Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Reels are the hottest topic for TackleTour. Everyone wants to know what the latest and greatest is and how they compare to the old guard. What's the best for light stuff, or what's your suggestion for heavy cover. Do we really need different retrieve ratios? It's all in here.
tincanary
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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by tincanary » Tue Jul 19, 2022 3:55 pm

dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 2:38 pm
tincanary wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:06 pm
This one is one of my favorites. 2 spool bearings, the rest are polished bushings. I usually fish this guy for spring salmon and steelhead from the piers and float spawn, waxies, and Marabou jigs steelhead. The best part is, these are the factory installed 30 year old spool bearings. Everything is factory stock aside from the drag washers. It'll throw 3/16 Hot n Tots too.

[youtube]https://youtube.com/shorts/GQ_ZSFF8row?feature=share[/youtube]
Damn homie, that's friggin' NUTS!
Thanks! That video was with no brake blocks installed. I typically run fiber blocks on the piers and none when floating bait. Here's what I did; brake drum, idler gear stud, worm bushing, pawl, and axle (where the spool pinion rides) polished. Bearing shields removed. Everything but the brake drum was lubed with something I affectionately refer to as pimp juice, a mix of 1 part TSI 321 and 8 parts 99% medical grade alcohol. TSI is a thin film lube. Applying it directly to bearings straight from the bottle, you're already applying too much, even if it's just a tiny drop. Most everybody applies It incorrectly. It needs to be watered down to work its best. The alcohol simply functions as a carrier and quickly evaporates.

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by dragon1 » Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:15 pm

My concern with TSI is that it is said to eat the plastic shield around ZPI bearings
"It is like a finger pointing away to the Moon...don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all of that heavenly glory."

tincanary
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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by tincanary » Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:35 pm

dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:15 pm
My concern with TSI is that it is said to eat the plastic shield around ZPI bearings
To my knowledge, TSI 321 is fine with plastics, but it's aerosol variant, TSI 301 is not as it contains a solvent that can warp it. 321 has no solvent as it isn't a penetrating lube like 301.

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by dragon1 » Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:33 pm

tincanary wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:35 pm
dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:15 pm
My concern with TSI is that it is said to eat the plastic shield around ZPI bearings
To my knowledge, TSI 321 is fine with plastics, but it's aerosol variant, TSI 301 is not as it contains a solvent that can warp it. 321 has no solvent as it isn't a penetrating lube like 301.
Ah perfecto! I may try that TSI 321 and 99% isopropyl alcohol mix you noted.
Last edited by dragon1 on Wed Jul 20, 2022 5:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
"It is like a finger pointing away to the Moon...don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all of that heavenly glory."

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by SSS » Tue Jul 19, 2022 9:15 pm

LowRange wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 1:31 pm
SSS wrote:
Thu Jul 14, 2022 9:37 am
When i look at an Abu round reel, i am seeing a fishing reel from the 1930's :oops: Can't tell if its supposed to be good or not.
I have that problem when I look at loomis rods.
I have the same problem with loomis rods, but at least i think of the 80's, not the 30's :mrgreen:

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by tincanary » Wed Jul 20, 2022 3:32 am

dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:33 pm
tincanary wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:35 pm
dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:15 pm
My concern with TSI is that it is said to eat the plastic shield around ZPI bearings
To my knowledge, TSI 321 is fine with plastics, but it's aerosol variant, TSI 301 is not as it contains a solvent that can warp it. 321 has no solvent as it isn't a penetrating lube like 301.
Ah perfecto! I may that that TSI 321 and 99% isopropyl alcohol mix you noted.
That's exactly why I mix it that way. 301 may warp the idler gear or the plastic worm bushing, so I cut the 321 with alcohol and it ends up doing pretty much the same thing without risk of damaging plastic. Plus the 321 is a fair amount cheaper by itself.

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by dragon1 » Wed Jul 20, 2022 5:31 am

tincanary wrote:
Wed Jul 20, 2022 3:32 am
dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:33 pm
tincanary wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:35 pm
dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:15 pm
My concern with TSI is that it is said to eat the plastic shield around ZPI bearings
To my knowledge, TSI 321 is fine with plastics, but it's aerosol variant, TSI 301 is not as it contains a solvent that can warp it. 321 has no solvent as it isn't a penetrating lube like 301.
Ah perfecto! I may that that TSI 321 and 99% isopropyl alcohol mix you noted.
That's exactly why I mix it that way. 301 may warp the idler gear or the plastic worm bushing, so I cut the 321 with alcohol and it ends up doing pretty much the same thing without risk of damaging plastic. Plus the 321 is a fair amount cheaper by itself.
That works for me, as I've been running out of my OG Daiwa oil and want to try a different oil that is a bit faster as well.

