New Shimano FK Stradic

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Slazmo

Should have seen the two Type 1 SOL's I did today - near brought a tear to my eye how well they've been looked after. Will post a pic of them up also.

I know where to send mine for a service

[Slazmo]

Originally Posted by Alex

I know where to send mine for a service

ha ha they better be in smick condition

[matt jorg]

Unfortunately the stradic has been drastically cheapened for the B C F type market for average joe, he thinks it's a high end reel with its fancy paint and style and laps it up.

That's what is driving the change I reckon.
Shame because I really liked the fi and fj when I owned them, I had a chance to use the fk on a recent trip and it was average but will still do the job.

[Slazmo]

Originally Posted by matt jorg

Unfortunately the stradic has been drastically cheapened for the B C F type market for average joe, he thinks it's a high end reel with its fancy paint and style and laps it up.

That's what is driving the change I reckon.
Shame because I really liked the fi and fj when I owned them, I had a chance to use the fk on a recent trip and it was average but will still do the job.

Agreed, however when you look at it - it seems that Shimano and Daiwa and others all want to retain some amount of sense in their reels through the value of certain names (cult status / images).

The Stradic of old is certainly the same to a degree of the new however they've employed some far fetched technologies and practices that in all fairness dont seem to add up in reality.

I mean there are a lot of reliable technologies out there and it seems that marketing yet again has weaselled its way into said reels and created some godlike status via names and marketing - I mean the BS type of marketing...

I mean the old FJ had the same body material and design (by the two halves and material type) and the new FK comes out with this Hagne body, and is meant to be legendary status?

Nice smooth reel however, frustrating it is...

[lukereneeseth]

Its getting harder and harder for Shimano to now keep moving forward and keep a Stradic to the price point Australians now know them as; sub $300 work horses.

There is plenty they could do to really refine this reel but that would then put it around $350 - $400, touching the toes of the Twin Power.

They should have brought the Twinpower out first then released the Stradic 18 months later.

The FK will soon become the best bang for buck reel on the market once (like all Stradics) it drops down to $189 - $220.

I highly double there will ever be a problem with the XT7 graphite. so many Shimano reels have had it, with many being over the limited Stradic size of 4000.

Slazmo - I'm hoping at some point you can post up a Stradic FK v's Twin Power and your insight on both reels side by side mechanically and fishing longevity importance thereof. For those of us who can get a TP for $100 more than an FK, would be good information.

[Slazmo]

Buy 5 bearings and install into the Stradic FK. Would make it a better reel for sure. Gear durability and parts between the two reels as much of a difference - if any would be expected.

Same scenario with the Stradic FJ & Sustain FG... Two bearings and a slightly different spool support system which meant spit all in the real world.

Anyone with a new / current Twinpower to service - I'm your man

[aquaholik]

The problem with MY Stradic FK after 80 hours of use is not the graphite frame holding the gear but rather it is the felt drag washers that were used. 2 hours of battling fish with 5-6lbs of drag was enough to completely destroy the washers. The reel exhibit no noise, no sloppiness, and much tighter than the Stradic FI. The reel behave exactly like day one out of the box after 2 months of use. I can't say that about the Stradic FI. It was noisy and needed a new pinion bearing. The Stradic FI felt drag washers however were fine.





Yes the reel was used to put the hammer down on some large fish but no more than 5-6lbs of pressure was used. Eight of these large drums and one Tarpon killed the felt washers.





Note how far the drag stack sunk next to the Twinpower spool:



If 10 lb Nanofil, the line that everybody loves to hate, is strong enough to burn up your drag washers, you've got a problem.


Carbontex upgrade and replace the bushing spool support with a 7x11x3 bearing and it is ready for next season.

[Slazmo]

Yep, exactly what I told the owner of the reel to do is replace the drags out with Carbon washers, slightly thicker than standard - Carbons do flatten however to a point and then exist happily for their life.

Good post mate

[CHUNQX]

So Slazmo, I recall you were collecting Stradics of various vintages and so you'd be qualified to answer these questions:
1. Which year/version Stradic would you consider to be the best of the lot?
2. (If the FK is the best, this question is irrelevant) Where does the Stradic FK sit in comparison to the previous versions (1 being best.. 11 or 12 being worse)

If its not too much trouble, could you list in order of best to worse the different versions of Stradics? I understand it would be strictly opinion only.

