For what it is worth, I have tried various expensive bearings in a variety of reels for over 10 years. All the reels I tested them in were mid quality 100 or 150 size baitcasters manufactured in Japan. In all cases the premium, expensive ceramic bearings showed a marked improvement in free spool spin time which is the major feature used to market them. However, in no case did I observe, on a measured casting course, any improvement in actual casting distance. Other RUclipsrs who have done similar tests with BFS reels and generally have not noticed any measurable improvements in actual casting distance except where the stock bearings were of unusually poor quality. If one is using any anti-backlashing force at all, that resistance will wipe out any potential improvement reduced bearing friction might offer. Just my opinion....
I agree with you! However I also think that upgrading bearings just maximizes and eliminates any source of drag that might discourage initial spool rotation with ultra lightweight lures. In any case, I do plan on doing a casting comparison with the reel that these will be installed in, the Soloking Acura reel. This reel has stainless steel bearing which don’t have the best free spool ability so I’m curious to see what performance gains, if any, the bearings will have at various lure weights. In any case, I do greatly appreciate your feedback! Cheers!
I put boca ceramic bearings in an old Shimano dc7 reel which allowed me to cast lures down to 7g out to around 30ft which was a huge improvement compared to the stock bearings. I didn’t gain much in casting distance if any.
Hey there! Yea the brakes might be playing a role in keeping your lures from casting further but there are lots of other variables such as spool weight, the rod you are using, amount of line you have spooled, casting technique, etc. Typically speaking these bearing upgrades are mainly for ultra light applications and do help net extra distance as newer BFS reels are already maximizing other factors that might be holding back casting distance for 3g lures and lower. Hope that kind of helps explain things a bit! Cheers!
Interesting! I’m gonna have to try and get some measurements of the o-rings. They aren’t as durable as I initially thought they were and the spool shaft o-ring is already starting to show some small nicks and wear sadly… Appreciate the tip! Cheers!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNELhey pete any luck finding o rings that would fit? I want to put one on my gekka spool just to see how it’ll do but can’t find o rings that small
Hey hooka! I just looked and aliexpress has a bunch of small sized orings. Is there a way you can measure the spool shaft diameter in your gekka spool as well as any other potential tolerances you might need to accommodate for? These would be things such as the spool bearing inner race to shield height. You probably don’t want your oring touching both the inner race and also the shielding. Let me know if you can get measurements and I’ll try helping you source the right size! Cheers my friend!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I don’t have a measuring clamp but I can find one and measure it. It’s basically the same design as the Aldebaran spool shaft, but it’s missing the o ring where the Aldebaran has one. I was wondering if I do place an o ring there, would that make a solid contact with the bearing it goes into? It would be interesting to see the results, as it does have an area for an o ring but for whatever reason daiwa didn’t throw one on.
Hey hcb! Hm… that’s a really subjective question to ask imho. There’s a lot of factors to consider when it comes to bearings but typically I like to replace stainless steel with hybrid micro ceramic bearings like the roro bfs sic bearings. If not then a hybrid ceramic bearings will free up your spool. There are some really great affordable ones on aliexpress. Regarding your question about size, no bearings on reels come in all different sizes. You’ll have to get that information or take measurements. Hope that helps! Cheers my friend!
Just watched a youtube video on a guy who upgraded the bearings on his new Kastking Kestrel BFS Elite reel. He highly recommends bearings from a company called ABEC357. I know nothing about the company but you may want to check them out for your future bearing purchases.
Hey! Thanks for the recommendation! After a really quick search I noticed that the majority of their bearings use silicone nitride which is somewhat inferior in usage to silicone carbide which are use in some of these roro bearings. I don’t know what ball material is used in the Aldebaran bearings but I’d bet that they are also SiC(silicone carbide). I’m guessing that those ceramic bearings from ABEC357 are an upgrade over the stock kestrel bearings but at that point why not look at sic bearings? In any case, I appreciate the recommendation!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Thanks for the quick education. I know nothing about bearings but obviously you have good knowledge. Good luck in your future upgrades.
hello! I'm from Brazil I recently bought the Aldebaran BFS reel but I lost the spoll oring could you tell me the size of it? I already searched a lot but I didn't find the specs thanks! :)
Hey Ricardo! I’ll have to check in on that for you a bit later but I’ll try to get some measurements. Have you tried checking Shimano replacement parts for spares? I know you can order replacement parts on hedgehog studios’ website and also plat.co.jp. If you still want measurements lmk and I can try to get those for you a bit later. Cheers!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL hello! thank you very much for the quick response! I took a look at this site but shipping to Brazil is a little expensive for such a small piece but thanks a lot for the help!
