Something I've always been curious about. Are there any real advantages to disengaging level wind mechanisms?

I have reels that have both kinds, and I really can't see that one has any advantage over the other as far as casting distance. Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks!

Tom

Disengaging level winds have a lower start up momentum (inertia) than engaged level winds. My Abu C3,4,5's (non disengaging)can't throw a light lure as well as my Cabela's round Prodigy, or Ryobi Varius (disengaging).

What type reels are you speaking of? On heavier lures, the engaged levelwind will have less friction because the "guide" follows the line as it comes off the spool.

J Franco will be along with a better way to say it

Most likely T is talking bout his round Garcia's.

Engaged line carriage. They were part of the design thought of friction reduction of the unspooling line against the line carriage wire on the cast. Thought was they would cut down on the friction if the line carriage was to peel with the line (in sync). Problem was that if you crank a blank tag end past the line carriage it would put the spool and the line carriage out of sync. Today's reels are mostly disengaging line carriages.

If he's not my mistake....

My simple answer no reel advantages/disadvantages.

Tight Lines!!!!

Syncing an Abu is very simple. Actually everything on an Abu is simple to work on. My Cabelas Round Prodigy will easily out cast my C-5 (even with it's Mag-control) when it comes to very light lures.

If the op is not noticing a difference, chances are he is not using light lures.

Most likely T is talking bout his round Garcia's.

Engaged line carriage. They were part of the design thought of friction reduction of the unspooling line against the line carriage wire on the cast. Thought was they would cut down on the friction if the line carriage was to peel with the line (in sync). Problem was that if you crank a blank tag end past the line carriage it would put the spool and the line carriage out of sync. Today's reels are mostly disengaging line carriages.

If he's not my mistake....

My simple answer no reel advantages/disadvantages.

Tight Lines!!!!

Yes, I'm referring to my Abu round reels. I have a 4600C, a 5500C3 a 5600CL Rocket and a ProMax 3600. The ProMax is the only one with disengaging level wind.

Using lures 1/4 oz. and up (I never cast anything lighter with my baitcasters), I don't really notice any difference in casting distance, even when mounting the reels on the same rod.

Thanks for the input, at least now I understand the theory behind the whole thing.

Tom

The difference is even less noticeable in the reels with bearing supported level-winds. Properly setup, they'll cast a mile.

Narrower spools don't need to stay engaged, while wide spools do.

Narrower spools don't need to stay engaged, while wide spools do.

Reason is that the angle of line departure during the cast on a wide spool will cause intermittent backlashes. Therefore the line guide follows the line while it is unloading from the spool during the outcast to stop this steep angle from becoming a problem. Most people will use a lagre-capacity, wide-spool baitcaster w/ the non-disengaging levelwind to fish live- or cut bait. If u cast and retrieve a reel like this consistently, it can cause premature failure of the (usually) plastic gear which moves the line guide, usually in the palm-side

plate of the reel. Hope this helps!

Try catching a nice fighting fish with the level wind 180* off to the line,and see what happens to the worm gears.I'll never use a reel with a line guide with line over 20#.Weak point (Conventional).Infact I have a couple penns that had line guides, and i took them out.

Reason is that the angle of line departure during the cast on a wide spool will cause intermittent backlashes. Therefore the line guide follows the line while it is unloading from the spool during the outcast to stop this steep angle from becoming a problem. Most people will use a lagre-capacity, wide-spool baitcaster w/ the non-disengaging levelwind to fish live- or cut bait. If u cast and retrieve a reel like this consistently, it can cause premature failure of the (usually) plastic gear which moves the line guide, usually in the palm-side

plate of the reel. Hope this helps!

I use non disengaging levelwind reels for large swimbaits, pike, and musky lures with no issues. After all the ABU's I've serviced, I'd think that the plastic idler gear issue would show up, but never has. Pawls and worm gears, yes, but never an idler.

Try catching a nice fighting fish with the level wind 180* off to the line,and see what happens to the worm gears.I'll never use a reel with a line guide with line over 20#.Weak point (Conventional).Infact I have a couple penns that had line guides, and i took them out.

This happens while bass fishing? Not sure I even understand the "levelwind 180° off to the line" issue. As stated previously, some reels it is as simple as loosening the drag, holding the spool with your thumb, and turning the handle until they are in alignment. On others, either pay out a cast's worth of line and reel it in, or clip the line and turn the spool until its aligned and feed the line back through the line guide. It'll then be in alignment. I can't see the point in removing a level wind in any reel meant for bass fishing.

I use non disengaging levelwind reels for large swimbaits, pike, and musky lures with no issues. After all the ABU's I've serviced, I'd think that the plastic idler gear issue would show up, but never has. Pawls and worm gears, yes, but never an idler.

Sorry, I posted prematurely, got sidetracked w/ my daughter and never finished my train of thought. I was referring to the maintenance habits( or lack thereof) of many people who use less expensive reels such as the Abu's. I have both a Millionaire CV-Z 300 and a Quantum Cabo PT 30 that I use to throw and troll large lures for stripers and neither has given me any problems in 3 and 7 yrs. respectively. But I have a friend who recently brought me 3 6500's with that idler gear chewed to smithereens. The pawls and worm gears were damaged also. I told him the same thing: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. With proper maintenance, that should never happen, even to a round Abu. He has 3 5500's also, brought at the same time, that he asked me to go thru also. All 6 were in desperate need of lube. I only made the statement to illustrate the point that proper maintenance is key to reel longevity, as I'm sure you know firsthand.

Thanks for the response and I welcome any further insights which might aid me in the future.

This happens while bass fishing? Not sure I even understand the "levelwind 180° off to the line" issue. As stated previously, some reels it is as simple as loosening the drag, holding the spool with your thumb, and turning the handle until they are in alignment. On others, either pay out a cast's worth of line and reel it in, or clip the line and turn the spool until its aligned and feed the line back through the line guide. It'll then be in alignment. I can't see the point in removing a level wind in any reel meant for bass fishing.

I meant to say 90+ degrees. If the line is coming off on one side of the spool and the guide is on the other, isn't that over 90 degrees by the time it hits your first rod guide? But no I never said anything about bass.

Gotcha, see the resolutions posted above....since this is BassResource, I think it's safe to assume that unless otherwise stated, we're talking about bass fishing.