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cardinal 55/54 v shimanos

Chris Thomson

Chris Thomson

Senior Member
Just out of curiosity why is it that some say the clutches on the 55/54s are unbeatable and some say they are **** compared to shimmys, apart from peoples opinion how come there is such a discrepency? Personally i thought the 55s clutch were good comparable to shimmys just wondered why such a difference of opinion
 
Chris Thomson said:
Just out of curiosity why is it that some say the clutches on the 55/54s are unbeatable and some say they are **** compared to shimmys, apart from peoples opinion how come there is such a discrepency? Personally i thought the 55s clutch were good comparable to shimmys just wondered why such a difference of opinion
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Mainly because anglers (bless em) are full of anecdotes a low on science. Actually I own a few shimanos XTEAs, a shimano 4000D and a cardinal 55 and all have good clutches. The cardinal is a little better than the XTEAs overall but they are all perfectly adequate. The 4000D is the best of the bunch but is too small for some of my fishing.

Jeremy Evans who I consider to be someone who knows his onions hates shimano XTEAs probably due to a bad experience with them, or a quality control issue. Who knows? I don't agree but we haven't tested them in the same way, for the same amount of time on the same venues.

How can we compare the clutch on reels of such differing ages other than by someone's personal experience? The answer is we can't so you have to weigh up who's opinion you trust and then take the plunge for yourself. Magazine reviews are very suspect due to modern day financial pressures.
 
Phill Mcguire said:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220665677349


these every time
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I've got a set of three, almost as new, yours for £350.;)

Extremely heavy, a very notchy clutch (IMO) but bring in 125cm of line per rotation of the reel handle:eek:.
(My Wychwood Epic 10K's; lighter, smooth clutch and line retrieval of well over a metre per turn, an all round better buy;))










Oh and I'd be surprised if they balanced well on a barbel stick...(that's if they even fit):p :D :D
 
Chris Thomson said:
Just out of curiosity why is it that some say the clutches on the 55/54s are unbeatable and some say they are **** compared to shimmys, apart from peoples opinion how come there is such a discrepency? Personally i thought the 55s clutch were good comparable to shimmys just wondered why such a difference of opinion
Click to expand...

Talking of rear drag reels only, i would say that 54/55/57s all have pretty good clutches that are still pretty good after 30 years (as long as they are 'backed off' when not used ) Shimano's on the other hand have pretty good clutches which are generally Knack---d after a few years !

Front or mid-drag reels are infinetly better by the way.
 
There is a very good reason, Mike, why this thread is not entitled "cardinal 55/54 v shimanos v mitchells" ;)

R.
 
Simon Lush said:
Talking of rear drag reels only, i would say that 54/55/57s all have pretty good clutches that are still pretty good after 30 years (as long as they are 'backed off' when not used ) Shimano's on the other hand have pretty good clutches which are generally Knack---d after a few years !

Front or mid-drag reels are infinetly better by the way.
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Shimano's on the other hand have pretty good clutches which are generally Knack---d after a few years !
QUOTE..
really...:confused:
 
David Hall said:
Shimano's on the other hand have pretty good clutches which are generally Knack---d after a few years !
QUOTE..
really...:confused:
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Yes really, I have also found this out. Excellent clutches on shimanos for consistency but, as Simon say's, knackered after a few years.
 
Never owned a cardinal, i loved the feel and line lay on the GM300s, but that front drag clutch was dreadful. The early shimano baitrunners had an excellent front drag, but the line lay was poor. The cheaper shimanos never lasted me more than two seasons (REs are the worst ive owned and then disowned), but i must admit to owning/liking the XTEAs and i also have super GTs, which are also excellent. I think in general though, reels have improved, but you get what you pay for (as with most things). There is probably an element of the sentimental with the old cardinals as there is with a lot of well engineered reels of the day. I still have 2 x original 300s and a 330 Otomatic, still love the gearing on those reels. I prefer a front drag still, but havent found the perfect reel that gives me that sense of knowing i'm holding a quality product. Perhaps i'm too fussy. :eek: Has anyone tried the new cardinals; had some of the 55s that were around 15 years ago, but they werent anything to write home about and got given away. :)
 
shimano do gears, look at the components on bikes, the cheaper end of their range are OK but won't last for ever, there is a big gap between the higher end gearing and low end stuff, i wish they would scrap the cheaper side and concentrate on the high quality end of their range.
 
Been using Shimano GTE's for years, never had any problems with them, certainly never found the clutch to be knackered after a couple of years:confused:
You can always send them in for servicing if that's the case anyhow.
 
Yeah i realised that after i posted it, but i couldn't be bothered to delete! Garcia was some frog chap who did no real harm, Leeda ? now thats a different story :)

My Shimano list by the way

3500 triton sea spins, good front drag/ worst line lay of any reel i've ever seen !
4500 aero baitrunners, 1 years Piking and the gears on all 3 collapsed
8000 aerlex, bought for spodding, gears stripped within a month, replacement one did the same.
4000 stradic fighting drags, clutches all packed up as did my mates.
10,000 XTE, clutches all sticking now
5000 XTEAs Pretty good so far !

So as you can see i,ve given them a fair go !

Wurzel, All far east ABU stuff is not good, last fixed spool reel made in Sweden was the Suveran and that was !!
 
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get them serviced, you wouldn't expect a car to go on forever without new bits now and then.:confused:
 
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