Reel Repair by Alan Tani

I think there's about a 15% density difference between aluminum and CF. That's not a lot. Doesn't necessarily warrant the loss off all the above.

For applications where weight is an important determinant of performance or efficiency, like in sports equipment or airplanes, shaving off 10 to 15% is a big deal.  The marketing hype is just a bonus.

Quote from: jurelometer on November 12, 2024, 09:09:55 PMThose flat-ish, simple geometry parts are the sort of things that are candidates for CF cloth/resin construction.

Hopefully I am not offending those that acquired these parts, but I am of the opinion that these are also not very good candidates for carbon fiber mesh.

Carbon fiber cloth composite is not as impact resistant as aluminum, so exposed parts like handle arms will tend to break when aluminum will just dent a little.  Mechanical attachments, especially for  motion (like a handle crank or spinner bail) are tricky to get right, as the openings create gaps in some filaments and concentrate load across others.  I see that the newer version of the high end ABU spinner got rid of the CF wings on the rotor and changed the CF handle arm to shaft attachment.

Drag stars only need to not break, not fail when tightening, and in larger reels, conduct and convect heat from the drag stack.  CF is not the best material for achieving any of these goals.

I am not sure a very modest reduction in overall weight is worth what is likely to be a reasonably significant loss in durability.

The high performance bicycle crowd is extremely interested in lightweight parts.  CF frame parts and handlebars seem to work for them (makes sense) but CF cranks suffer from durability issues around impact and mechanical connection stress failures (also makes sense). As redesigned CF cranks approach the durability of aluminum cranks, the lightness advantage disappears, but the added cost does not.  This makes for a limited market.

-J

It's primarily for bass/trout tackle or light jigging reels at the heaviest.  Outside of the abu which came that way it's done mainly just as a way to personalize/customize your reel because japan has a bigger market for that kind of thing where people like to make changes for aesthetic reasons more than performance.  Here in the states our mentality is more so of upgrades for the sake of some kind of functional performance gain vs just because we can and it looks cool.  The term over there is "dress up" parts and it ranges from big stuff like handles/drag stars, spool tension knobs to as small as colored screws just to personalize your stuff.  Different culture and different markets.

It's primarily for bass/trout tackle or light jigging reels at the heaviest.  Outside of the abu which came that way it's done mainly just as a way to personalize/customize your reel because japan has a bigger market for that kind of thing where people like to make changes for aesthetic reasons more than performance.  Here in the states our mentality is more so of upgrades for the sake of some kind of functional performance gain vs just because we can and it looks cool.  The term over there is "dress up" parts and it ranges from big stuff like handles/drag stars, spool tension knobs to as small as colored screws just to personalize your stuff.  Different culture and different markets.
[/quote]
You should talk to Tom (Cortez Conversions.) Hi opinion of the US market is a bit different, and I quote "we're becoming girls!"
The Man

My take is that the differences are mostly in degree.  Here on this international, but USA centric site, aesthetics definitely does not take a back seat when it comes to customization. If you think of your custom reel as something other than a tool, you are either a collector or at least a little bit of a reel bedazzler.

And I also don't understand the use of "girl" as a put-down.  What's so bad about being a girl?  Wish we had more female fishers here on this site...

To get back on track: I think I just found the perfect color matching customization for those. Ice-blue frames and sideplates.

-J

Sorta frustrating. The ladies can be whatever they want. Men won't let each other get away with that kinda freedom. Try fishing on a charter trip with a pink reel/rod combo. So now and then we can say stuff like that. And no, I don't have any pretty fishing tackle, clothing, etc., etc. An overly feminized bathroom can cause me constipation.

I have often thought that a hot pink rod/rods would be unlikely to be stolen! 

 Ahhh, the age old discussion of form vs function, or form AND function. Myself, I'm more fixated on function first and foremost, but nothing wrong with having some form along with it

Nothing wrong with a sense of style

I didn't go as far in the car modding world as some of my friends, and definitely not as far as some on here. But a lot of the same principles apply. Namely a mod that hurts performance for the sake of appearance is a bad mod. An appearance mod on something with no performance mods are similarly bad.

Big rims on cars started as way of getting bigger brakes. But if you have big rims and small brakes you look silly, Etc.

But that's just me. Parallels to tackle are easy to think of. I have some fancy looking rods. All are first and foremost performance driven.

Quote from: Patudo on November 14, 2024, 09:12:38 PMI have often thought that a hot pink rod/rods would be unlikely to be stolen! 

Oddly enough, that is exactly how I identify all my Long Range gear: A strip of pink electrical tape on the rods, around the handle of jig bag, etc.  While theft is what it is (if somebody wants something bad enough and is a dirtbag they will take it regardless) I do it to help in a potentially fast paced environment where there might be 8 United Composites Vipers, 10 SKB tackle boxes, etc. - john