Also, what oil are you using for the other moving (non gear) parts?
"It is like a finger pointing away to the Moon...don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all of that heavenly glory."

tincanary
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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by tincanary » Wed Jul 20, 2022 3:10 pm

dragon1 wrote:
Wed Jul 20, 2022 5:31 am
tincanary wrote:
Wed Jul 20, 2022 3:32 am
dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 8:33 pm
tincanary wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:35 pm
dragon1 wrote:
Tue Jul 19, 2022 5:15 pm
My concern with TSI is that it is said to eat the plastic shield around ZPI bearings
To my knowledge, TSI 321 is fine with plastics, but it's aerosol variant, TSI 301 is not as it contains a solvent that can warp it. 321 has no solvent as it isn't a penetrating lube like 301.
Ah perfecto! I may that that TSI 321 and 99% isopropyl alcohol mix you noted.
That's exactly why I mix it that way. 301 may warp the idler gear or the plastic worm bushing, so I cut the 321 with alcohol and it ends up doing pretty much the same thing without risk of damaging plastic. Plus the 321 is a fair amount cheaper by itself.
That works for me, as I've been running out of my OG Daiwa oil and want to try a different oil that is a bit faster as well.

Also, what oil are you using for the other moving (non gear) parts?
I only do this with reels that have a disengaging level wind, but I use Yamaha 80W-90 gearcase oil. It's a marine oil. This is used on worm gears, pinion bearings, and driveshaft bearings. It really quiets down a reel and it lasts quite a long time. It does introduce a little inertia to the cranking action, but it's super smooth and you don't have to re-oil. That stuff also does a killer job at staying put on the worm gear. I even use that oil in the bearings of reels for my charter customers that use bigger conventional trolling reels.

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by dragon1 » Thu Jul 21, 2022 5:27 am

WOW, I'm curious as to that Yamaha gear case oil, and it would probably be more than I'll ever use in a lifetime. Also per what you stated for uses, probably way overkill on bass FW reels.
"It is like a finger pointing away to the Moon...don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all of that heavenly glory."

tincanary
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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by tincanary » Thu Jul 21, 2022 6:46 am

dragon1 wrote:
Thu Jul 21, 2022 5:27 am
WOW, I'm curious as to that Yamaha gear case oil, and it would probably be more than I'll ever use in a lifetime. Also per what you stated for uses, probably way overkill on bass FW reels.
I go through about a quart per year, but I do run a reel shop and go through a lot of lubricants either way. I apply it with a 14ga dropper and let the bearings marinate for a bit.

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by tincanary » Sat Jul 30, 2022 9:10 am

I've fished this reel a lot lately, more than the rest in my collection. So why have I fallen in love you may ask? Why fall in love with an old, outdated model when I can surely have a better experience with something new and state of the art? Please follow along below.

A little background, I'm an 'old' guy. Well not old, more like middle-aged. Back in the day, I grew up fishing Ambassadeurs and still used them predominantly up until maybe 5 years ago. They were never the bleeding edge, but they always worked, and worked well within their confinements. The Ambassadeur has always relied on simplicity first and foremost, and with that simplicity comes a whole world of tuning and upgrade options. Even to this day, it's the most bare bones reel you can still buy new. Simplicity in construction also means simplicity in operation. To those not in the know, it's probably the easiest reel there is to set up. Where people fail is asking too much of it from the beginning instead of learning it, much like any other.

Heavy? Yes. Slow? Indeed. Primitive braking? Yup. Even though this particular example is more than double the weight of something like an Aldebaran BFS, the weight does play to your benefit. How? Easy, it balances out a combo much better. A balanced combo, even if on the heavy side, will be less fatiguing to fish than a lighter more tip-heavy combo. Like many, I appreciate the weight savings inherent in the newest reels, but at the same time, those featherweight reels can make for a tip-heavy combo. The only way to balance out a tip-heavy combo is to add weight at the end of the rod butt which may involve a little surgery on behalf of the owner. As fas as speed is concerned, these are very slow reels bringing in 16" per turn in the 4.7:1 gears and 18" per turn in the 5.3:1. They can be sped up with a set of 6.1:1 gears which brings them in line with modern 6:1 reels, about 23" per turn.

