Bearings

[STREAMHAWAII]

Looking for new bearings for my old and new Daiwa Tatula SV’s and Elites. Where should I go?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Are looking to upgrade or just replace? I’ll hook you up with whatever you need

[roadwarrior]

https://www.delawarevalleytackle.com/

[STREAMHAWAII]

On 2/24/2024 at 5:38 PM, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Are looking to upgrade or just replace? I’ll hook you up with whatever you need

Upgrade. So far I've been seeing so much styles of bearings. All with different codes. Would like to learn more and order some.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

1 hour ago, STREAMHAWAII said:

Upgrade. So far I've been seeing so much styles of bearings. All with different codes. Would like to learn more and order some.

ABEC rating is an industry standard indicating tolerances. Ceramic hybrid (ceramic balls in ss cage) are what we commonly refer to a ceramic bearings. They are harder, smoother and rounder than stainless steel balls. As a result they spin easier and faster. ABEC7 bearings are the typical upgraded rating. I sell Boca brand as they’re a trusted reliable supplier. I sell them for $34/pr. If you let me know the models and number of reels I’ll check inventory. Payment via PayPal Invoice with an account or via card. Let me know if you have any other questions 

[STREAMHAWAII]

1 hour ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

ABEC rating is an industry standard indicating tolerances. Ceramic hybrid (ceramic balls in ss cage) are what we commonly refer to a ceramic bearings. They are harder, smoother and rounder than stainless steel balls. As a result they spin easier and faster. ABEC7 bearings are the typical upgraded rating. I sell Boca brand as they’re a trusted reliable supplier. I sell them for $34/pr. If you let me know the models and number of reels I’ll check inventory. Payment via PayPal Invoice with an account or via card. Let me know if you have any other questions 

$34 per set seems up there. Are these bearings as superior as you can get, or are there more higher end options?

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

The cheap bearings you see all over the web are a crapshoot. If you want to save money, your best bet is to replace them with ABEC5 SS bearings flushed and lightly oiled. The “best” is debated endlessly most often with anecdotal evidence that may or may not bare out. 

[JediAmoeba]

1 hour ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

The cheap bearings you see all over the web are a crapshoot. If you want to save money, your best bet is to replace them with ABEC5 SS bearings flushed and lightly oiled. The “best” is debated endlessly most often with anecdotal evidence that may or may not bare out. 

I have played with all sorts of bearings and some of the "best" bearings were the cheap bearings. Some of the worst bearings were the cheap ones. Lol 

 

The most consistent ones, at least from Daiwa and Shimano, are their stock ones in the mid to high end reels. Out of the box the boca, spoolspeed, fasteddy are without a doubt the best. BUT, when stock bearings in those mid to high end reela are flushed and properly oiled they compare to the more expensive bearings. 

 

After having played with bearings for years in my reels and tearing them down I am amazed so many people push to change out all your bearings to high end. In fact, many places, like the worm gear, imo, should not have bearings. It's a low load application and doesn't see high end speeds that even warrant an abec7 or 9 ball bearing - bushings serve the best purpose here, can be hydrophobic and won't corrode. Last year I cut out some bushings on a lathe to replace the drive gear bearing on a couple of my reels and the results were very satisfactory. I tried out some rods of UHMW.

[STREAMHAWAII]

3 hours ago, JediAmoeba said:

I have played with all sorts of bearings and some of the "best" bearings were the cheap bearings. Some of the worst bearings were the cheap ones. Lol 

 

The most consistent ones, at least from Daiwa and Shimano, are their stock ones in the mid to high end reels. Out of the box the boca, spoolspeed, fasteddy are without a doubt the best. BUT, when stock bearings in those mid to high end reela are flushed and properly oiled they compare to the more expensive bearings. 

 

After having played with bearings for years in my reels and tearing them down I am amazed so many people push to change out all your bearings to high end. In fact, many places, like the worm gear, imo, should not have bearings. It's a low load application and doesn't see high end speeds that even warrant an abec7 or 9 ball bearing - bushings serve the best purpose here, can be hydrophobic and won't corrode. Last year I cut out some bushings on a lathe to replace the drive gear bearing on a couple of my reels and the results were very satisfactory. I tried out some rods of UHMW.

Ok I get it. If I was to remove the shields off of my Zillion, clean, dry and install without oil. Running it dry is ok?

[JediAmoeba]

Just now, STREAMHAWAII said:

Ok I get it. If I was to remove the shields off of my Zillion, clean, dry and install without oil. Running it dry is ok?

The only bearings you can run dry are 100% ceramics and even those I feel need a thin coating of synthetic oil. 

 

Also, some bearings are pressed and the shields cannot be removed. 

[STREAMHAWAII]

2 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

The only bearings you can run dry are 100% ceramics and even those I feel need a thin coating of synthetic oil. 

