Power Kite Forum

Made myself a sliding spreader bar...

zero gee - 1-6-2012 at 10:32 PM

...and got to use it in the surf the other day. WOW! It works better than I imagined. :wee: It didn't take any time to get used to either, in fact, I had to look at it the first few times to see if it was actually doing what it was supposed to be doing when it was supposed to be doing it. The motion of it sliding is sooo smoooth. It allows my body to move more freely with more range of motion and carving, riding toeside, and gybes feel way more natural and fluid. :thumbup:

Other things I noticed. My harness is more comfy since this setup does not lift or twist the harness like a hook does. It makes walking in and out of the water or along the beach with the kite low easier. Body drags are easier too.

Here's a picture of my setup...

100_1364a.jpg - 225kB

Kamikuza - 2-6-2012 at 04:51 AM

Nicely done! I've thought about the Jaybar Dynabar things too ... always paranoid my fat ass will break them though :(

pbc - 2-6-2012 at 07:59 AM

Looks cool. Can you post more photos from different angles? I want to understand it better.

zero gee - 2-6-2012 at 05:41 PM

another angle

100_1369 (640x480) (500x375).jpg - 230kB

zero gee - 2-6-2012 at 05:42 PM

riding position - neutral

100_1365 (640x458).jpg - 242kB

zero gee - 2-6-2012 at 05:44 PM

riding position -neutral

100_1367 (640x390).jpg - 228kB

zero gee - 2-6-2012 at 05:44 PM

carving

100_1366 (640x397).jpg - 250kB

zero gee - 2-6-2012 at 05:45 PM

carving

100_1368 (640x485).jpg - 243kB

zero gee - 2-6-2012 at 05:51 PM

my chickenloop shackle

100_1363 (640x480) (550x413).jpg - 227kB

dave brown - 2-6-2012 at 06:17 PM

Looks Good :thumbup:
I have been looking at a Dynabar for a while now
I decided to rig up something using a bit of old trimline and
a few spliced loops

slide1.JPG - 89kB

pbc - 2-6-2012 at 06:30 PM

I get it now. Thanks for the additional pics.

I love the traveling leash attachment point. That has to help keep things in order.

Philip

zero gee - 3-6-2012 at 09:34 AM

Seeing more pros using this type of setup like Ian Alldredge...

http://vimeo.com/42674473

I now I wish I had it for my Hatteras trip.

43patrick - 12-6-2012 at 02:01 PM

Thanks for the motivation. I have been meaning to try this for some time now. I have been riding this system for since a day or after the beginning of this thread and I am hooked. I think that I will now ride this full time on a surfboard, and most other times as well. (you can not unhook with it but for all other riding it is awesome).

43patrick - 12-6-2012 at 02:05 PM

Photo

slidingbar.jpg - 162kB

PHREERIDER - 13-6-2012 at 12:09 PM

very nice DIY rigs guys,

a couple years back i was talking with damien leroy at tybee and he had this super simple without any of the line wear result.

just as in 43patrick pic, leroy had CUT OFF the hook smooth and on the BAR added a big SS ring/clip lock , and it actually slides ON the BAR with the pad in place.

certainly gives freedom, thought i would add to the possibilities since patrick had removed the hook already.

B-Roc - 1-9-2012 at 08:52 PM

Zero Gee, why do you use 3 lines (white, green and black). I get it that one is for the leash and one for the chicken loop but what's the other for?

indigo_wolf - 1-9-2012 at 09:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by B-Roc
Zero Gee, why do you use 3 lines (white, green and black). I get it that one is for the leash and one for the chicken loop but what's the other for?


ATB,
Sam

kitedelight - 5-9-2012 at 09:23 PM

nice,
how do you find this type of hook up for jumping and keeping your centre of balance?

B-Roc - 30-4-2013 at 10:12 AM

I'm going to have to make myself one of these. I think I bruised my ribs or abdominal muscles two weeks ago when I was doing lots of jumping and keeping the kite between 11-1 all day. Tried to ride this past weekend and every time I redirected for a jump and got the kite overhead the pain from the bar riding up to my stomach / ribs was too intense to stay focused (even though I have a nice pad). Major bummer as the winds were steady from the east.

Looks like most of you have used 6mm dyneema for the cording. That about right? I assume this would help my rib / abs problem since there would no longer be a bar, correct?

Any newly learned tricks from those of you who have used this setup?

Kamikuza - 30-4-2013 at 07:24 PM

^ is why I prefer at seat harness... at this time...

Make the line short and tight cos it'll "stretch" when you get riding.

B-Roc - 1-5-2013 at 04:32 AM

I have a seat harness (fusion) and its been great for years. I think its a little big for me which allows the bar to sit just below the bottom of my ribs so when the kite is fully powered all day and up high the bar is constantly at the junction of my low ribs and upper abs. Never had a problem like this before but the pain actually ended my kiting session. That was a major bummer. I just put my pivoting spreader bar on and I'll try that for help first but if its no good I'm converting to the setup above.

Kamikuza - 1-5-2013 at 10:17 PM

Same thing happened to me using a Dakine Renegade harness... it sat low for a while, but gradually worked its way up into the bones and muscle at the bottom of my rib cage. I suffered one session like that, then the next session I tried it again but after 10 minutes I went and got my good ol' Fusion.

Fusion should keep the spreader bar low, especially if you snug the straps down good. Usually only starts poking me in the flab after an hour or two in massively over-powered conditions...

Let us know how the pivoting spreader bar goes - I might try one of those too... although I would like a sliding bar. Heard of a few giving out though, gives me the heebie-jeebies...!

B-Roc - 6-5-2013 at 04:16 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Kamikuza  


Let us know how the pivoting spreader bar goes - I might try one of those too... although I would like a sliding bar. Heard of a few giving out though, gives me the heebie-jeebies...!


I'm loving my pivoting spreader bar. Even without a pad it is way more comfortable than the traditional hammerhead. No bar creep and no pressure on the abs or ribs (seat harness). I rode two days in a row this weekend with no discomfort at all when I normally always feel my abs or ribs at least a little bit the next day just from where the bar resides (padded and all).

I am going to use it until the welds fail and then I'm going to replace it with a sliding spreader based on some of the ideas posted here.

johnson33445 - 26-6-2013 at 03:35 AM

were we get this


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