I don’t think those are the correct size bearings for that reel. Can you fit the bearing retaining clip onto the side plate with those roro bearings in it?
You are absolutely correct! The outer and inner diameters are right but the width of the bearing is about double the stock Aldebaran bearing. The retaining clip will not fit and I didn’t buy the bearings intending to replace the Aldebaran bearings. Instead, these will be going into my Soloking Acura reel which is a Tsurinoya Dark Wolf Ultra clone. I just wanted to compare these bearings to the stock Aldebaran bearings as the size is virtually the same. Thanks for noticing this!
@@rpl4eva29hey rpl! The 834 size is not for the Aldebaran. I used these for the Soloking Acura and was comparing them to the stock Aldebaran bfs bearings. Hope that helps explain things! Cheers my friend!
Hey perch! Ah I wasn’t trying to replace the bearing from the Aldebaran. Actually the Aldebaran bearings are quite unique in size. I was just trying to show the differences between the two bearings. Cheers my friend!
Hey Jonathan! Ah that’s a bummer… before you buy new ones have you considered trying to give your current ones a flush? Before you do I would suggest removing the orings around them and then giving them a soak and swirl in some isopropyl alcohol or acetone. Otherwise, you can probably order them directly from Shimano USA, plat.co.jp or hedgehogstudios. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!
For what it is worth, I have tried various expensive bearings in a variety of reels for over 10 years. All the reels I tested them in were mid quality 100 or 150 size baitcasters manufactured in Japan. In all cases the premium, expensive ceramic bearings showed a marked improvement in free spool spin time which is the major feature used to market them. However, in no case did I observe, on a measured casting course, any improvement in actual casting distance. Other RUclipsrs who have done similar tests with BFS reels and generally have not noticed any measurable improvements in actual casting distance except where the stock bearings were of unusually poor quality. If one is using any anti-backlashing force at all, that resistance will wipe out any potential improvement reduced bearing friction might offer. Just my opinion....
I agree with you! However I also think that upgrading bearings just maximizes and eliminates any source of drag that might discourage initial spool rotation with ultra lightweight lures. In any case, I do plan on doing a casting comparison with the reel that these will be installed in, the Soloking Acura reel. This reel has stainless steel bearing which don’t have the best free spool ability so I’m curious to see what performance gains, if any, the bearings will have at various lure weights. In any case, I do greatly appreciate your feedback! Cheers!
I put boca ceramic bearings in an old Shimano dc7 reel which allowed me to cast lures down to 7g out to around 30ft which was a huge improvement compared to the stock bearings. I didn’t gain much in casting distance if any.
Hey there! Yea the brakes might be playing a role in keeping your lures from casting further but there are lots of other variables such as spool weight, the rod you are using, amount of line you have spooled, casting technique, etc. Typically speaking these bearing upgrades are mainly for ultra light applications and do help net extra distance as newer BFS reels are already maximizing other factors that might be holding back casting distance for 3g lures and lower. Hope that kind of helps explain things a bit! Cheers!
Those stock bearings are pretty darn impressive.
They really are! I’m excited to see if there are any distance gains after I install the roros into my Acura reel.
You may be able to check Vape supply related sites for those super small o-rings. A lot of the tanks sold require very small o-rings. Just a thought.
Interesting! I’m gonna have to try and get some measurements of the o-rings. They aren’t as durable as I initially thought they were and the spool shaft o-ring is already starting to show some small nicks and wear sadly… Appreciate the tip! Cheers!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNELhey pete any luck finding o rings that would fit? I want to put one on my gekka spool just to see how it’ll do but can’t find o rings that small
Hey hooka! I just looked and aliexpress has a bunch of small sized orings. Is there a way you can measure the spool shaft diameter in your gekka spool as well as any other potential tolerances you might need to accommodate for? These would be things such as the spool bearing inner race to shield height. You probably don’t want your oring touching both the inner race and also the shielding. Let me know if you can get measurements and I’ll try helping you source the right size! Cheers my friend!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL I don’t have a measuring clamp but I can find one and measure it. It’s basically the same design as the Aldebaran spool shaft, but it’s missing the o ring where the Aldebaran has one. I was wondering if I do place an o ring there, would that make a solid contact with the bearing it goes into? It would be interesting to see the results, as it does have an area for an o ring but for whatever reason daiwa didn’t throw one on.