On the braking end of things, this guy relies on the antiquated, but tried and true centrifugal braking system, but also the "other" friction brake, the spool tension knob. In recent years, it has become frowned upon to use the spool tension for braking purposes. If one can put aside all of the dubious claims competing manufacturers say about using the tension knob to control the spool, you will find it's a quite basic, yet highly effective braking system. The best part? It's infinitely variable and provides a higher degree of control than a stepped magnetic brake like found in more modern reels. Micro adjustments can be made to get the spool to behave exactly how you want. Furthermore, there is an index ring surrounding the knob so that it's simple to tell how much tension (brake) you are applying. It's simple and works exactly as it was intended. It's a very much overlooked braking system by today's standards, and was found across almost all makes and models at one point. These days it's only Abu and Akios using them in their reels.

So how does this guy cast. you may be wondering? It's awesome! Getting deeper into it, I can run my spool tension wide open and rely on the centrifugal brake when fishing lakes or other wide open spaces and maximize my distance. When it comes to pitching in an overgrown creek, I like to apply just a tiny bit of spool tension so I can keep the spool controlled making those in-close casts. Mag brakes are made for Ambassadeurs by companies like AMO and Avail, but none of them are externally adjustable and too fiddly on the water as the reel needs to be partially disassembled to adjust. The spool tension brake is as simple as it gets.

In closing, these are incredibly well engineered reels. They don't have the fine tolerances of the more contemporary Japanese made round reels like the Calcutta Conquest and Millionaire, but those looser tolerances mean it takes a lot more crud to bind them up. The Ambassadeur is still the golden standard reel to a degree, and its DNA is in every baitcaster on the shelf today. The centrifugal brake, free spool clutch, thumb bar, and multi-disc drag were all patents held by ABU until the 1970s. When those expired, they chose not to renew them, opening the door for other manufacturers to use the same basic design, which is still used in every competing reel.

If anybody has been on the fence about these, you should at least try. Yes, they can be expensive, but if you look in places outside of eBay, there are still deals to be had. My 1600C IAR set me back $100, considerably less than an eBay reel. A friend of mine, who collects reels, finds 2500Cs frequently at garage sales and estate sales at near giveaway prices. Patience can pay off. Chances are, being a BFS fisherman, you will need to spend money on parts like a ported idler, spool, worm gear, and line guide, but those add to the value of the reel. Worst case is you break even should you decide to sell it, and at best you will make a profit. With that said, eBay reels are a bit much from the get-go making any savings near non-existent. Put in the legwork and you just might be nicely rewarded.

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by doomtrprz71 » Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:51 am

tincanary wrote:
Sat Jul 30, 2022 9:10 am
I've fished this reel a lot lately, more than the rest in my collection. So why have I fallen in love you may ask? Why fall in love with an old, outdated model when I can surely have a better experience with something new and state of the art? Please follow along below.

A little background, I'm an 'old' guy. Well not old, more like middle-aged. Back in the day, I grew up fishing Ambassadeurs and still used them predominantly up until maybe 5 years ago. They were never the bleeding edge, but they always worked, and worked well within their confinements. The Ambassadeur has always relied on simplicity first and foremost, and with that simplicity comes a whole world of tuning and upgrade options. Even to this day, it's the most bare bones reel you can still buy new. Simplicity in construction also means simplicity in operation. To those not in the know, it's probably the easiest reel there is to set up. Where people fail is asking too much of it from the beginning instead of learning it, much like any other.

Heavy? Yes. Slow? Indeed. Primitive braking? Yup. Even though this particular example is more than double the weight of something like an Aldebaran BFS, the weight does play to your benefit. How? Easy, it balances out a combo much better. A balanced combo, even if on the heavy side, will be less fatiguing to fish than a lighter more tip-heavy combo. Like many, I appreciate the weight savings inherent in the newest reels, but at the same time, those featherweight reels can make for a tip-heavy combo. The only way to balance out a tip-heavy combo is to add weight at the end of the rod butt which may involve a little surgery on behalf of the owner. As fas as speed is concerned, these are very slow reels bringing in 16" per turn in the 4.7:1 gears and 18" per turn in the 5.3:1. They can be sped up with a set of 6.1:1 gears which brings them in line with modern 6:1 reels, about 23" per turn.

