Reels that just won't get geary

[kevin19870316]

Just interested to see what's everyone experience with reels getting geary after use. So far I've found that most light reels tend to get geary rather quickly but of course there are exceptions.

Baitcasters from what I've found the conquests last for a while before becoming geary. Close behind would be millionaires but somehow the heavy duty black sheep couldn't last few large fish under heavy drag. The alphas platform seems ok but more heavy duty zillions won't last too long. Steez seems to be hit and miss I've seen some lasting forever and some requiring new gear set after one fish.

Spinning reels that won't get geary are Stellas and to a lessor degree certates under light use. Most zaion or ci4 reels don't seem to hold up that well form my experience. Steez and exist never seem to last more than few decent fish if fished under heavy drag.

What's your thought and experience?

[stella fella]

My megabass racing condition, that reel that everyone claims is just a piece of crap blinged up luvias, has caught numerous bream, flathead and salmon to 75cm and after nearly 5 years still isn't geary

I've found that the bigger the reel, the more geary they get.

[jewieman]

Obviously it goes without saying, Stella is as bulletproof as you can get for a reel. Haven't really had any of my Shimano's from Stradic FJ upwards like sustain go geary. My ci4's (stradics in various sizes , soare ) are not as tough but I can't say I've tried to push them to the limit just yet but they are still very smooth. I noticed they aren't as tight as they were from out of the box.

I've had issues with exist and other zaion reels (ignis, luvias) getting geary with light use. The exist seems to be smoother for longer but like anyone, you try to baby those things knowing they arent workhorses. Haven't really owned a certate for long to know exactly where it sits, but drag-wise it lacks a lot even vs a much cheaper reel like a stradic. Seems to be the case for most of my daiwas. Also, the zaion bail arms seem to take a beating on heavy drag settings. I've found the Ci4+'s to take that treatment better.

Also, I'm most talking about 4000/3000 (SHimano/Daiwa) and under sized reels. So usually 1000/C2000 shimano and 200X daiwas and fishing in Sydney, you get the odd big bycatch chasing bream like Jews and Kings. Even other species like salmon (~50- 70cm), flathead (60-90s cm) and trevally (~ 40/50cm) can really push the gear. Fish that size aren't all that rare. On a small reel, you could really do some damage if you fish the reel to its limit.

[Piranha]

Could you explain what a reel getting "geary" feels like? I'm not familiar with the concept.

[manno]

Originally Posted by Piranha

Could you explain what a reel getting "geary" feels like? I'm not familiar with the concept.

Cmon, you know what he means. Any reel you see in the classifieds rated mechanically 9.5 or less. The .5> indicates a reel that doesnt feel quite as smooth as it did the day it was bought. A more pronounced feeling of the gears "meshing", with or without some extra noise. Its basicaly why we all sell our reels.

[mbp]

The ones that spend pretty much all their time at home don't seem to get 'geary' at all

[Sloth]

Originally Posted by manno

Cmon, you know what he means. Any reel you see in the classifieds rated mechanically 9.5 or less. The .5> indicates a reel that doesnt feel quite as smooth as it did the day it was bought. A more pronounced feeling of the gears "meshing", with or without some extra noise. Its basicaly why we all sell our reels.

Yes, but a fussy owner would just service and then it would be back to its buttery original self surely ?

[kevin19870316]

Originally Posted by Sloth

Yes, but a fussy owner would just service and then it would be back to its buttery original self surely ?

unforunantely the geary feel is generally due to worn gearing that would require a full replacement of main gear and pinion. Unlike roughness due to rusted or worn bearings, geary feel can't be fixed by servicing contrary to what most sellers seem to think

Stradics seem to get that very very faint geary feel but then it'll stay that way for a long time. My old certate finesse custom was absolutely smooth for years catching just sub meter fish. Then again it's not fish that put strain on reels it's the drag setting that does. While my certate 2004 landed well over 50 Jew and threadfin with no geary feel my back sheep did after three cod.

Stella fd and fe are gems I've pushed them so hard and fished nearly full drag at times with no pump and wind for years with no issues whatsoever. I've however heard that fi aren't the best and can get geary after very light use.

