Number of ball bearing in a reel?

[dingbat]

Lots of reel manufactures coming out with reels with a large number of ball bearing in their design.

Some think that ball bearing are beneficial and increase the performance. Others think it?s nothing more than a marketing ploy and that that the large numbers of ?unneeded? bearings create service issues and are actually detrimental to the longivity of the reel.

What are your thoughts?

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I will take a 5 bearings Shimano over most 8 bearings reels make by some other companies.

 

[sccatfish]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I think a lot of it has to do with it being a marketing scheme. And kind of along the same lines as what gonefishie said, it doesn't matter how many bearings there are if the rest of the reel isn't good quality. That could be why they put so many - if they didn't have that many it would feel like junk, so they load it with bearings to smooth it out.

There are only so many places that you can put a bearing in a reel. If placing a bearing will reduce friction then it's probably beneficial, but sometimes it may make no noticeable difference to the user - which is probably why a lot of reel makers don't bother with that many. If they are putting a lot of bearings side by side when others use only one or two, then that is actually adding more friction.

 

[JB]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I have 4 Garcia Pro-Max reels with 8 BB each. They have given me good service for 15 years, but my Garcia Ambassaduer 7000 with 2 BB has done the job for a bit over 40 years.

Trumpeting numbers of ball bearings, I agree, is marketing hype, but if they are in an otherwise great reel they contribute to smooth performance.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I have 4 Garcia Pro-Max reels with 8 BB each.

What model Pro-Max? I wasn't aware that Abu made a reel with anymore than 5 bearings.

2 - Spool bearings
2 - Level wind bearing
1 - Drive shaft

 

[fishon13]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I use a pflueger maxx xt (plfmaxxpro25) with 9 bearings. The reel is an ultra light that I use 4lb test on after useing one for a season in muddy conditions the performance was so good I bought another one. The same model was made with 8 bearings such a short time ago that it still says eight on the box. I also think its a marketing tool now that there coming out with the new boxes there raiseing the price $10.00. If any one is looking for a great reel try this one.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I have a penn with something like 11 bearings... the thing is slicker than you know what!!

 

[JB]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

What model Pro-Max? I wasn't aware that Abu made a reel with anymore than 5 bearings.

2 - Spool bearings
2 - Level wind bearing
1 - Drive shaft

Well, I lied. I have only three Pro Max. The fourth is a Morrum

I have a Pro Max1500 (the first Pro Max) that I bought sometime in the early 90s.

The Pro Max 3600 I bought broken and repaired around 1996.

I bought the Pro Max 5600 on sale about 1997.

My Morrum 5600 was a Fathers' Day present in 1999. I don't know how many BB it has, but it is even smoother than the Pro Max 5600.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

My Morrum 5600 was a Fathers' Day present in 1999.

Nice reel . I have a 7700 Morrum that I use surf fishing

 

[85Lund]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I use pflueger presidential reels which have 12 bearings. I don't think the 12 bearing are necessary, but they are great reels and require little maintenance if you take care of them. All I really care about is the forward/backward catch. If the arm of the reel has play in at all I can not reel in the exact amount of line I want.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

If the arm of the reel has play in at all I can not reel in the exact amount of line I want.

Interesting. Do you have a formula that translates degrees of backlash in the handle to inches of retrieve?

 

[85Lund]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I don't have a formula, but I would suggest buying a reel from the store rathewr than online, unless you are replacing one with the same model you already have. Through the years I have used reels from 1 bearing now up to the 12 in my Presedentials. Whether the reels has 6 oe 12 bearing the key for me is after reeling in the reel there is not play in the handle. Being a walleye fisherman, this allows me to bring my jig in to exactly where I want it, which makes keeping a jig head 2 inches off the bottom much easier for me. The other huge thing is when setting the hook you can be sure there is no play in your reel. It will give you a good solid hook set. if you are using a cheaper reel you may not get the good solid hook set because of the 2 or three inches of line that may or may not be spooled when setting your hook. The bottom line for me is I take care of my equipment. this make spending $600 dollars on a set of matching poles and reels worth it for me. I know I will have them for quite some time. If you break it down over months/years I probably pay $5 a month for the poles which to me is worth it. I will only purchase pflueger reels for my spinning rods. I have never been let down and I have reels from my grandfather that were bought in the 60's and newer ones that all are hassle free reels when taken care of. Good luck and if you can buy nice stuff and keep it for a life time. It will become part of your hand after a few years.