On the braking end of things, this guy relies on the antiquated, but tried and true centrifugal braking system, but also the "other" friction brake, the spool tension knob. In recent years, it has become frowned upon to use the spool tension for braking purposes. If one can put aside all of the dubious claims competing manufacturers say about using the tension knob to control the spool, you will find it's a quite basic, yet highly effective braking system. The best part? It's infinitely variable and provides a higher degree of control than a stepped magnetic brake like found in more modern reels. Micro adjustments can be made to get the spool to behave exactly how you want. Furthermore, there is an index ring surrounding the knob so that it's simple to tell how much tension (brake) you are applying. It's simple and works exactly as it was intended. It's a very much overlooked braking system by today's standards, and was found across almost all makes and models at one point. These days it's only Abu and Akios using them in their reels.

So how does this guy cast. you may be wondering? It's awesome! Getting deeper into it, I can run my spool tension wide open and rely on the centrifugal brake when fishing lakes or other wide open spaces and maximize my distance. When it comes to pitching in an overgrown creek, I like to apply just a tiny bit of spool tension so I can keep the spool controlled making those in-close casts. Mag brakes are made for Ambassadeurs by companies like AMO and Avail, but none of them are externally adjustable and too fiddly on the water as the reel needs to be partially disassembled to adjust. The spool tension brake is as simple as it gets.

In closing, these are incredibly well engineered reels. They don't have the fine tolerances of the more contemporary Japanese made round reels like the Calcutta Conquest and Millionaire, but those looser tolerances mean it takes a lot more crud to bind them up. The Ambassadeur is still the golden standard reel to a degree, and its DNA is in every baitcaster on the shelf today. The centrifugal brake, free spool clutch, thumb bar, and multi-disc drag were all patents held by ABU until the 1970s. When those expired, they chose not to renew them, opening the door for other manufacturers to use the same basic design, which is still used in every competing reel.

If anybody has been on the fence about these, you should at least try. Yes, they can be expensive, but if you look in places outside of eBay, there are still deals to be had. My 1600C IAR set me back $100, considerably less than an eBay reel. A friend of mine, who collects reels, finds 2500Cs frequently at garage sales and estate sales at near giveaway prices. Patience can pay off. Chances are, being a BFS fisherman, you will need to spend money on parts like a ported idler, spool, worm gear, and line guide, but those add to the value of the reel. Worst case is you break even should you decide to sell it, and at best you will make a profit. With that said, eBay reels are a bit much from the get-go making any savings near non-existent. Put in the legwork and you just might be nicely rewarded.
That simplicity is what taught my wife to throw a baitcaster, she learned on a 4600c4 and the old round reels are what I got my start on with bass fishing serious as a kid. I've always wanted to get around to getting a 1600 and a 2500 but I just haven't pulled the trigger. Buying 3 steezs and 2 z2020s will eat up a reel budget. My favorite reel of all to fish is the old abu Garcia ultra mag 2, it's big for a low profile reel, has no iar, but man does it take me back to my childhood. It outlasted every Shimano and daiwa I had as a kid and made me a die hard fan of Abu Garcia until got back into Daiwas in recent years for inshore saltwater fishing. Blame the OG zillion for that switch😂

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by tincanary » Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:58 am

doomtrprz71 wrote:
Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:51 am
That simplicity is what taught my wife to throw a baitcaster, she learned on a 4600c4 and the old round reels are what I got my start on with bass fishing serious as a kid. I've always wanted to get around to getting a 1600 and a 2500 but I just haven't pulled the trigger. Buying 3 steezs and 2 z2020s will eat up a reel budget. My favorite reel of all to fish is the old abu Garcia ultra mag 2, it's big for a low profile reel, has no iar, but man does it take me back to my childhood. It outlasted every Shimano and daiwa I had as a kid and made me a die hard fan of Abu Garcia until got back into Daiwas in recent years for inshore saltwater fishing. Blame the OG zillion for that switch😂
Oh yeah I can relate. The JDM bug bit me hard a couple of years ago. Outside of this Abu, every reel purchase since has been JDM Daiwa and Shimano.

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by Oktayne the Red » Thu Aug 04, 2022 1:08 am

That is certainly an awesome piece. Congratulations indeed. That has been one of my holy grail reels for a very long time (closest I got was a mid-80s 3500C). Really awesome to hear you're having fun with it.

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Re: Not much love for Abu around here, but here's my latest. 1600C IAR

Post by Big-Bass » Sat Aug 06, 2022 7:27 am

I was able to pick up two 2600C and two 2601C all NIB which was a pretty cool find.

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