 

Also, some bearings are pressed and the shields cannot be removed. 

Ok so some knife nano-oil would be ok to use. I do notice that when I removed and cleaned my Elites, when it isn't oiled, it spins forever so I figured I asked

[FrnkNsteen]

5 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

The only bearings you can run dry are 100% ceramics and even those I feel need a thin coating of synthetic oil. 

 

Also, some bearings are pressed and the shields cannot be removed. 

I was actually typing the same thing....

 

I don't run ANY bearings dry. People say you can the ceramics dry, but I hate how noisy they are dry. I oil all of my bearings with a very small amount of quality oil (1 drop)

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

When asked, my advice is always to first flush and oil the stock bearings. The difference is immediately noticeable. No need to remove shields. Soak and agitate in acetone. Test, repeat as necessary.  I thought the OP had his mind made up or I’d have told him the same. 
 

Ceramic hybrids can be run dry and that’s gets the most benefit. These bearings are a high performance upgrade so some quietness is sacrificed. 

[MickD]

I'm always amazed by these discussions.  But I think, unless one is turning off all the cast control devices on their reels, how can minute bearing differences make a significant difference?  I just don't get it, but I'm willing to learn. So teach me.  thx.

[webertime]

Super high end bearings start faster and spin longer but in a fishing reel that has spool tension and brakes holding them back it's a somewhat limited performance upgrade.  Like taking steroids but not working out.  OEM shimano and daiwa bearings are 95% of the super high end bearings at 40%ish the cost.  Super high end bearings in bicycle hubs and rc cars makes a big difference as they have high rotational speeds for longer durations with no hindrances. If I had to upgrade I'd do abec 5 stainless and tsi321 oil and call it good.

[FrnkNsteen]

1 hour ago, MickD said:

I'm always amazed by these discussions.  But I think, unless one is turning off all the cast control devices on their reels, how can minute bearing differences make a significant difference?  I just don't get it, but I'm willing to learn. So teach me.  thx.

I don't think it makes a huge difference really,... At least not enough to justify the cost by itself. 

 

On the couple cases where I did it, my bearings were bad so I had to replace them anyway so I decided to upgrade.

 

The biggest gain I noticed was more in smoothness of the cast, more so than any increase in casting distance. I agree that if it's just about more free-spin,... Unless you have all the braking turned off, it likely isn't needed.

[JediAmoeba]

People think a spool spinning for 2 minutes is a difference maker. This is with all brakes turned off(I hope). 

 

The truth is it isn't. Once you turn up your brakes and put a load on the reel you have changed the environment. If your reel just kept spinning freely and you didn't quickly stop the spool, you would have one hell of a backlash. Spools like the SV Boost stop almost entirely at the end of the cast which is why people love them for skipping applications. For long distance casters this wouldn't be ideal but fishing for bass isn't usually a distance competition...

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Improving free spool whether it’s accomplished by cleaning/flushing, upgrades or super tuning aids in casting light baits and improves accuracy by requiring less force to cast. Any added distance is ancillary and dependent upon the casters skill.  I agree that those spinning spool videos are silliness. 

[new2BC4bass]

On 2/26/2024 at 4:06 PM, MickD said:

I'm always amazed by these discussions.  But I think, unless one is turning off all the cast control devices on their reels, how can minute bearing differences make a significant difference?  I just don't get it, but I'm willing to learn. So teach me.  thx.

 

18 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

Improving free spool whether it’s accomplished by cleaning/flushing, upgrades or super tuning aids in casting light baits and improves accuracy by requiring less force to cast. Any added distance is ancillary and dependent upon the casters skill.  I agree that those spinning spool videos are silliness. 

 

I have 2 Curado 51E reels.  DVT only deep cleaned the one while the other was deep cleaned and upgraded with bearings (also by DVT).  May have gone with Carbontex drags on both...don't remember.  Never made a side-by-side test on same rod, but I couldn't really tell a difference.  Probably because I'm not the caster many are.

 

I have another pair of reels that could be tested....one stock to the best of my knowledge (purchased used) and the other tuned and with several upgrades of which one was a bearing upgrade.  Never tested one against the other on the same rod (or same make/model).  This reel was upgraded years ago and the bearings were more than the $34 from above.

 

What I notice the most has already been mentioned.  Upgraded reels cast about the same distance (for me) but with less required effort.

 

[GPtimes2]

After reading a lot of reviews, and trying boca orange seal and full ceramic, I ended up with hedgehog studio bearings. A lot of people (casual and enthusiast) where claiming them to be the best. And only shielded on one side allows for easily adding a drop of oil and cleaning. I used them last summer and am very happy with them.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

I can’t see full ceramic for anything other than a salt water application where corrosion is an issue. Hybrids help there to some degree.