The Speedia centrepin is a relatively cheap, light reel, made mostly I believe between the late 1940's and early 1960's. They have a stamp "WR Products " on the back. I'm not sure what this stands for, but have heard it is the initials of the famous midlands gunmaker, Westley Richards. I've not been able to confirm this. I have also heard that they were made somewhere on the south coast, Brighton maybe, so that might discount the Westley Richards theory. If anyone reading this knows more, I'd be grateful if they would pass on the information.

They were not an expensive reel to buy, nor I imagine to make, but something about the formula worked out just right, and they make an excellent casting and trotting reel. The first one I ever owned was a mint narrow drum, boxed, and with the price of 42/6d on the box (about £2.10 in new money). I still have it, and it still spins brilliantly.
Speedias come in narrow & wide drum models, the earlier ones with just a ratchet (the lever incidentally being in the ideal place). Later models had the addition of a drag adjustment, and the de-luxe models an extra recessed "wheel " on the side, to increase the ratchet strength - very handy when legering in fast flows.

It's quite a few years ago now that I first went into print recommending these particular reels. Since then they have become very popular, especially it seems amongst barbel anglers. What has surprised me is first, how many Speedias are still about, and second, that they can still be bought at a very reasonable price. Even the not-so-good models can make great reels for
legering for barbel, while the best Speedias will rival any centrepin for performance in casting & trotting a float. I am often asked about these reels, and also often asked if a particular reel (usually on EBAY) is worth buying. Well - it's hard to tell from a picture, and, as I've found, "spins well " means vastly different things to different people! However, EBAY
sellers are usually (not always) honest enough, and will respond honestly to questions, especially if they value their EBAY feedback. You'll always get the seller who says he found it in the shed and knows nothing about fishing (yeah, right, good cop out eh??!) but mostly you can get a fairly straight answer to any questions you might have. So - what questions should you ask?

Well, here are some reasons that would make me think twice about buying one of these reels.

* If it doesn't spin for at least 10 seconds. (forget your 5 minute spinning times!!) 10 seconds isn't great in itself, but it means any problems can probably be fixed. 30 seconds would be much better....
* If there is any bad damage.
* If the top of the "pin " is flat.
* If the pin is bent or otherwise damaged (hard to spot...).
* If the slot in the central grub screw is badly worn/butchered, or the grub screw is well sunk in the thread, or can't be moved at all.
* If there are scratch marks on the back of the spool backplate (indicates it's rubbing against the ratchet spring, & either the grub-screw or spindle, or both need replacing - I'd imagine Garry Mills* could provide grub screws cheap enough).
* If it wobbles badly or the spool has sideways "rocking " movement

Many Speedia owners have seen fit to touch up the paintwork with a bit of black gloss, but to be honest, I wouldn't let a bad paint job put me off - you can always strip it - they look pretty good in their natural metal colour.

I would always prefer a wide drum to a narrow drum & I would prefer a de-luxe to a standard model.

I hope that helps......

Alan Tomkins

Note: Garry Mills runs a small business making & renovating centrepins - he can make a bad Speedia into a good one for a very reasonable price. He also makes some superb reels of his own design, though you might have to wait a bit to get a new one.
Garry used to work for Youngs, and as well as being an exceptionally agreeable chap, his work is highly recommended.

Garry Mills - www.milltackle.co.uk

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