It's what's inside
that makes the difference! The cutaway view on the left shows the internal workings
of the unique J. Ryall patented drag system, 2 delrin (acetal resin) brake shoes that
expand on the inside of a cintered bronze cylinder.
The explanation
lies in one of the oldest traditions of machine shop technology. It's a common term
used in the process of metal removal - Surface Feet Per Minute or SFM. It's common
knowledge that a wheel 30 inches in diameter turning 10 revolutions per minute will travel
twice as far as one 15 inches in diameter at the same RPM. This is because the
circumference of the 30 inch wheel that touches the ground is twice as long as the smaller
one at the outermost diameter and is traveling twice as fast as the 15 inch wheel.
If you cut the wheels at one point and laid them side by side on the pavement, this could
easily be seen. Thus is the term "surface feet per minute".
In a brake or drag system the
same thing applies. The larger the diameter of the braking surface, the higher the
SFM and the resulting heat from friction. It is this heat that causes large diameter
drag systems to disintegrate as the fish tears into the backing of the reel. An
example of this would be a disk drag 1 1/4 inches in diameter with the brake pad engaging
about 40 degrees of the outer 1/4 inch of the disk and a fish running at about 6 miles per
hour into your backing, creating about 654 SFM.
The Ryall drag uses a
completely different theory. By keeping the braking surface contained within a
1/2" diameter cylinder on all size reels, and utilizing 280 degrees of braking
surface, the above example would generate about 262 SFM and dissipate the heat through the
bronze cylinder. This is far below the disintegration point of the materials used in
the drag.