What’s the best bearing I can put on my reel? Are they all normally the same size?
Hey hcb! Hm… that’s a really subjective question to ask imho. There’s a lot of factors to consider when it comes to bearings but typically I like to replace stainless steel with hybrid micro ceramic bearings like the roro bfs sic bearings. If not then a hybrid ceramic bearings will free up your spool. There are some really great affordable ones on aliexpress. Regarding your question about size, no bearings on reels come in all different sizes. You’ll have to get that information or take measurements. Hope that helps! Cheers my friend!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thanks g, I’ll look into it. I think the reels are casting smoother now.
Just watched a youtube video on a guy who upgraded the bearings on his new Kastking Kestrel BFS Elite reel. He highly recommends bearings from a company called ABEC357. I know nothing about the company but you may want to check them out for your future bearing purchases.
Hey! Thanks for the recommendation! After a really quick search I noticed that the majority of their bearings use silicone nitride which is somewhat inferior in usage to silicone carbide which are use in some of these roro bearings. I don’t know what ball material is used in the Aldebaran bearings but I’d bet that they are also SiC(silicone carbide). I’m guessing that those ceramic bearings from ABEC357 are an upgrade over the stock kestrel bearings but at that point why not look at sic bearings? In any case, I appreciate the recommendation!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL Thanks for the quick education. I know nothing about bearings but obviously you have good knowledge. Good luck in your future upgrades.
hello! I'm from Brazil I recently bought the Aldebaran BFS reel but I lost the spoll oring
could you tell me the size of it?
I already searched a lot but I didn't find the specs
thanks! :)
Hey Ricardo! I’ll have to check in on that for you a bit later but I’ll try to get some measurements. Have you tried checking Shimano replacement parts for spares? I know you can order replacement parts on hedgehog studios’ website and also plat.co.jp. If you still want measurements lmk and I can try to get those for you a bit later. Cheers!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL hello! thank you very much for the quick response!
I took a look at this site but shipping to Brazil is a little expensive for such a small piece
but thanks a lot for the help!
I don’t think those are the correct size bearings for that reel. Can you fit the bearing retaining clip onto the side plate with those roro bearings in it?
You are absolutely correct! The outer and inner diameters are right but the width of the bearing is about double the stock Aldebaran bearing. The retaining clip will not fit and I didn’t buy the bearings intending to replace the Aldebaran bearings. Instead, these will be going into my Soloking Acura reel which is a Tsurinoya Dark Wolf Ultra clone. I just wanted to compare these bearings to the stock Aldebaran bearings as the size is virtually the same. Thanks for noticing this!
Hey Brother the 834 bearing will it on the spool or is it too thick and won’t fit flush in the reel?
@@rpl4eva29hey rpl! The 834 size is not for the Aldebaran. I used these for the Soloking Acura and was comparing them to the stock Aldebaran bfs bearings. Hope that helps explain things! Cheers my friend!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL yes it appears to be a 3x8x2.5.
very nice review~!!!👍👍👍👍👍
Thank you so much!!! Also, I love 꽁치 😆. 고맙습니다~~~ ^^
Maybe Roro 832 fit better ?
Hey perch! Ah I wasn’t trying to replace the bearing from the Aldebaran. Actually the Aldebaran bearings are quite unique in size. I was just trying to show the differences between the two bearings. Cheers my friend!
I need to order new bearings from Shimano, mine are getting grindy
Hey Jonathan! Ah that’s a bummer… before you buy new ones have you considered trying to give your current ones a flush? Before you do I would suggest removing the orings around them and then giving them a soak and swirl in some isopropyl alcohol or acetone. Otherwise, you can probably order them directly from Shimano USA, plat.co.jp or hedgehogstudios. Hope that helps and cheers my friend!
@@BFSFISHINGCHANNEL thank you I'll give that a try
@jonathanrivera6815 hey Jonathan! Sounds good! Let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers my friend!
Heroro 👋
Lol heroro back!
About the same lol hey they work in sembo lol