mark poulson Posted June 5, 2016 Report Share Posted June 5, 2016 I noticed that the new Curado 70 seems to have brass gears, but it is still what I consider light.So many of the newer reels have aluminum main gears, I was wondering if it is just for cost savings, or to save weight?I have older reels with brass gears, and they still feel smooth after years of use.I have newer reels with aluminum gears. Even from the same manuf., Quantum, but with different models, some feel smooth Smoke 100), but some (EXO 100) feel "geary" and rough after using them for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobP Posted July 9, 2016 Report Share Posted July 9, 2016 Brass is traditional because it is soft enough to "wear in" and become smoother as you use it, although it can bteak easier if abused and will eventually wear out faster than harder metals. Modern machining can cut gears that fit more precisely than they used to, so companies can use harder materials that weigh less (a big issue these days). Gear ratios are also a big deal. High ratios put more strain on a gear train than lower ratios do. So they design reels with large main gears nowadays to make that feasible. I don't think they use aluminum gears for cost saving. I think they do it to save weight and because they feel they can engineer a gear train that works well with those specific materials. But just like with brass gears, sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
