Racebar 4:1 depower mod

[gbleck]

My flysurfer 15M 3 to 1 depower setup. 1/4 and 1/8 inch amsteel blue with Ronstan 30 orbit blocks and a Clamcleat CL253 AN.

Full power


1/2 depowered


Fully depowered








Because I used a 3 : 1 cascade fully depowered is 1/2 the length of fully powered. The Y split on the infinity bar is a lot closer then the Y split on my cab IDS 3:1 bar setup. I just replaced the section between the tube and the swivel for that and it has way more then enough depower. I may go back and reduce that after I experiment with more then stock length depower to save weight. So if I replaced the depower strap section with a 3:1 the amount of depower travel would be less then 1/2 the stock depower. The speed 3 uses all of the depower travel without losing any response. To get at least stock depower shortening I added rear line extensions of around 13 inches. I also decided to keep the single front line safety. It runs to a point around 1/2 way up one of the front lines and ends at spliced in eye on one front line. I added a 13 inch extension at the front line eye splice. Adds a bit of drag as all I had was thin bridal/leader line sized 12 strand amsteal. Smaller then 1/8 by two sizes but larger then kite line. Lock stitched and contact cemented the extensions. The Bar itself on the 1/4 inch is a lock stitched brummel eye splice with a nice taper. The 1/8 I just couldn't pass the tail back through with my fid so I just passed the tail through the line back and forth then lock stitched and wiped it. If I had my little gated hook for fixing kite lines that would have worked but it got confiscated by the Mexican TSA in Baja.

[Dutchkiteboarder]

Have you tried it yet on your flysurfer? I am really curious if it would would because Flysurfers are really picky on their setup. Keep us posted!

[4w7s]

Yes, this purchase system works really well. Incidently the Flysurfer bar is actually made by Core for Flysurfer . The Flysurfer bar you show is similar to the former ESP bar made by Core. The new Sensor bar is considerably lighter and also has the parallel center lines running thru the bar in a perpendicular orientation that makes stradling the centerline with your fingers much more comfortable. Also they've eliminated the narrow diameter mini-fifth line by virtue of the new design that incorporates the centerline safety into the double 5mm dyneema line (much safer and more reliable IMO)

The new Core Sensor bar has essentially the same setup except instead of microblocks with bearing they use the solid ferrule sliders (one just above the cleat and one at the "y") - you may have seen this type of hardware on some recent kites (Best, Cabrinha, Core, and some others). I'd be concerned with the blocks that have bearings in them when in a sandy environment. You might even be better off with the cheaper "bearing-less" micro blocks that Harken or Ronstan has, or get a hold of some of the "ferrules".

The ease of adjustment and control of the depower system is really nice with this setup. In the case of the Core Sensor Bar the centerline/mini fifth line geometry has the split for the front lines about 14' away from the bar.

[gbleck]

I noticed the sensor and infinity 2 are almost identical but with a pull pull vs a cleat. Rotating the alignment of the two holes by 90 deg is a big improvement for riding one handed. I like the use of rings for the cascade instead of blocks. That would save a lot of distance used up and weight. Got to love German engineering.

[4w7s]

Yes, the German quality and engineering really shines thru on these Core products. The kites are actually made in Sri Lanka but they have their own facilitiy making ONLY Core kites with really tight quality control. The video of how a Core kite is made on their website is pretty cool.

You're welcome to try the Sensor bar (and/or Core kites) if you are over here. I've got some in stock and can order any kite size you want.

[rjajr]

I noticed the long throw on your race board vid. Seemed like you were reaching way out. I have never flown a foil so I did not know if this was common or what. Interesting you mention the cab IDS bar. I have a Cab and hate that the throw on that bar is so long. I am 5'11 and I generally cuff the sleeves on my shirts but I think I am fairly average and I can barely reach to full depower on the IDS bar. I now fly Slingshot and find the kite so much more comfortable especially the Rally, a nice short throw.

Thanks for sharing the info on the Kite and board build.

[gbleck]

Noticed it's realy a 2:1 cascaded with a second 2:1 for a tottal of 4:1. The travel is a bit longer then the standard.