Hello to all.
Since we do not find much information on these reels, I want to make a small contribution to this beautiful community presenting a disassembly and small reviews of this reel.
I hope that is of interest.
In Italy there is much talk ill of the Tica reels trolling, but I believe that people are talking because they do know it well . Or maybe I do not know how to have assembled a good reel.
I have had this reel from a shop to try it and say how it goes.
Now, I used it for two years at sea and never gave me any problems. I had fished a lot of fishs, many Gorilla and blu cocktails. Also, deliberately, I've never done maintenance. It was two years in the sun and exposed to splashes of sea water.
I do not want to give my personal opinion but just to share with you together to figure out if it's a good product.
After that I want to do even the same review on TicaTeam WTS 50 if you are interested.
Let's go in the images; a picture speaks more than a thousand words. :D
External view:
(http://i.imgur.com/d1hUce2.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/1upFtoD.jpg)
Right plate and main gear (note shielded ball bearing):
(http://i.imgur.com/xyV35BJ.jpg)
Main gear and ball bearing (special):
(http://i.imgur.com/8Z9piAn.jpg)
Double beautifull roller bearings:
(http://i.imgur.com/G236NCU.jpg)
Right plate no handle:
(http://i.imgur.com/2sG89NK.jpg)
Right Spool face:
(http://i.imgur.com/8p2XvtS.jpg)
Left internal frame view (note shield ball bearing):
(http://i.imgur.com/5UOZOFs.jpg)
many reels have not a ball bearing here
(http://i.imgur.com/p1Psjyn.jpg)
Spool:
(http://i.imgur.com/X8dSBJZ.jpg)
note gaskets to prevent water from entering between the frame and the spool
(http://i.imgur.com/5JWNQhS.jpg)
Now double Drag washer (you can see carbon washer are greased! :o):
(http://i.imgur.com/LTGIePo.jpg)
First disk:
(http://i.imgur.com/WB8GY4V.jpg)
second disk:
(http://i.imgur.com/oremYLS.jpg)
Now spool axe:
(http://i.imgur.com/kedd4Pw.jpg)
also here all shielde ball bearings:
(http://i.imgur.com/JS35pLt.jpg)
(http://i.imgur.com/Zltz7JA.jpg)
...the end :D
I've tested the drag at stike position with still free spooling: 8,5 Kg. / 18 lbs.
but I think this reel has even greater friction, I stopped because it broke the wire. The reel could still tighten the presets without losing the free spool ;D
I very much hope that this article interests you, but most of all I care what you think of this product because I would now like to try the TicaTeam 50 WTS.
thank to all
leonard
This reel is nicely done and is on par with its competitors. I wonder if it's hard to get spare parts or not for it.
About 10 years ago in US, it seemed like Tica would bend over backwards for customer service -- even more so than Okuma... not sure how it is now, or in other countries.
Quote from: Tile on May 25, 2014, 07:45:03 PM
This reel is nicely done and is on par with its competitors. I wonder if it's hard to get spare parts or not for it.
Hi Tile,
I do not know if it's hard to find and get spare parts.
I can say for sure, foe now, is that this reel has two small flaws:
1. The anodizing is weak;
2. Noise of the buzzer is ugly.
One thing that amazed me is the drag which can reach very large values compared to the size of the reel.
the rest did not give me many problems.
best regards
leonard
Quote from: Tile on May 25, 2014, 07:45:03 PM
This reel is nicely done and is on par with its competitors. I wonder if it's hard to get spare parts or not for it.
Hi philaroman,
nice information, I hope that it's still so
thanks
leonard
I have a couple of Tica ST 16's that were practically given to me as new, which are similar to these reels.
x2 for the anodizing, it is not well bonded to the die-cast ally frame and plates, and on the ST's it isn't even present inside the reels (out of site out of mind....grease the internal surfaces!).