 

[jakebrake]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

bearings are a good thing... to a point
5 is good. 11 is added weight, cost, and maintenance. the "oo ahh" factor isn't worth it. grab an old penn (when penns were penns) and count the bearings...I rest my case.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

I don't have a formula, but I would suggest buying a reel from the store rathewr than online, unless you are replacing one with the same model you already have. Through the years I have used reels from 1 bearing now up to the 12 in my Presedentials. Whether the reels has 6 oe 12 bearing the key for me is after reeling in the reel there is not play in the handle. Being a walleye fisherman, this allows me to bring my jig in to exactly where I want it, which makes keeping a jig head 2 inches off the bottom much easier for me. The other huge thing is when setting the hook you can be sure there is no play in your reel. It will give you a good solid hook set. if you are using a cheaper reel you may not get the good solid hook set because of the 2 or three inches of line that may or may not be spooled when setting your hook. The bottom line for me is I take care of my equipment. this make spending $600 dollars on a set of matching poles and reels worth it for me. I know I will have them for quite some time. If you break it down over months/years I probably pay $5 a month for the poles which to me is worth it. I will only purchase pflueger reels for my spinning rods. I have never been let down and I have reels from my grandfather that were bought in the 60's and newer ones that all are hassle free reels when taken care of. Good luck and if you can buy nice stuff and keep it for a life time. It will become part of your hand after a few years.

You?re preaching to the choir about buying good equipment??..although my wife only wishes I spent $600 on a combo.

Saltwater, different game. Pretty easy to drop $500-$1,000 on a good setup.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

bearings are a good thing... to a point
5 is good. 11 is added weight, cost, and maintenance. the "oo ahh" factor isn't worth it. grab an old penn (when penns were penns) and count the bearings...I rest my case.

I have 2 tricked out Abu 6500 Mag-Elites I use for surf fishing. I did the full 5 bearing upgrade (LW bearings) on them. Other than that I'll take a good old 2 or 3 bearing setup any day of the week.

 

[85Lund]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

Salt water fishing is a whole different ball game. You guys are way out of my league. I'm just a poor Wisconsin walleye hunter!! Whatever you choose it must improve your experience, last and be comfortable. If it meets those three criteria you should be good. My wife would probably agree with the previous statement about spending so much on fishing equipment, but its better than wasting it on strippers and booze.

 

[MudSkunk]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

Whether the reels has 6 oe 12 bearing the key for me is after reeling in the reel there is not play in the handle.

that is what i look for in a reel. i fish for catfish primarily and look for channel cats the most. i also catch a lot of walleye pike bass and the occasional muskie. but no backspin on a reel is most important. bearing numbers have no bearing but if you see me out there i will trade ya walleye for some catfish!!

 

[Shockley]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

In my everyday, pay for my hobbies, job I buy bearings for industrial power transmissions. We build PT units for marine, sugar, and other industrial applications. Anyway, the theory behing bearings is as follows: the more balls you can have around a radius, the less friction, heat and stress on the components you will have. Now with all that being said, you don't have the heat, and stress on a reel that you do on a PT going 60,000 rpms. However, you will have friction. Friction is the problem that will cause premature failure on the pinions (pauls), gears, etc... If you reduce the friction in a reel, you can cast it further. It will also be smoother running and last longer. Is there overkill? Maybe. In practicality, the more bearings you have the better.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Number of ball bearing in a reel?

If all of those bearings they put in most reels were high quality bearings, or one's that could withstand saltwater, it would be fine, but I've had better luck with the older reels with less bearings. The less parts to fail the better in my book.
I've had just about every type of reel over the years and find myself always going back to my tried and true Penn and Daiwa reels from the 70's.
My Penn SS reels and Daiwa BG reels have been near flawless with no problems. But yet I've been through many modern multi bearing reels.

I've been fishing with one Daiwa Bronze series, (no ball bearings), for 30+ years.
There's nothing worse than having a bail roller bearing fail when reeling in a huge fish, it's almost always a broken line.

On a conventional reel, at least the smaller one's I do like to see a good set of bearings on the spool shaft for casting, but other bearings to me are just weak points in the reel.