

 

Acetone is an amazingly thin lubricant.  When a bearing is coated in acetone and you give it a good spin, that ought to tell you if the bearing is good or bad.  If it doesn't spin well after a good cleaning and while still having a small coating of acetone in it, then it's a bad bearing.  At that point, go ahead and replace it.  

[QED]

What is the etymology of "tension knob?" When tightened, the spool spindle is under lateral compression, rather than tension.  Odd nomenclature.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

On 5/26/2021 at 7:42 PM, JimInAlabama said:

This has probably been asked but I can't search up an answer.  I realize there are different opinions and I'd like to hear 'em from people that have first hand experience.

 

I have a bunch of CU200BSF reels.  I've paid to have some pro serviced but I'm an old guy on a tight budget and I have a few I'd like to just replace spool bearings in.  I've always used steel bearings comparable to what Shimano shipped them with, and I can do that again but there's a lot of buzz now about hybrid/ceramic bearings.  I don't need to spend $30-$40 each for Boca on these old reels.  Are the $15-$20 or hybrid ceramic bearings junk?

A set of Bocas is only $29.95 for those reels. Your best bet is to flush and properly oil what you have. I’ll walk you through it if you want to email me. 

[bulldog1935]

or the one that casting with a lot of jerk and big nonlinear brake doesn't remove the extra cast energy that was put in the extra jerk.  

 

[BaitFinesse]

19 minutes ago, bulldog1935 said:

or the one that casting with a lot of jerk and big nonlinear brake doesn't remove the extra cast energy that was put in the extra jerk.  

 

Those linear mag brakes really do like smooth casts.  I have a few for my Daiwas and while they don't bomb as far as my nonlinear spools precisely because I can't cast them as hard they do offer more than adequate casting distance with very low effort.  That's what's really impressive about the ZPI and Ray's Long Cast fixed inducter spools.

[JustJames]

Hybrid Ceramic bearing (orange shield) is not JUNK, it works just as good as clean and properly lube stock bearing in regular fishing. The benefit only you can remove the shield for faster cleaning, run dry to even get faster spin rate.

The cons are cost where you spend more but get don’t get extra distance and it is loud like hell.

I used a few of those (not boca bearing) on my reels for weightless worm (not Senko) and 1/8-1/4oz jerkbait. When compare between both you get about twice or three time spin time on hybrid ceramic bearing, but that doesn’t always transfer as more distance. To me it is about start up and more control. I don’t have to whip as hard meaning less overrun in middle cast. I since now used only stock Japanese bearing which give me about the same result.

[JimInAlabama]

Thanks for the info y'all.  I'm gonna stay with stock Shimano bearings on all but one, and I'll try a set of Hawgtech ceramics on the one reel I throw weightless plastics on.

[Cravin]

I agree with Big'un, The Hybrid Ceramics are super smooth but really load, I took mine out because in the long run it wasn't distance I was after. I just wanted to enjoy my old reel and the bearing didn't really upgrade it much but did change it.