bobalooie57 - 22-6-2014 at 06:46 AM
When I first started this great sport, I had a co-worker(plumber background) bend me 2 sets of handles, made from 3/8"(edit:I used 3/4", not 3/8") sch
40 PVC. They were fashioned after HQ's standard handles in length and bend. They have worked fine for me, and still do, but when I got my 12M NPW9
from kitemaker4, I picked up a set of PKD's handles with the brake line cleat, to make adjustment on the fly possible. These work quite well, so I
went to West Marine, and picked up 2 small v-cleats with fairlead, made by Ronstan, for less than $7.00 each. I bolted them to a set of my homemade
PVC handles in place of the brake line pigtails, and now have another set of adjustable handles.
BeamerBob - 22-6-2014 at 09:32 AM
Thats pretty cool! I would think half inch pipe would be a better size for gripping. Any kind of tape or padding on the handles? Show us some pics.
ssayre - 22-6-2014 at 09:38 AM
Cool. I've been planning on making some handles but was planning to use PVC conduit instead.
acampbell - 22-6-2014 at 05:44 PM
Good for you. I've seen and heard of homemade handles before but yours sounds like the best execution with the addition of the brake line cleats.
Good job.
3shot - 22-6-2014 at 05:54 PM
pics pics pics :dunno:
bobalooie57 - 23-6-2014 at 06:35 AM
I have wrapped the handles with the grip tape they sell for tennis racquets, red for the left handle and blue for the right. My good camera crapped
out, and I had to replace it with a cheap one, so I will take pics, but I can't say how the quality will be.
Sean, I think the PVC conduit should work O.K.
bobalooie57 - 23-6-2014 at 08:13 AM
So I just took out the handles to take a few pics, turns out I mis-remembered the size. It turns out I used 3/4", not 3/8" pvc. anyway, here are a
few pics.
bobalooie57 - 23-6-2014 at 08:23 AM
So there are the pics, not such good quality, but I guess it shows the mod. The first two show the left handle, the hemo clip that I used to a.) pull
out the brake loop, and b.) hold the nut in place to attach the cleat. I suppose this could be done with a long nose pliers, too. I also added the
little card the cleat came attached to, hoping the part number would show up, but it didn't. The Ronstan part # is RF5101, V-cleat, Small, Fairlead.
For under $14.00 for the v-cleats, I think the mod was well worth the cost. Also, I put end caps on the handles, to prevent being "cored" if I fell
on them, but didn't glue them in case they need to be removed for any reason.
abkayak - 23-6-2014 at 08:58 AM
i have been cutting my flexi fb bars in half...they work better as handles than it ever did as a bar
underthewind - 24-6-2014 at 01:12 AM
what kind of cord did you use for the pigtails?
bobalooie57 - 24-6-2014 at 09:15 AM
Just some heavy poly cord from the "boating supply" department at Wal-Mart. Woven exterior, non woven core, maybe 1/8" dia, don't remember.