Power Kite Forum - Optimal ride height?

Optimal ride height?

soliver - 29-10-2013 at 04:00 PM

Hey guys, how far off the ground is your bum when you're riding?

When I fabbed up the downtube for my VTT-XR Hybrid, I made it so it would drop my ride height down to about 3-4" off the ground, cuz I thought I heard the lower your center of gravity (COG), the better your stability is, and it's easier to stay in the bug and hold down more kite, etc, etc... However with the bumpy fields I ride in, I frequently find myself bottoming out or bumping my backside. I'm considering re-fabricating the downtube to raise myself up about an inch or so, but I'm curious what you all have going on in your own bug(s).

What is your ride height in relation to the terrain you ride on? Is it intentional for you or factory?

Am I right about a lower COG?

Bladerunner - 29-10-2013 at 04:17 PM

3-4 inches is 1 or 2 more than I have. Sounds like you want to make a belly pan ?

cheezycheese - 29-10-2013 at 04:27 PM

I prob have almost a foot of ground clearance. Ridin high...

soliver - 29-10-2013 at 04:45 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Bladerunner

3-4 inches is 1 or 2 more than I have. Sounds like you want to make a belly pan ?

Nah, the bumps don't hurt at all, they just have a tendency to stop me or slow me down. I don't necessarily want to protect my bum, just to keep from grounding out and slowing down.... I wanna keep it movin!

Now that I think of it though, it is likely that the actual seat is lower than the 3-4 inches I mentioned. The measurement I made was from the clamp.

What kind of terrain do you ride BR?

shehatesmyhobbies - 29-10-2013 at 05:41 PM

Mine is usually about 6 inches off the ground due to the sandy beaches and high grass that I tend to ride on. Right now my seat needs redone so I am a little closer, like 3 inches or so. When the seat is redone I will be back to around 6 inches.

Mine is set for where I ride. Lower COG is preferred, but sometimes you have to compromise. A nice belly pan will help you out, it wont stop you from bottoming out, but it will help you glide over the bumps a little better

BeamerBob - 29-10-2013 at 05:42 PM

You want it as low as is practical for your riding spot. I can barely get 2 fingers (about 1-1.5") under my seat. There are spots on Ivanpah that my seat touches from time to time along the gasline, that needs me that high to clear the rough spots. That causes me to slide instead of roll if I get a heavy pull from the side.

I'm running one of Dragonfly's carbon belly plates and it is a huge peace of mind knowing I won't get gouged or lifted by a foriegn object, and it keeps me from tearing up the bottom of my seat.

greasehopper - 29-10-2013 at 05:49 PM

My playground is open desert so I run 8 inches of ground clearance and 9.50X18 golf cart tires on my narrow little Flexifoil Scout freestyle bug. This makes holding down a 3m kite at Ivanpah a REAL challenge because, obviously, I feel like I'm gonna get popped out sideways at any moment. Then again, most folks prefer to use the sidewalk. I like to play in traffic.

You are right about lowering center gravity for increased stability but that's only part of the equation that is chassis dynamics. As you look at the back of a buggy, imagine a right triangle formed by the tire contact patch and the approximate point where your harness hook or pulley is or your tow point. The hypotenuse of that triangle is the line of force along which most of the lateral pull is concentrated. The basic idea is to decrease the angle between the tow point and the contact patch of the downwind tire. Putting a taller tire on the rear and dropping the seat down further in the frame rails can help decrease that angle. Widening the rear axle will achieve roughly the same overall affect. There is a point where that angle becomes too flat and you spend a lot of time drifting sideways and scrubbing rubber off of tires because you can't transfer enough weight to the downwind tire to make it bite hard enough to over come the lateral pull of the kite.

So, while changing ride height can have a pronounced affect on stability, it is certainly not the last, best word on the matter. I set my ride height for the terrain and work on chassis dynamics to achieve stability.

cheezycheese - 29-10-2013 at 06:01 PM

Ask Ragden how high his seat is/was...:o

Bladerunner - 29-10-2013 at 06:08 PM

I ride in a bumpy park and on hard pack beach.

Frankin'buggy has old school straight side rails and an after market PL seat. It only has about 1-2 inches . I " bum out " on it a lot but there isn't room below for a belly pan. It has a couple of Iron on patches. The problem that is resolved by a belly pan isn't just protection of your butt but the seat material itself.

sand flea - 29-10-2013 at 06:53 PM

I agree totally, as low as possible for me. About 2 to 3 inches on a smooth beach, I can go higher if I want to go in the dunes.

I also have a very nice skid plate or belly pan that allows me to run so low. Aside from the obvious protection of seat and rider, i find it really helps distribute the impact or shock of bottoming out and doesn't hurt so bad.

Chris C 1

soliver - 29-10-2013 at 07:11 PM

I just mean that the rubbing I'm doing when I bottom out is not so much a literal pain in the butt and doesn't seem to be excessively rubbing to the point that I'm concerned about the seat material,... It's more that I don't like getting stuck and having to stand up and reset the buggy and kite.

WELDNGOD - 29-10-2013 at 07:23 PM

Use a bigger kite :thumbup:

soliver - 29-10-2013 at 08:14 PM

Quote: Originally posted by WELDNGOD

Use a bigger kite :thumbup:

Demoknight - 31-10-2013 at 02:56 PM

Towtruck-kite... There might be a market for that.

soliver - 13-11-2013 at 06:38 PM

Update: permission granted from ground control...

I'll be picking up some steel tomorrow in order to A. Widen my back axle to 4' (it's currently about 40-42"... I can't remember) and B. Rebuild my downtube to make it a little more fancy and raise my ride height. I'm going to try to get it up to about 5-6 inches.

I'll share progress notes and pics when I get him all sorted out... I'm excited to further pimp my ride :D

van - 14-11-2013 at 04:04 PM

Quote: Originally posted by soliver

Update: permission granted from ground control...

I'll be picking up some steel tomorrow in order to A. Widen my back axle to 4' (it's currently about 40-42"... I can't remember) and B. Rebuild my downtube to make it a little more fancy and raise my ride height. I'm going to try to get it up to about 5-6 inches.

I'll share progress notes and pics when I get him all sorted out... I'm excited to further pimp my ride :D

Sweet .. that's why I love custom buggies .. make it the way you want it!! I think my seat is 3" before lunch and 2" afterwards ... need to stop eating heavy lunches.