Breakdown ABUs casting systems PLEASE !

[Bladerunner808]

I like my Diawas and their Magforce Z system - pretty mindless so I can focus on fishing.

What in the WORLD is going on with ABU? I have a soft spot for this brand because these were my first baitcasters 20 years ago - BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES IN THE SYSTEMS - and WHY every reel seems to employ a different one! I am skeptical that each reel was designed for a specific use and therefore recieved the IDEAL system for that platform - some of the choices seem arbitrary... but maybe Abu is that organized...

COULD anyone here... A) break down these systems in laymans terms... B) (BONUS POINTS) If you can explain why a particular system was assigned to a particular reel... C) Which of these systems is the most refined.... D) (AND JUST FOR ME) Which system would perform best for throwing unweighted Senkos a country mile...

1. IVCB-4
2. Infini-brake
3. Pitch Centrifugal (I understand this one, but why on an in-shore reel?)
4. MagTrax

[Bladerunner808]

I guess you are all as confused as I am.

[Fishingelbow]

Try reading this excellent article for some answers: http://www.japantackle.com/Topics/brake_system.htm

[21farms]

the japantackle page is an excellent primer on braking systems so i'll just throw in my 2¢ on your other question about why a particular system was assigned to particular reels. remember, this simply my take on the matter.

i think abu garcia is simply trying to be all things to all people by covering all the bases. because centrifugal brakes have been around so long and are so simple and have the least amount of cachet, they decided they'd use it in the lowest revo model, the S. since magnetic brakes seem to be a little more "innovative" and "modern", they used that in their next model up, the SX. naturally, the next model up, the STX, would have a combination of both centrifugal and mag brakes...the so-called 'best of both worlds'. now, for their highest-end models, the premier and MGX, they wanted the most-effective brakes but there's no way they could stick "old" centrifugal brakes into their fanciest reels so they set about to reinvent them and came up the funky and fancy-sounding IVCB system that no one really understands

something japantackle did not talk about was abu's move from "linear mag brakes" to the "magtrax" brake system on the SX. IMHO, just like IVCB took a simple but highly-effective centrifugal brake and made it needlessly complicated and questionably more effective, the linear mag brake was the result of the same kind of thinking except applied to magnetic brakes. the linear mag brake system employed a metallic shield that rotated back and forth to cover or expose a row of magnets as the means of varying the amount of magnetic force applied to the spool. nice concept except that, in actual usage, each increment of adjustment altered the shape of the magnetic field in an unpredictable manner. just do a search for 'revo SX' and you'll see that it has a widespread reputation of being squirrelly. abu heard the complaints and, for the second-generation SX, attempted to tame the beast by adding another row of magnets, which worked for some and not for others. for the third-generation SX, abu scrapped the linear mag brake altogether and installed the simple magtrax brake that they've beem employing for years in their lower-tier max line of reels. magtrax brakes simply move a row of magnets closer or further away from the spool and work very well.

[Reel Old Geezer]

Just for reference, and since I seem to enjoy pointing it out... nothin's new. In case anyone cares, centrifugal brakes were first patented for a fishing reel in 1892. Magnetic brakes were first developed by GE to slow down electric motors. They were patented in 1935 and used in a reel in the late 1930's by Ocean City Mfg. Co. Nothin's New. Materials change, and improvements are implemented, but the ideas are old.

However, to get to the subject, I am also confused by all variations of these systems manufactured today. And they all have some combination of letters and numbers, or an exotic word, to identify it. My old brain just can't keep up.

[StarTzar]

I miss my Ambassadeurs Ultra Cast. UC4600 and UC5600.
Set them once and forget about it. My thumb against the spool was the variable braking system.

I own Revo Premiers Gen2. I use them a lot. I still use my thumb for variable braking.
I also have Lew's TPros. I use those a lot and also use my thumb for variable braking.

I purchased an MGX last season. I use it a lot.
At the start of the season, I was using my thumb for variable braking.
As the season progressed, I made more use of the variable dial on the side plate.
With practice, and towards the end of the season, my thumb was no longer needed as a variable braking system.

I prefer using my thumb as a variable braking system. It's what I know best and use it efficiently.
The MGX is nice, but Old habits are difficult to break.

[Bladerunner808]

the japantackle page is an excellent primer on braking systems so i'll just throw in my 2¢ on your other question about why a particular system was assigned to particular reels. remember, this simply my take on the matter.

i think abu garcia is simply trying to be all things to all people by covering all the bases. because centrifugal brakes have been around so long and are so simple and have the least amount of cachet, they decided they'd use it in the lowest revo model, the S. since magnetic brakes seem to be a little more "innovative" and "modern", they used that in their next model up, the SX. naturally, the next model up, the STX, would have a combination of both centrifugal and mag brakes...the so-called 'best of both worlds'. now, for their highest-end models, the premier and MGX, they wanted the most-effective brakes but there's no way they could stick "old" centrifugal brakes into their fanciest reels so they set about to reinvent them and came up the funky and fancy-sounding IVCB system that no one really understands

something japantackle did not talk about was abu's move from "linear mag brakes" to the "magtrax" brake system on the SX. IMHO, just like IVCB took a simple but highly-effective centrifugal brake and made it needlessly complicated and questionably more effective, the linear mag brake was the result of the same kind of thinking except applied to magnetic brakes. the linear mag brake system employed a metallic shield that rotated back and forth to cover or expose a row of magnets as the means of varying the amount of magnetic force applied to the spool. nice concept except that, in actual usage, each increment of adjustment altered the shape of the magnetic field in an unpredictable manner. just do a search for 'revo SX' and you'll see that it has a widespread reputation of being squirrelly. abu heard the complaints and, for the second-generation SX, attempted to tame the beast by adding another row of magnets, which worked for some and not for others. for the third-generation SX, abu scrapped the linear mag brake altogether and installed the simple magtrax brake that they've beem employing for years in their lower-tier max line of reels. magtrax brakes simply move a row of magnets closer or further away from the spool and work very well.

Thanks - this helped.