Bearing upgrades,waste of money?

[africanbass]

This one will probably open up a can of worms
Just interested to see the actual 'real life' benefits of upgrading bearings(spool in this specific case).
This applies specifically to the Daiwa platform as I have experience with Daiwa hardware and braking systems.
I can't see the benefit in replacing stock bearings that are of a quality that already enables a reel to perform to its maximum potential.The TDZ/zillion/Steez platforms come standard with bearings that are up to the task.They are fully capable of attaining maximum casting performance(if cleaned and lube properly.)
Incorrect lubrication should be seen as a much bigger factor in this equation.A simple clean and relube can enhance performance 10 fold.I believe time and effort should rather be spent familiarizing oneself with your reels spool and braking system.Too much emphasis is placed on how long a spool can 'free spin',this is a total waste of time and has very little influence on most real life scenarios.(Finesse is an exception in this case)
An educated thumb and an understanding of your reels spool/braking is the key to maximum success.Rather spend the extra money on an additional spool with different casting characteristic,learn to maximize its abilities and you will be better off.
Just my personal view,interested in any feedback be it positive or negative.

[cndbasshunter]

not much of a huge improvement on casting but i do notice a difference when flipping and pitching. i also notice a bigger difference on my shimano reels vs daiwa.

[lpquick]

No question everyone has their opinion on the subject. I inshore fish mostly so upgrading stock bearings makes a lot of sense IMO. Full ceramics offer complete resistance to corrosion. Having no seals or removing seals provides easier maintenance. Plus it helps make the reel my own. I have spent a little time casting reels with different bearings and or lubes and wouldn’t rule out getting more distance over stock bearings, all bearings are not created equal or we would all be using 10 cent bearings made in China or Korea in our reels. I recently purchased a second CQ 51 and decided to play around with them both on the same rod. I have experienced easier casting or what most people refer to as being less effort casting the same distance and increased distances using different bearings. I have seen ZPI bearings that wouldn’t free spin more than 6 or 7 sec. outdistance Boca full ceramics which free spin for over 40 sec. I find even among the same bearings 6 sets of ZPI that I have 1 or 2 which underperform when compared to the others. I have a pr of TG Rockets which wouldn’t free spin worth a crap outdistance an excellent free spinning pr of Boca OS. I cleaned a pr of stock CQ 51 bearings which would only free spin for 4 sec. It literally took 7, 5 min tries in my ultra sonic cleaner to get them clean, after 3 separate 5 minute intervals I was still getting a ton of grease to spew out while air blasting them on a bearing checker. These stock bearing of course are all metal and have shields on both sides. What I can say for certain is regardless of the make or kind of bearings one uses starting out clean is the single most important thing you can do besides using just a tiny drop of your favorite oil.

[Strewth]

10-15% at most for straight casting, and in many cases no noticeable improvement at all. This applies to both my Shimano and Daiwa reels, with the biggest improvement for light (<1/4 oz) lures. Agree that cleaning and lubing the stock bearings, and becoming familiar with the braking system for each reel, is far more important. The viscosity of the lube is also critical for casting.

[thelatrobe33]

I can't see the benefit in replacing stock bearings that are of a quality that already enables a reel to perform to its maximum potential.The TDZ/zillion/Steez platforms come standard with bearings that are up to the task.They are fully capable of attaining maximum casting performance(if cleaned and lube properly.)

This is YOUR opinion. I have Boca OS7s in all my Zillion and Steez reels and they make a difference to me. I will say that the difference is much more noticeable when pitching than when casting though. It's also more noticeable with lighter lures. The only reel that I don't have Boca OS7s in is my CTE100DC and that's because in that reel I really couldn't tell any difference.

[thelatrobe33]

I cleaned a pr of stock CQ 51 bearings which would only free spin for 4 sec. It literally took 7, 5 min tries in my ultra sonic cleaner to get them clean, after 3 separate 5 minute intervals I was still getting a ton of grease to spew out while air blasting them on a bearing checker. These stock bearing of course are all metal and have shields on both sides.

The CQ 51 stock bearings should not have shields I don't believe.

[lpquick]

I cleaned a pr of stock CQ 51 bearings which would only free spin for 4 sec. It literally took 7, 5 min tries in my ultra sonic cleaner to get them clean, after 3 separate 5 minute intervals I was still getting a ton of grease to spew out while air blasting them on a bearing checker. These stock bearing of course are all metal and have shields on both sides.

The CQ 51 stock bearings should not have shields I don’t believe.

I can guarantee you that the stock bearing out of my new CQ 51 has shields, I was going to remove them but decided to leave them in place to clean just to see for myself how much more time would be involved and could I get them as clean as bearings without the shields. No question I can clean them but with the shields in place it takes a while. I was using a 2/3rds simply green solution to 1/3 water, heated to 120℉. It might of went quicker if I changed to brake cleaner and or acetone but I wanted to see if simply green would remove the factory reel grease. It was packed in there like the bearings in my car.