They put out an impressive amount drag for a reel of this size with the stock drag cam. However, I wanted to optimize them for 8kg test line, so I modified the drag cam beyond strike so as not come on too strong. I ended up honing 0.4mm off the peak of the cam. This gives me a maximum drag of 3.5kg, with 2.7kg at strike.
The other issue I have had is the handles. The arms are made of an ally that is very soft, and the shaft end easily wears loose. Have had to beef the set-up to stop the handle from becoming sloppy.
Otherwise, properly prepped, they have been an adequate reel.
Quote from: Rothmar2 on May 28, 2014, 06:18:56 AM
I have a couple of Tica ST 16's that were practically given to me as new, which are similar to these reels.
x2 for the anodizing, it is not well bonded to the die-cast ally frame and plates, and on the ST's it isn't even present inside the reels (out of site out of mind....grease the internal surfaces!).
They put out an impressive amount drag for a reel of this size with the stock drag cam. However, I wanted to optimize them for 8kg test line, so I modified the drag cam beyond strike so as not come on too strong. I ended up honing 0.4mm off the peak of the cam. This gives me a maximum drag of 3.5kg, with 2.7kg at strike.
The other issue I have had is the handles. The arms are made of an ally that is very soft, and the shaft end easily wears loose. Have had to beef the set-up to stop the handle from becoming sloppy.
Otherwise, properly prepped, they have been an adequate reel.
Hi Rothmar2,
handles was the problem on old models. Thi is that i know. On new models they are very strong and will not rust.
Internally there is not anodizing but I prefer it because I do not like anodizing and I find it easier to protect the virgin aluminum.
I agree that it has a very strong drag.
many thanks
leonard
leonard, nicely done. please send me a pm with your mailing address. i would like to send you a wrench!
Quote from: alantani on May 29, 2014, 02:08:11 AM
leonard, nicely done. please send me a pm with your mailing address. i would like to send you a wrench!
Hi Alan,
many thanks! I'm happy to receive these your words.
pm done.
thanks
leonard
Does this reel have a "thrust bearing" or something similar?
Quote from: nelz on December 18, 2015, 11:05:32 PM
Does this reel have a "thrust bearing" or something similar?
Ho Nelz,
I do not think.
Why du you ask me about?
best regards
leonard
As I understand it, a thrust bearing is a special bearing designed to keep side pressure from the drag from damaging it. For reels that don't have it, some guys here make some sort of custom sleeve for the same purpose.
Btw, I am awaiting delivery of a ST558 in black, advertised as "mint, like new" that I got a real bargain price on. It will be my first lever drag reel to learn the system with. I heard that black is the better choice for anodizing with these reels.
Quote from: nelz on December 20, 2015, 04:01:40 PM
As I understand it, a thrust bearing is a special bearing designed to keep side pressure from the drag from damaging it. For reels that don't have it, some guys here make some sort of custom sleeve for the same purpose.
Btw, I am awaiting delivery of a ST558 in black, advertised as "mint, like new" that I got a real bargain price on. It will be my first lever drag reel to learn the system with. I heard that black is the better choice for anodizing with these reels.
Oh, very interesting!
I hope that you will upload photos as possible.
Many thanks
for the notice.
best regards
leonard
Quote from: Mr.Grinta on May 28, 2014, 10:09:08 AMHi Rothmar2,
handles was the problem on old models. Thi is that i know. On new models they are very strong and will not rust.
Leonard, is the handle shown on your reel the old or new style? My reel's due to arrive today, feeling like an expectant father, lol ::) And yes, I will post pics.
Quote from: nelz on December 21, 2015, 01:59:47 PM
Quote from: Mr.Grinta on May 28, 2014, 10:09:08 AMHi Rothmar2,
handles was the problem on old models. Thi is that i know. On new models they are very strong and will not rust.
Leonard, is the handle shown on your reel the old or new style? My reel's due to arrive today, feeling like an expectant father, lol ::) And yes, I will post pics.
I think that my handle is new; it's very strong and not rust.
best regards
leonard
I got my reel, yippee! $64 delivered with a spool full of what looks like new 30lb braid. It's a beauty, looks unused, high quality black finish like Penn's, and it's finished on the inside as well.