[kevin19870316]

Originally Posted by manno

Cmon, you know what he means. Any reel you see in the classifieds rated mechanically 9.5 or less. The .5> indicates a reel that doesnt feel quite as smooth as it did the day it was bought. A more pronounced feeling of the gears "meshing", with or without some extra noise. Its basicaly why we all sell our reels.

Best description I've seen haha. It's the gear meshing that you feel I'm referring to. Or daiwa might like to call it sensitivity or connected feel.

[kevin19870316]

Originally Posted by stella fella

My megabass racing condition, that reel that everyone claims is just a piece of crap blinged up luvias, has caught numerous bream, flathead and salmon to 75cm and after nearly 5 years still isn't geary

I've found that the bigger the reel, the more geary they get.

I think megabass actually tweak the tolerance of the reels their models are based on. You often find an extra shim here and there which contributes to proper gear meshing and less wear and tear under load.

[Slazmo]

Tolerance and all things in use become out of their factpry tollerance and gears dont mesh as well, grease is displaced, metal on metal usually. One either being an aluminium or alu alloy (zinc alloy) or a coated alum like Shimano's coated gears, the brass or bronze pinions seem to create a drag on most hears hence the need for friction modifiers like teflon or others...

If gears are thrown out of sync (missplaced upon rebuilding) they become "geary" if they are dry they also can become a dry dragging feel, dont forget that the gears in all spinning reels are a slip gear that are usually lightly lubricated. Too heavily and that grease is thrown, lighter the better and lighter the NLGI also the better as it reduces drag. Too sticky a grease also aids sticking to wherenyou put it but will cause issues with drag.

Thicker greases for older reels will hide gear noise, lighter grease well its better for newer reels, real4 grease is like 00 NLGI, custard thickness of sorts for Real4 reels in good condition.

Friction modifying can be all sorts, aluminium coated in Tuffram like a hard anodising is considered self lubricating. Teflon basically fills voids in the surface and is based on a plastic (Polytetrafluoroethylene), good but yesterday's technology...

Keeping all associated parts in sync, stability and mesh is basically the game. Thats why i shim bearings and mein drive gears to the point a tight fit and tolerance - my CI4+ is possibly as smooth as any reel out there, the FJ's a little more robustly utilitarian and my baitcasters i dont know, smooth with straight cut gears as you can get i guess...

Body flex with Ci4 and Zain yeh its there... just dont believe the whole Hagne bs ��

The worst thing i find is people chasing Kingies with 2004 & 1000 sized reels, gears bend / stretch and deform. Bodies flex and people just fish gear too hard for hero status. Fish reels appropriately and youll find they'll last longer without as many issues.

Service them routinely alongside with your own mini servicing in between majors and you'll find they'll last that little longer also.

Anyhow thats enough from me...

[gsenaeef67]

Originally Posted by kevin19870316

I've however heard that fi aren't the best and can get geary after very light use.

Don't have the FD but I have the FE and FI. FI has shown no change in feel after being broken in. It is significantly tighter and smoother than the FE.

[lurefanatic]

I've experienced that geary feel in my reels after only a few fish with reels like the ci4, freams, caldia etc and have found the stradic fj, chronarch and quantum exo's taking a lot more abuse before getting to that condition.

[kevin19870316]

Hey mate keen to know which fi you've got. The once I've heard bad reports on are 3000hg,4000hg and in particular 4000xg variants. Hence why I'm leaning towards lower ratios.

And slazmo, I don't think you can really screw up a Stella 1000 unless you upgrade the drag. In my opinion stella might be the only spin reel designed to perform flawlessly with the stock max drag while most others are not built to be used consistently against max stock drag. Most high end shimano baitcasters can maintain durability if used within stock drag but too many times geary reels are also ones with carbontex and abused by unaware users.

[Slazmo]

Youd be surprised on how many people use a reel straight out of the factory for a year or more untill it goes geary.

I agree Kev with the Stella comment. High hear ratio reels are a nightmare...

Like with a car, first service soon after wearing in lightly and clean out the factory crap and put good stuff in.