How long will the generally make parts for their reels? I'm thinking I should order some replacement parts for my 13 Mentaniums and 15 Aldebarans also? To maintain them and it's not a witch hunt once they no longer carry the parts.

How would you know what parts to buy ahead of time? It varies but after 6-7 yrs parts start to be discontinued and not all at once or on any predetermined schedule. 

Yea for 400 a reel and I have several in each model I will buy some extra high wear parts as I dont want to be down a reel. 

Never hurts to buy an extra set of gears. I had DVT install a brass set for me in my 13's (the Curado K brass gears fit in the 13 Met). 

1 hour ago, fishballer06 said:

Never hurts to buy an extra set of gears. I had DVT install a brass set for me in my 13's (the Curado K brass gears fit in the 13 Met). 

Good to know, thanks.

I would even know where to begin on what to buy.  My Curado 100B's are 14 years old and nothing ever breaks in them.  They still function like the day they came out of the box.

2 hours ago, OnthePotomac said:

I would even know where to begin on what to buy.  My Curado 100B's are 14 years old and nothing ever breaks in them.  They still function like the day they came out of the box.

That's awesome I'd be really happy to get that out of these lol. 

It can vary, but 5 years or so after stopping production is getting to be the trend. Used to be longer, in some cases theres commonality between reels or Japanese part options that extend more options. I have a lefty Chronarch D that was released starting in 09 (?) and halted after approx 3 yrs. The ship has sailed on a brass main gear and pinion of an equal ratio. I did recently order brass gears for a righty metanium DC7 just to be safe as I like it more than anything shimano currently offers.

 

I do wonder about how the combination of braid users and high speed micro module gear sets in new reels will hold up over time. At any rate, if you wanted to go that route, you could order a main gear, pinion, and perhaps a worm shaft (on the off chance some grit or a pebble gets in there and damages it). 

I still order parts for my Chronarch and Curado 201 and 51e's. While not extremely ancient, they're definitely older. Parts seem to ship out on time anytime I order through Shimano.