I bought this with the intention of learning about lever drag reels and last night it came apart. A few parts fell out without my seeing where they came from, slight panic set in, lol. Eventually I got it all back together without any "leftover" parts, phew! Here's what I found:
Lots of high-end features for a cheap reel, like dual roller bearings plus a spring-loaded backup dog, high quality finish, awesome dual-disk carbon fiber drag (confirmed it Alan), lots of shielded bearings, stainless gears, wow.
Unfortunately, there is bad news as well. Free spool is lost way too soon before reaching a decent drag setting, too bad because the drag is capable of much more. But the worse part is that this reel has a major design flaw. I noticed during testing that free-spool would slowly improve the more I reeled. Then I noticed that the drag decreased as well! What was happening is that the drag control knob was slowly creeping backwards as I reeled.
This creeping is caused by the spool axel rotating on top of the metal plate that applies drag pressure. This plate sits directly in line with the drag knob, (which is very loose, btw). The rotation basically slowly unscrews the knob.
So I rigged up a fix for this by adding an old drag disk under the drag knob, making it very tight so it doesn't slip nearly as much. This worked for up to Max drag, but under extended reeling at Full, it still creeps back a little eventually, but I can live with that.
Anyway, mixed feelings about this reel. It's an awesome looking reel, very smooth, quality build and features. But without the "fix" it's unacceptable regardless of the good features. I just can't believe they would overlook something this basic! Luckily I did manage the fix though, and now I can't wait to test it out on a biggun' !!!
Quote from: nelz on December 23, 2015, 06:12:34 PM
I got my reel, yippee! $64 delivered with a spool full of what looks like new 30lb braid. It's a beauty, looks unused, high quality black finish like Penn's, and it's finished on the inside as well.
I bought this with the intention of learning about lever drag reels and last night it came apart. A few parts fell out without my seeing where they came from, slight panic set in, lol. Eventually I got it all back together without any "leftover" parts, phew! Here's what I found:
Lots of high-end features for a cheap reel, like dual roller bearings plus a spring-loaded backup dog, high quality finish, awesome dual-disk carbon fiber drag (confirmed it Alan), lots of shielded bearings, stainless gears, wow.
Unfortunately, there is bad news as well. Free spool is lost way too soon before reaching a decent drag setting, too bad because the drag is capable of much more. But the worse part is that this reel has a major design flaw. I noticed during testing that free-spool would slowly improve the more I reeled. Then I noticed that the drag decreased as well! What was happening is that the drag control knob was slowly creeping backwards as I reeled.
This creeping is caused by the spool axel rotating on top of the metal plate that applies drag pressure. This plate sits directly in line with the drag knob, (which is very loose, btw). The rotation basically slowly unscrews the knob.
So I rigged up a fix for this by adding an old drag disk under the drag knob, making it very tight so it doesn't slip nearly as much. This worked for up to Max drag, but under extended reeling at Full, it still creeps back a little eventually, but I can live with that.
Anyway, mixed feelings about this reel. It's an awesome looking reel, very smooth, quality build and features. But without the "fix" it's unacceptable regardless of the good features. I just can't believe they would overlook something this basic! Luckily I did manage the fix though, and now I can't wait to test it out on a biggun' !!!
Nice! Now We want the pictures!
Best Regards
leonard
I was just on Tica's site looking at the schematics of their latest models. It seems they've addressed the drag knob creeping issue by adding a tension spring and clicker to the knob assembly.
Quote from: Tile on May 25, 2014, 07:45:03 PMI wonder if it's hard to get spare parts or not for it.
Here's the scoop on parts...
(Dec 2015) Got next day response to order placed using online parts order form on Tica website. "Frequently requested" parts are in stock in USA. Other parts are ordered from overseas to be placed aboard a cargo container and may take two months to arrive. The guy I spoke with was knowledgeable and friendly. Unfortunately, it could be quite a wait, but that's better than no parts at all.