21 Antares DC Main Gear

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Slazmo
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Re: 21 Antares DC Main Gear

Post by Slazmo » Thu May 13, 2021 5:18 pm

Shadowcaster1969 wrote:
Thu May 13, 2021 2:32 pm
benjlwq wrote:
Thu May 13, 2021 1:01 am
Have you disassembled both your reels personally? I own an Antares DC MD as well, and I'm pretty sure the reel has a brass main gear.

Tackle tour also did a review of the Antares DC 2016
http://www.tackletour.com/review16shimantaresdcpg2.html
Where they also confirm that both the main gear and pinion gear are made out of brass.


It really is just the micromodule gears that wear really fast when used beyond their capabilities.
Hi Benjlwq,

Thanks for pointing that out. :) Truth be told I have not seen the inside of the DC MD with my own eyes as I send my reels in to my local Shimano dealer for servicing. I'm rather ham-fisted and may do more harm and good trying to service the reel myself. :)

But I do recall the local dealer telling me that the DC MD uses a DurAluminium main gear instaed of Brass ones. When I first sent the reel in to them due to the bad grinding noise and severe handle back play, they changed out ALL the spool and drive shaft bearings, the one way bearing, and the main and pinion gear. They also advised me not to use the full 6kg drag setting and dial it back a little. The parts change out did solve the problem for a very short while, but the problems of grindy retrive and handle back-play came back just after a few sessions despite me dialing my drag setting back to 4-4.5kg, ~70% of what Shimano had stated what the reel was capable of producing.

I have similar problems with the 16 Antares DC but not nearly as serious as I what I had encountered on the DC MD. I'll have to ask my local Shimano reel technician if the 16 Antares DC main gear is Brass or Aluminium. :) I had assumed earlier that the 16 and 18 Antares DC have similar parts and design since they both had similar issues, although the 18 DC MD issue was a lot more severe.

Interestingly, I had been using my 10++ year old Antares DC7 and 20+ year old Antares VER 2 in similar (and perhaps even worse!) fishing situations with no issues at all... but finding speare parts for those reels is getting increasingly challenging.

Best Regards
Here's a comparison between all 3 - not sure why its upside down though?
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Cal DC Ant DC LV7 Ant DC MD.jpg
Cal DC Ant DC LV7 Ant DC MD.jpg (34.28 KiB) Viewed 3593 times

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rp346
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Re: 21 Antares DC Main Gear

Post by rp346 » Fri May 14, 2021 3:50 am

More better....Image

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LowRange
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Re: 21 Antares DC Main Gear

Post by LowRange » Fri May 14, 2021 9:25 am

Shadowcaster1969 wrote:
Wed May 12, 2021 7:50 am
Anyway, the 19 Morethan landed this 50 pounder with dignity, despite the fact that the fight lasted 35minutes and I almost got spooled twice. The reel is still as smooth as the day I took it out if the box.

Hope the 2021 Antares DC can regain it's Antares dignity and perform like Antares used to! :)

Image
That little bass reel looks so dinky on that rod next to that fish. Good to know that it can handle it though.

robertjb7771
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Re: 21 Antares DC Main Gear

Post by robertjb7771 » Sat Jun 05, 2021 11:10 pm

I've been following this thread, and i wanted to report that i just got my antares 21 in left. I own the previous antares md dc and i can say the 21 has tighter tolerances , zero handle slop and it does palm smaller than the 18, so dont let the specs dissuade you from getting one . it is also a little lighter, which always helps. Dialing the reel in is also considerably easier now with the new Daiwa like zero adjuster tension knob ( they so copied daiwa, lol) which comes adjusted from the factory so no need to touch it and also behind the cover , all you have now is the line dial ( fluoro, nylon ,braid, etc..) to adjust and your good to go! also add slightly better line management. so i'd say , its not a quantum leap in improvements but what they did improve upon adds up to a much better product overall.
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IMG_0051 (1).JPG (29.36 KiB) Viewed 3231 times
dont laugh at my baby bass... we dont have those monsters in (Texas) that you'll do in Asia!

Shadowcaster1969
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Re: 21 Antares DC Main Gear

Post by Shadowcaster1969 » Sat Aug 21, 2021 5:47 am

Just pulled the trigger on the 21 Antares DC XG. My first impression after a session on the water is that it is indeed an improvement over the 18 DC MD in terms of gear tightness and smoothness. The handle back-play that was present on the 18 DC MD is not present on the 21 DC XG. I also feel that the cast control is perceiveably more responsive and effective. Now I need to get a few decent size fish on this reel... :D. I wish they had included the out-going drag clicker like the Conquest on this Antares though.

Image

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