Bearings

[Cowbass]

I was doing some Internet searchs looking for bearings and came across a company called vxb bearings in Cali. Has anyone ever done business with this company? Looks like they have every bearing made. There prices look good. Thanks

[BigT]

Never bought from them. I came across their site a couple of months ago but couldn't find information for each bearing about what ABEC rating they are so don't know if they sell high precision bearings or if they're making them down to a price. I decided to keep getting mine from Smooth Drag and Boca.


Cheers, T

[alantani]

i recall coming across them as well.  i've been going to smoothdrag.com first, then to bocabearings.com second because they're more expensive.  if you do end up ordering something from them, can you let us know?  thanks!  alan

[CarolinaCustomReels]

I have never bought from VXB, but I have heard from others that they were not impressed. From what I recall, the bearings didn't hold up well. I'll see if I can dig up any additional information.

[Cowbass]

I contacted them and they don't sell open dry ss bearings for my 50sw. They do have a ton of bearings but it seems you have to want there upscale models to get them that way!!!

[babyGT]

 my daiwa 6500DF dropped in to the sea due to boat accident a month  ago, now the line roller bearing produced a rough sound while line retrieving.
Do you know what is the size of that bearing? what is the approximate price and where can I get the it?

any information is highly appreciated.

regards,

[alantani]

for the line roller, it's really gonna be tiny. better go to daiwa for this one. 

[babyGT]

I tried to search them in bearing nearby. based on measurement done by the shop technician the size of the stock bearing is 5x8x2.5, but the shop only sell Chinese bearing an it is not stainless steel.
Do you have boca bearing of that size? what is the price?
what is the shipping cost to Indonesia and what payment method accepted by you.

Thanks a lot alantani...

[dylan]

babyGT,

you can go to www.bocabearings.com and look.
also you may wish to try www.mcmaster.com

Boca has a lot of small bearings. 

[BurningHeart]

i recall coming across them as well.  i've been going to smoothdrag.com first

A question, are the ceramic bearings from Smooth Drags more corrosion resistant or whats the advantage/disadvantage to them?

[Bryan Young]

Check out this link:

http://alantani.com/index.php?topic=685.0

[alantani]

bass guys have apparently been picking up ceramic bearings.  sales of these bearings are too good to ignore.  it means that the guys that buy them have to be going back to buy more.  after a good cleaning, they will spin better, but they will also be noisier. 

if i wanted the best possible spin, i would go with stainless steel abec 5's and lube them with xtreme reel +.  that combination would be hard to beat.  alan

[Pro Reel]

Alan, Your right about the bass guys using the ceramic hybrids. I use more ceramic hybrids in my shop than any other bearing. An abec 7 boca OS with the seals removed will spin just as good if not better than a good stainless with extreme reel +. Thats as long as you run the ceramic hybrid dry. Salt guys can't do that. The stainless parts would rust fast. Freshwater guys can get by with using a thin film of very light oil wiped on the outside only, but must check them frequently. Are they a little noisy, yes, but about the same as a quantum reel from the factory. Bass guys are already used to a little noise form casting braided line, it makes a little buzz noise also. If the noise bothers some, you can add a tiny drop of very light oil to the balls , just enough to cushion the clicking noise of the ceramic balls. With a ceramic hybrid bearing, the balls are so perfectly round that there is very little friction. They work great for building a reel to cast very light baits or for a setup for pitch casting.

[josa1]

I just bought bearings from VXB for two destroyed Shimano reels I purchased on Ebay.

I ordered the bearings on Wednesday and received them on Friday morning via USPS Priority Mail.

I ordered (2) open stainless 10x22x6, (2) open stainless 8x19x6 and one tube (10 bearings) of chrome steel 8x16x5 sealed bearings.  I couldn't find the last size in stainless open.

Total cost, including shipping, was around $52.00.

I put the bearings in one of the reels and it seems to operate very smoothly.  Only time will tell.

I was very happy with the service and, so far, the products.

josa
 

[alantani]

8x16x5 is a common size and is used in avet reels.  http://www.bocabearings.com/search.aspx?SearchType=StartDimension&radix=metric&ApplicationID=3&Inner=8.0000&Outer=16.0000&Width=5.0000&InnerOperator=%3d&OuterOperator=%3d&WidthOperator=%3d  i would not recommend installing the chrome bearings.