So I headed out to buy a new freshwater reel this am.......I generally fish Shimano Spheros reels.....affordable and great for the money! Anyway.....apparently Shimano has redesigned the Spheros line and the new version....BLOWS!!!! Plastic looking as all hell! The quality has gone way down and the price.....its gone way up!!! $80-90 more depending on where you buy it!!!! I about freaked!!! Downgrade the quality of a great reel and charge almost twice as much!!!! I was told by someone reputable that a rep told him its because the gears are now all solid steel????? But the handle and the spool are all junk!!!!! I had no problem with the aluminum gearing???? So I lucked out and found last years Spheros reels and got the 4000 for freshwater and because I know I won't find them anymore I grabbed an 8000!!! Both reels cost only slightly more than I would have paid for the new Spheros 8000!!!!! Pretty weak Shimano! Don't know what kind of reels I will by in the future.....but I know it won't be Shimano Spheros! Sad really!

buy a small stella and be done it larry.

Not to mention they are also having issues with the new re-designed Saragosa (basically an upgraded Spheros) with wobbling spools. I'm guessing the same problems will come up with the Spheros. I'm keeping my old Saragosa's.
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it's a sad day.... recently found a Shimano Patch
in the bottom of a BOX
and now i'd be embarrassed to wear it....

Why embarrassed? Shimano still makes great reels. The one aspect of the company I don't particularly care for is their design team re-designing their reels every five years. It can sometimes be difficult to buy parts for a 10 year old obsolete reel. Beyond that, they tend to make good products and their service dept is quite good.

They had to pay RoyL and his fancy beach cart :tooth:.
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The new design of the Sustain is awesome. I love it.

That's interesting, sent my 3 in for service (5K,6K,8K and entra 8K spool) and they sent me brand new spheros SW and matching spool. I was amazed at the customer service, but guess I should be concerned?!! The reel does not seem all that plastic, in fact more durable with metal handle etc. Larry / others have you opened these up and or have 1st hand concerns?
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Why embarrassed? Shimano still makes great reels. The one aspect of the company I don't particularly care for is their design team re-designing their reels every five years. It can sometimes be difficult to buy parts for a 10 year old obsolete reel. Beyond that, they tend to make good products and their service dept is quite good.

I agree Bob, They have a solid reputation as a leader in the industry, and even though these wobble issues with the Gossa remain a mystery, Shimano has made good on most anyone with an issue, with a new reel. They are excellent reels, and even though I too, can feel "something" with the 6000 SW I have, it is very minor and not a distraction at all. I have caught quite a few fish on it and its performed perfectly.I have to admit that I am a fan of the old Spheros and Gossa reels too, but change is imminent, and although not always what we want, co.'s like Shimano are always striving to bring us something better.
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I bought the Saragosa 6000SW late last season and all seemed well. I did detect a wobble back then, but nothing major. I opened the reel up to examine it and found it was in the spool. I contacted Shimano about it early this year and they had already identified the problem and said it was isolated to a certain number of early run reels. They replaced my reel with a new one, but I still felt something a little off, so I ended up selling the reel without even using it. As I mentioned, I still have the older versions and happy with them. I also like the simplicity of the older version vs. the new. Servicing is a bit easier.
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