[Slazmo]

Originally Posted by CHUNQX

So Slazmo, I recall you were collecting Stradics of various vintages and so you'd be qualified to answer these questions:
1. Which year/version Stradic would you consider to be the best of the lot?
2. (If the FK is the best, this question is irrelevant) Where does the Stradic FK sit in comparison to the previous versions (1 being best.. 11 or 12 being worse)

If its not too much trouble, could you list in order of best to worse the different versions of Stradics? I understand it would be strictly opinion only.

Originally Posted by CHUNQX

So Slazmo, I recall you were collecting Stradics of various vintages and so you'd be qualified to answer these questions:
1. Which year/version Stradic would you consider to be the best of the lot?
2. (If the FK is the best, this question is irrelevant) Where does the Stradic FK sit in comparison to the previous versions (1 being best.. 11 or 12 being worse)

If its not too much trouble, could you list in order of best to worse the different versions of Stradics? I understand it would be strictly opinion only.

Hardest... question... ever...

Certainly there is going to be a nostalgic element looking back to the originals that were made in Japan, I bought a 4000FH and its near enough new however has a lot of forward and back handle play, missing bearings and bushes used instead (however was built with the XShip bearing), others like the FI was a workhorse reel and most of those design elements throughout the series, they werent changed much though.

Have I managed to find exceptional examples of each through the series for my collection - no. People do not want to be separated from them, and I dont blame them. I offered a guy $400 for a Stella 2500 from circa 2000 - not a chance in hell he said...

As the body changed there were some subtle design changes and the colour changed and the quality of the exterior cowls were made hundreds of times better from the original gold which tarnished (went green) ever so badly with saltwater use, then body colour colour change to the silver champagne then back to pear white in the FJ - IMHO it was the classy colour of the range - so much so that a few other manufacturers seem to have copied it.

Internals it went from a pot metal aloy main gear to a Paladin coated aluminium gear and then there were changes in the worm drive, from hard chromed brass worm drive to then a Tuffram coated Aluminium in the Ci4 range, and then in the FK this changed possibly to combat the stupid weight of the worm drive carrier design and shaft 13grams in the 4000FK alone. Subtle changes to change the weights no doubt however non in the range of durability. Also in the worm drive train where there were multiple reduction gears to drive the oscillation, in later models the worm drive was directly driven off the main pinion gear as a simple confiruration of drive gear, Pinion in the middle and then worm drive to the right off that.

What lets a lot of Shimano reels down and yes I agree whole heartedly with everyone that the bearing slop issue is by far the greatest let down by Shimano ever, hence why I go to such a great length to fix it in the reels that the owners request doing so. I have just done a well used Stradic Ci4 2500F, apart from the need to remesh the gears the reel is now as tight as a button and rotationally smooth as anything on the market (not blowing my own).

The FK seems to have a good bearing cup ID v bearing OD (mm) marriage, however there is still some slop, unavoidable in that kind off reel price point. Reading some of the owners reviews about them how tight they are and how much better than the FJ, FI or other series. Progress, shimano have listened it seems - too little too late for some however too little a slop to be worrying about if it can be combatted.

I wouldnt go out as to say that the FJ was the best nor the FI however they were all workhorses and all deserved some respect in their lineage. And as one guy said on FB "If you havent owned a FJ Stradic your un-Australian" ha ha

[lukereneeseth]

I don't know about anyone else, but by the look of those washers that is way way too much grease! No wonder they burnt out, you've heated the grease up under slightly higher than normal drag pressure and the friction has shed the washers to bits.

Correct me if I am wrong but too much or too little (grease/drag oil) will burn them out. I spray all of mine with lanox and put them between a rag and pressure them down. Never had a problem with shimano washers. That's mulloway/trevally/jacks etc with a 1000 Sustain to 3hr fight with a XL stingray/tuna/mackerel etc on a stradic 5000; as good as day one, just a little fluffy.

[aquaholik]

Not sure about the effect of over greasing or under greasing but it's obvious that the newer reels come smothered with grease. Here's the Stella FI:



If I have time, I'll post the picture of a 10 years old Twinpower felt drag washers that was never cleaned or serviced. It's beaten 100+ 20-30lbs black drum and it's still fine.

[PM79]

Originally Posted by aquaholik

Not sure about the effect of over greasing

It'll have a negative impact on drag output.

[Slazmo]

And another company call it ATD 😅

[kevin19870316]

Originally Posted by matt jorg

Unfortunately the stradic has been drastically cheapened for the B C F type market for average joe, he thinks it's a high end reel with its fancy paint and style and laps it up.

That's what is driving the change I reckon.
Shame because I really liked the fi and fj when I owned them, I had a chance to use the fk on a recent trip and it was average but will still do the job.

Can't agree with that at all. Fk is much tighter, smoother and free spinning than the previous generations.