Red Hot Metanium

Here's a little project which I managed to plan way ahead in time so that I receive the reel and the sum of all pimpin parts at around the same time. This eliminates the waiting period in between having a stock standard reel transforming into a fully pimped up reel.

This Shimano Metanium will be used for medium light to medium heavy tackle set-ups. The Shimano Metanium is already a physically light reel to start with and yet there are many parts available to further lighten and pimp it up to your liking.

Another advantage of planning ahead is that I can work out the theme of my choice. For this instance, red is my choice and for many reasons. 1st reason is because I got the yumeya deep spool along with the reel, which is only available in red. An additional spool will allow me to quickly swap between medium light to medium heavy line setup without the need to take lines off the spool. 2nd reason is that I managed to locate stock availability from hedgehog studio as well as studio composite on all things red. Lastly, this reel will be regularly paired with a warm coloured theme rod of Majorcraft Corzza MH rod with reddish/brown hues as well as cork handles.

While the reel will be taken apart for pimpin, it's only logical that I will take this opportunity to prepare the internals for maximum protection from corrosion and also smoothness in operation.

Almost the sum of all parts in view. Yumeya red deep spool not in view.

Disassembling the Shimano Metanium isn't very difficult as the reel design is very much focused on basic bait casting concept without fancy technical gimmick. Quite a basic reel but the build quality and material used is pretty much up there even when compared with reels above it's price range.

A banner for the micro module gearing inside. Also the SVS infinity brake equipped spool.

On the brake side plate, you have the SVS brake fine tuning assembly. Most parts here's made of carbon composites or simple plastics with no worries about corrosion of any kind. Very little to be done here but to keep the conical brake surface clean of debris and lightly oiled.

Brake fine tuning side in carbon composites and plastics. Just make sure the conical brake surface is clean and lightly oiled.

Typical of Shimano, the insides are lubricated 'enough' for it to function. I'll need to prep it for maximum protection and smoothness.

Dry insides. Stock drags will need to be swapped out with custom sized carbontex drags now that I've measured them. There are no available sets for sale from smoothdrag as yet, so I get to custom order my preferred size.

There's been some debate over the need of a ball bearing for the worm gear support especially on higher end daiwa bait casters but Shimano doesn't seem too bothered by this as they've been producing super smooth BCs without it. Even the Antares doesn't have bearing supports for the worm gear. Good or bad? Rather subjective actually. I personally don't feel the difference between having the worm gear supported by ball bearings and I think it's not necessary as this creates 2 more mechanical parts for potential failure (rust or dirt) and need further protection from water intrusion. The bearings located here will be quite exposed to water intrusion during fishing as well as rinsing down after. I personally can live without them.

Look ma, no bearings! Worm gear connects directly to the small plastic gear with 'C' clips holding it in place.

Shimano however did include something quite nifty for the level winder. A level winder with safety feature which will prevent damage or injury in the event that there's a foreign object or finger got in between the level winder and the reel body. It's a very simple mechanism nicely hidden under the crank shaft's plastic gear (above picture, left) with 2 opposing clicker cams which will slip when there's load preventing the level winder from moving. For this reel, I don't see a need for something like this as the level wind is quite hidden under the housing and front bumper. It'll be super useful for reels with an exposed level winder such as the Calcutta Conquest. Innovative feature nonetheless.

Awkward moment when the ex meet the new bits.

Parts are kept to an optimum number in pursuit of functional performance & lightness. A recent push for the adoption of wave leaf spring on their latest Stella SW meant that they have an excuse to replace the old coil spring for better pressure stability thrusted onto the drag stack.

Even the screws are in red! They are made out of duralumin and extra care has to be given to not strip the thread of the hex cap. Quality tools will be needed for the job.

When inspecting the drag material, I noticed that only the lower drag discs is run wet while the upper drag is left dry. Possibly due to the different materials used. I'll swap them out with custom sized carbontex the minute it's arrived.

Longer star drags. Slightly lighter than the stock star drag. Even the brake knob has red accents!

As described earlier, the level winder is pretty hidden with little chance of exposure to finger or debris. This view is only made possible with the removal of the front bumper.

On to coating every surface found. Not taking any chances here. Bearings are packed with marine grease except for the spool support bearing which is nicely lubed with light oil.

As for the handle from Studio Composite, it comes ready to be bolted on and head to battle. For me, I know too well that the bearings came straight from the factory with minimal lubrication or protection. I generally pack them up with marine grease as well as giving the knob shaft a good coat of marine grease for that extra protection. Knob bearings usually get lots of water intrusion especially the ones closer to the handle.

Here's another view of the underside, now with the bumper back on. Pretty much shielded from any accidental blockage or finger pinching.

Exes, please meet the new red hot Metanium.

This new red hot Metanium will be ready to battle once I've loaded it with lines and I'll be testing the stock drag behaviour over the next few ponding sessions. I suspect it will perform ok but probably not the smoothest of drag as it's semi wet and not of carbon fiber material.

Stay tune for the update of ponding sessions soon.