I have a lower end rod with aluminum oxide guide inserts & just put 50lb original power pro on it. some people say braid can cause grooves in the guides. is this true? & is this something I should be worried about? Thanks!

Not a big problem, something I would not worry about.

I have seen pics of grooves cut into the guides of a ducket ghost on this site, I’m not sure if they are aluminum oxide guides but I know their aluminum however I actually use a ghost frequently but I fish it with floro.

Do not be concerned.  Braid will not grove those inserts.  An old wives' tale.

Braid will not groove any of the ceramic ringed guides.

 

The problem lies with metal rings, especially on rods fished in dirty water.  Sediment from the water gets deposited on the line and turns it into an abrasive string sawing away as you reel.

1 hour ago, OnthePotomac said:

Do not be concerned.  Braid will not grove those inserts.  An old wives' tale.

It might not “grove” them but it could Make a groove in them depending on the exact type of guide I’ve seen it with my own eyes ? ... 

Grooving is not an issue with any modern guide, especially ceramics.  The rods I build for myself generally end up with aluminum oxide guides.  In fact my personal rods end up with aluminum oxide ceramics most of the time.  The guides simply do what they need to do and do it well.  I would reconsider my choice if I were fishing for large fast running fish in the salt, but there is nothing swimming in freshwater that is going to run hard enough, fast enough, or long enough to need to upgrade to something with better heat dissipation properties.

 

I've only grooved one guide in my life, and it was a metal ringed tip top on a Browning Superlight Ultralight.  That rod was fished with 4lb. mono.  It was more likely a flaw in the chrome coating or the underlying steel ring that was the issue than it was from fishing.

Are they fuji aluminum oxide guides or like metal guides on a ugly stick? 

37 minutes ago, FrankN209 said:

Are they fuji aluminum oxide guides or like metal guides on a ugly stick? 

I'm not sure if they're fuji or not but its a lews with aluminum oxide guide inserts .

I wouldn’t worry about it I’ve only seen it happen one time with the ghost micro guides.

3 hours ago, OnthePotomac said:

Do not be concerned.  Braid will not grove those inserts.  An old wives' tale.

It was the older steel/chrome type guides that had the issue.

 

   

26 minutes ago, BassNJake said:

It was the older steel/chrome type guides that had the issue.

 

   

 

My experience too.  Anything with the SS304/Minima type tips are trouble.  I've even seen grooving on running guides.

1 hour ago, BassNJake said:

It was the older steel/chrome type guides that had the issue.

 

   

is it just the top guide or all the way down it?

I've only seen the issue with the top guide and it was on an older rod.

Anything that is newer should not be an issue unless you get a defective set of guides.

one thing to keep in mind is that Fuji aluminum oxide guides are used on some fairly good rods like the G. Loomis E6X and the St. Croix Avid X (normal avids use alconite guides) and these rods are quite popular on the forum and I have never heard of any issues with grooving.

Even in the cheapest of Walmart rods I've never seen braid cut a guide.