I’m considering swapping the standard bearings in a Shimano Curado for ceramic. Any feedback from those who have made the switch?
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I’ve done it on a few of my reels. No complaints. A worth while exercise if you want to pimp out a reel.
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Did it result in longer casts or any other practical benefit?
Zero maintenance, zero rust
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I put them in OG curados years ago, still my go to’s when throwing plastics.
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I’ve done in it other brand reels. I can’t say I noticed a difference in performance, but zero maintenance and rust is the upside. Downside is, some say they are noisier but again it’s not something I noticed.
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Never went the ceramic route (although I’ve heard great things about it…). Instead I learned long ago to “waterproof” reel bearings - with great results… Here’s my routine.
New or used - they get the same treatment (used bearings = after a thorough soaking and cleaning in mineral spirits -these days mostly labeled “paint thinner”…). Starting with dry bearings I lube with a good quality thin oil (Gunslik, Breakfree, Kroil) making sure it penetrates down into the bearing race - then simply coat the exterior sides of each bearing with a thin coat of high temp grease (the blue stuff you can buy in bulk at your auto store -or in little tubs at much higher cost from reel manufacturers…). That thin coating on each side of the bearing races with or without dust covers, functionally waterproofs each bearing - greatly extending its life by not only keeping water out but also aiding in the oil retention on each race. Using this method I can’t recall the last time I had a bearing failure in any of my very hard used spinning and plug casting reels…. Who knew? I was taught the basics of reel repair at the first shop I ever worked in (Reef Tackle, 79th St. Miami - winter of 1972) and still maintain and repair reels - when I can get the needed parts… These days most big box stores never even attempt to repair a reel - they just “warranty” it if possible giving the customer a new reel while tossing the old reel in the round file…
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I used ceramic bearings (orange seal) in all my baitcasters for saltwater. Be prepared for the reel to sound like crap but cast a mile. I also switched my 13fishing reels to the Z “bearings”, I like those better.
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Not to hijack, but related, for spinning gear (specifically shimano 3000 sized reels) does anyone have a lead on ceramic roller bearings? I am constantly replacing mine (i have a bunch of them, so one is always hissing at me).
@lemaymiami - does your method work for roller bearings?
thanks for the help guys
Boca bearing possibly.
But measure it.
O.D, Thickness and I.D. And match it up. You can also google or Amazon those dimensions and likely find a match. Just convert the measurements into MM.
I’ve done the same treatment as Cpt.Bob mentioned. It certainly helps, but I’m extremely hard on gear and still have to replace bearings now and then.
Funny thing though, Since going straight fly. I haven’t had to replace any bearings in quite some time..
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I’m interested in this too. I haven’t looked for ceramic roller bearings, but I imagine they would sound pretty rough.
One other thing this post made me think about in regards to spinning reels. Make sure you check your drag washers. I use primarily 2500 size spinning reels and the felt drag washers that Shimano and Daiwa use have all disintegrated. I switched them all to carbon fiber drag washers and haven’t had an issue since.
A great member of this site shot me a private note after seeing my post with this link. He has ordered them for his reels but has not gotten them yet (so order at your own risk until I hear back!). I think I’ll try them out – probably just go with the SS bearings, but might throw a couple ceramics in there to see how it sounds.
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Ceramics are not loud like people make them seem. I fish the Trika with all full ceramic bearings and it’s not loud at all. They are definitely not as silent as traditional steel bearings but not a loud hissing as some have stated.
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That’s my experience as well.
That’s good to know. My only experience is from boca bearings I used in 2 Shimano reels (Bantam and Curado). They rolled smooth and casted a mile but sounded really rough.
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