Because the reeds control the amount of air / fuel mixture entering the engine, choosing the best reeds is important for getting the maximum amount of horsepower from your 2-cycle engine. Too much or too little air / fuel entering the engine during each cycle will cause a loss of performance.
Another factor in choosing a reed is its potential to damage the engine, in the event of breakage. No reed can be expected to last forever. And, at some point, it is very likely that a reed or part of a reed will break off and get sucked into the engine. A carbon fiber reed will normally break up into little pieces, without doing much damage.
Ideally, you would like to have a high-performance reed that has good longevity and that is less likely to break.
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