why does SHIMANO use so few bearings in their reels?

I was just curious and have been wondering for awhile now why shimano reels don't use many bearings.i hear people say it doesn't matter how many bearings the reel has and more bearings doesn't make em smoother what matters is the quality of em which i can understand the quality (longer lasting) thing but i've used many different high end reels and i believe more is smoother no matter what anyone says (my opinion) you know how you pick a new reel up at the store,palm it,and give the handle a quick spin? well anyway i do that and the handle on the reels with less bearings come to a stop much sooner than reels with more bearings.shimano is favorited by many fisherman around the world one of the top brands out there so why don't they add a few more bearings what's it gonna hurt? oh and the shimano caenan uses 7 bearings while the citica uses 3?

There are different ratings to bearings. If you'v ever heard of the ABEC rating system it helps explain it. I used to rollerblade for example. The cheapest skates had like ABEC3 or lower bearings. I upgraded the same skate to the better ABEC 7 bearings and almost landed in the hospital due to the smoother/faster bearings. Shimano uses high quality components and most likely uses higher rated bearings than some others. Also if you add more bearings you add more weight to the reel, and the less moving parts the better.

personally speaking,Iwould rather have bearings in the handle knobs than on each end of the level wind.It makes a difference esp. when using big water resistant baits.The reels that sport 10 bearings have 4 in the handle.2 in each knob.

It is the quality of the bearing, not the quantity. I would imagine why you notice the handle not spinning as long as other brands is the way the bearings are lubricated. I think Shimano uses a thicker lubricant than other brand, I have heard some people say shimano puts grease in the bearing. I know some people clean the bearings and re-lube with a different lubricant straight out of the box. I personally don't care how many bearings they have, as long as shimano continues to produce a product that, from my personal observations, out performs against all their competitors, I will continue to purchase shimano reels.

I think a lot of their reels don't have bearings in the knobs. Thats 2 to 4 bearing right there. Just a guess though. I know the Core's don't have bearings in the knobs.

good point.I think the core is at best a flipping pitching type reel for soft plastics and having handle bearings could dull the sensitivity for feeling the light bite of soft plastics.My two cents.

Having bearings in the handle does not affect you feeling a fish take your lure at all. The shimano core does have bearings in the handle. The 100 has two and the core 50mg has 4 bearings in the handle

At one time I was involved with the machine work and tooling of precision brushless sealed electric motor drive systems and we made it a point to machine and engineer our parts to fit together so well that we did not rely on bearings to create a fluid and smooth transfer of power or to reduce friction. As a matter of fact in that particular industry and in our application, products that had several bearings were looked at as being cheap and thrown together due to the fact that they relyed on the bearings to make up for the short falls in their tooling and machine quality. I'm not a fishing reel designer but I can certainly see how the same issues may be present...Just throw a bunch of bearings into a reel to make up for the lack of your machine quality, market it as being a great product because of how many bearings it has and charge a premium price for it and the public will eat it up... Hmmmm could be???

Friction also has a huge factor in the design. Contact points on a shaft slow the shaft down. With the proper design a shaft can be supported with fewer bearings. Benefits of that will be two fold, lighter weight design and less friction on the shaft

Couldn't agree more.

must have been hard telling your parents that you rollerblade....







jk man

They all feel pretty good in the store when you do the old "let's see how long she'll spin" thing...

The true test is how they feel after cranking a DD22 for 6 years! This is when you can tell the good stuff from the junk.

That pretty well covers it. I still have a couple of the calcutta's that I bought many many (probably close o 20) years ago that still work great. I don't use them much because I prefer the low profile reels now. I also have a Chronarch that is probably over 15 years old and still works like a charm. I use it for crankbaits now.

Clean them every 5 to 10 years whether they need it or not.

Less friction on the shaft ehh??

I really don't pay attention to the number of bearings in a reel... H20 makes some reels with like 15 bearings, but they don't hold a candle to a Shimano or Abu Garcia reel.

Been making racing bikes for a long time.

I'll take a Shimano reel over the others any day of the week, no matter how many bearings they have. Finn and Tonic hit it on the head as to the number of bearings in products. Quality is all Shimano makes. When the parts are precision made and of higher quality like Shimano reels, you have all you need in the way of the number of bearings. Like Troyz said, I don't know how old my Calcuttas are. I know they're over 12 years old now. But, they still perform like the day I bought them. I probably have a dozen of them in the boat, along with all my other Shimano reels.

I still have a Shimano Bantum 10 that works as well as the day I got it. They make good stuff hands down!

Good point Hag.

I can't give you the reason exactly but I have noticed that most of my Shimano reels seem to improve after a month or two of fishing with them. By improve I mean the seem smoother and more free by a good bit. This is something that is missed by someone who is only intrested in how long a spool will spin with all of the brakes off and no line on the reel.

Jason

They add weight and expense, but they are most concerned about the weight.

I agree that the "see how long it will spin" test doesn't always work. Most of the time the Shimanos don't seem to freespool as long as others in the store, but with line and a lure on, it is a different ball game. I love how smooth my Shimanos are. I had a $50 Daiwa that could outcast them distance wise (until it broke), but it was nowhere near as smooth. I don't have much experience with the other high end reels to tell you which one is better, but I have been pleased with my Shinamos.

Love my Shimanos.

I had a Shimano spinning in 1983 and used it for 18 years til I upgraded to a newer model....I loved it. Had one of those triggers to open the bail and was smooth ,5.3 to 1 , a screamer in those days....Caught many a bass on it...Obviously well built.

I think a reels ability to handle a deep diver is a good test. Long casts and long grinding retrieves will trash a cheap reel with 10 bearings. Shimanos are big bucks, but they are worth it.

I don't know the answer to your question, but I do like all my shimanos. Most of the Shimanos that I own are low end, but they do perform flawlessly. I did buy a Calcultta 200 in 1991, that still works like a charm. It's beat up on the outside, but still performs like new. Shimano is simply the best in the market IMO. I do look at the number of bearings when I want to buy a new reel, but with Shimano I don't care. They make quality reels.

If you take any shimano and add (2) Boca Orange Seal bearings, it will free spin as long or longer than any reel out there. Add that to the quality of shimano reels and you have a product that will last a LONG time.

where do you get those bearings? Oh yah I love my shimano reels, got a few green ones but mostly citicas.