[Drundel]

I cleaned a pr of stock CQ 51 bearings which would only free spin for 4 sec. It literally took 7, 5 min tries in my ultra sonic cleaner to get them clean, after 3 separate 5 minute intervals I was still getting a ton of grease to spew out while air blasting them on a bearing checker. These stock bearing of course are all metal and have shields on both sides.

The CQ 51 stock bearings should not have shields I don’t believe.

I can guarantee you that the stock bearing out of my new CQ 51 has shields, I was going to remove them but decided to leave them in place to clean just to see for myself how much more time would be involved and could I get them as clean as bearings without the shields. No question I can clean them but with the shields in place it takes a while. I was using a 2/3rds simply green solution to 1/3 water, heated to 120℉. It might of went quicker if I changed to brake cleaner and or acetone but I wanted to see if simply green would remove the factory reel grease. It was packed in there like the bearings in my car.

I found with bearings full of grease, I used simple green in the US cleaner until all the grease was out, then I used acetone to get rid of all the residue.

[africanbass]

Thanks for your feedback
As suspected the greatest benefits occur with specialized applications.Finesse,pitching/flipping.
Ease of maintenance/serviceability are also a big plus.Under 'normal ' casting conditions the benefits are marginal at best.

[ninjaman]

In the higher end of the reel spectrum every upgrade will battle with the law of diminishing returns. A lot of my higher end reels have had their bearings changed only to be reverted back to stock. On casting competition a performance gain in 2% is the difference between win and loose. In practical fishing it is not.
I always used to buy a pair of TG's rocket bearings (my favourite) along with the new reel, but have stopped with that now. I just clean the bearings and try it on the water. On my lower end reels I usually always change though.
I agree that US cleaning will make more of a difference than changing uncleaned bearings to another high end uncleaned pair. Buying and using an ultrasound cleaner has meant more to my reels, performance wise, than all bearing upgrades together.

[panyafish]

I fall into the group that doesn't spend any money on bearing upgrades. Don't get me wrong, I'm not denying the benefits of smoother and more expensive bearings. It's just that so many other factors affect casting performance. I mean, a faster spinning spool doesn't directly translate into a longer cast. We are trying to match the spin of spool to the speed of whatever lure you have on the end of the line. If the spool spins faster than whatever lure you're casting, then you just get a backlash. Just think about all the braking systems the various reel companies employ to SLOW down the spool.

[Carlos Carrapiço]

This one will probably open up a can of worms
Just interested to see the actual 'real life' benefits of upgrading bearings(spool in this specific case).
This applies specifically to the Daiwa platform as I have experience with Daiwa hardware and braking systems.
I can't see the benefit in replacing stock bearings that are of a quality that already enables a reel to perform to its maximum potential.The TDZ/zillion/Steez platforms come standard with bearings that are up to the task.They are fully capable of attaining maximum casting performance(if cleaned and lube properly.)
Incorrect lubrication should be seen as a much bigger factor in this equation.A simple clean and relube can enhance performance 10 fold.I believe time and effort should rather be spent familiarizing oneself with your reels spool and braking system.Too much emphasis is placed on how long a spool can 'free spin',this is a total waste of time and has very little influence on most real life scenarios.(Finesse is an exception in this case)
An educated thumb and an understanding of your reels spool/braking is the key to maximum success.Rather spend the extra money on an additional spool with different casting characteristic,learn to maximize its abilities and you will be better off.
Just my personal view,interested in any feedback be it positive or negative.

X2.
In my opinion, you are dead on on this issue.

[Carlos Carrapiço]

I fall into the group that doesn't spend any money on bearing upgrades. Don't get me wrong, I'm not denying the benefits of smoother and more expensive bearings. It's just that so many other factors affect casting performance. I mean, a faster spinning spool doesn't directly translate into a longer cast. We are trying to match the spin of spool to the speed of whatever lure you have on the end of the line. If the spool spins faster than whatever lure you're casting, then you just get a backlash. Just think about all the braking systems the various reel companies employ to SLOW down the spool.

X2

[Thor]

Sorry to be the dissenting opinion.

I replace bearings on a regular basis. I agree that "real Life" improvements are difficult to measure, therefore, cost justification is impossible. However, the bearings in most reels are the proverbial weak link and the cheapest component in the gear train. So much technology goes into the design and material selection and the bean counters force the choice of cheaper bearings. A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.

[Flathead]

Depends on the reel, in my person experience the onlyl noticeable upgrade you will see is when you are flicking lighter lures ect, unless its a cheap reel to begin with the bearings that come with it are fine. Free Spooling time and lighter lures is where you will get the most benefit. Just my opinion (although I am probably wrong)