Power Kite Forum

Kiting on pebbles...

48K - 13-5-2018 at 03:19 PM

Perhaps a crazy idea...but do any of you buggy experts kite-buggy on pebbles? Our local beach is about 1 mile long, and has a fairly flat (50m wide) top section, but is 100% pebbles that are about 1-3 inch in diameter. The surf-rescue quad bike burns around on this stuff no problem (leaving tracks). Would a buggy (with wide wheels) do the same? For kite-landboading: are there any oversized ATB wheel-mods out there that might work on this type of terrain?

Windstruck - 13-5-2018 at 03:48 PM

So.... Big Foot tires.... helmet, some protective eye wear and maybe a chest plate (?). A front fender would be dandy too and maybe a splash guard fanning out under the down tube. I'm thinking of course about the random 1-3 inch rock getting kicked up as you rocket down the beach powered up. I'd sure as heck hate to get hit by some of those!

Landboarding? Wow. Here's a recent thread with a picture of a landboard with some massive tires. http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=34045#pid32...

jeffnyc - 13-5-2018 at 06:13 PM

I never updated that thread... it took me a while before I had a chance to use that thing. It totally rocks. I got it because of the soft sand spots I was plowing into, which it handles with ease, but added benefit is it flows through potholes and rocks at the airport. I would imagine it would have no problem with the rock beach you mention. The deck is a little high, which took me a tiny bit of getting use to, but doesn't bother me. But with that, you have an increased propensity for speed wobbles, so you need to tighten your trucks a lot. You also have to watch out for your feet hitting the wheels. Hasn't been too much of a problem so far. I haven't pushed it too hard, but did start feeling a bit unstable around 20mph.
I've since been upgraded to a Fleboardz Haize... if you can get your hands on one of those, it would probably be the ultimate on that type of terrain. I was thinking of moving the grannies over to the Haize, but the 9 inch tires on that seem to be perfect so far, so no real reason.
Plummet on Extreme Kites has pushed the concept even further with some wide go-cart tires.
The grey wheels are great, but a little expensive, you can do a lot cheaper with Harbor Freight or similar. And since your terrain is rocks, you will probably do well with treads, the grooves I got supposedly do well in sand. If your board is MBS, make sure you have hubs that can take 9 or 10 inch tires. I got the MBS 5 Stars.
And yeah, listen to Windstruck... wear plenty of protection!

RedSky - 14-5-2018 at 01:24 AM

Where are you from 48k? I have ridden on pebbles at Dungeness in the UK.
It's a headland jutting out into the English Channel with a wildlife sanctuary deemed a Site of Special Scientific Interest connecting my two local beaches of Greatstone and Cambersands. The perfect place to locate not one but two nuclear power stations and a Ministry of Defense firing range.

Some years ago we decided to ride this isolated spot and had ourselves a most memorable day. The entire length is angled, so if you hang your kite low, you can take advantage of the wind as it accelerates up the bank. I found some old footage on my hard drive if you're interested. I'm not sure how old it is. I estimate its from around 2009.

I found that the pebbles will not fly up and hit you. They only start flying when you powerslide, but even then they don't hit you.

https://youtu.be/dEIVcZr15yQ


Windstruck - 14-5-2018 at 05:41 AM

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky  


I found that the pebbles will not fly up and hit you. They only start flying when you powerslide, but even then they don't hit you.

https://youtu.be/dEIVcZr15yQ




That is a GREAT video! That does look like a great day. At exactly 1:20 in your video is a great shot of your pebble protector, which appeared to me to be a piece of wide rigid material extending below the sloped and angled down tube. Great design: ideal for deflecting small, hard projectiles. :D

With no power going to the wheels I do so how there would be little reason for rocks to get kicked up. Something freaky happening though could wreck your whole day.

Thanks for the video share - that was a really cool spot to buggy! :thumbup:

abkayak - 14-5-2018 at 05:58 AM

sounds horrible
looks great:thumbup:

D Cheek - 14-5-2018 at 06:17 AM

Check out this You Tube;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9-X9JkVKw8

Kite Buggy Adventure Race - Naki Nut Buster 2013 == UNCUT ==

Watch till the end, you'll laugh all the way.

Make's me think I need to wear a cup!

jeffnyc - 14-5-2018 at 08:12 AM

Best race ever!

Not sure granny tires would fare too well on the big rocks tho... at least not in my hands. That's in Plummet's neck of the woods, I wonder if he's ever tried...

48K - 14-5-2018 at 08:22 AM

Great comments and links everyone - seems like I've hit an interesting (perhaps divisive) topic!

@redsky: I'm based in Brighton - long shingle beach, but gets rather crowded in summer haha! Do you live in/near Rye?

I've visited Dungeness a couple of years back. We stayed at a house in Longstone-on-sea. No kiting for me back then though. I'd kind of forgotten about kites whilst the kids were tiny. Just re-exploring options...speaking of which: a pair of Flexi Blurr's were signed for by a neighbour on my street today... :-) (clearly I am a sucker for an Amazon sale).

Watching those vids (which are great by the way!) I'm not sure, even if I had the space to store a buggy, that starting out on pebbles is going to be a good idea...let me ponder it for a while!

@jeff: What diameter are those ATB tyres? I'm finding it hard to imagine they will work on the pebbles here on the UK South coast. I tried cycling on it last night...very hard work on two 27.5x2.5 inch wheels/tyres. But perhaps it is different when you are being pulled by the wind?

What is the standard diameter of a buggy tyre anyone?





jeffnyc - 14-5-2018 at 10:30 AM

What board do you have? Normally they come with 8" tires. Sometimes 9" on some of the more expensive models or as an upgrade. My grey grannys are 10". If your stones are like the beach in red sky's video, they would most likely work, though I'm not sure it would be fun (worth a shot if that's your only kite spot if you ask me). I can dig up links on hub/tires etc if you're interested. Indigowolf was super helpful as always, and looking up plummet on you tube and some other kite sites was super helpful. His moose vid riding around dunes was what spurred me to try. https://vimeo.com/31279185
And thread: https://www.extremekites.com.au/topic/13196-sand-dune-landbo...
Blurrs have quickly become my favorite FB kites, nice choice :D

RedSky - 14-5-2018 at 11:20 AM

Quote: Originally posted by D Cheek  
Check out this You Tube;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9-X9JkVKw8

Kite Buggy Adventure Race - Naki Nut Buster 2013 == UNCUT ==

Watch till the end, you'll laugh all the way.

Make's me think I need to wear a cup!


:D I think him having children is now out of the question. I like the idea of an endurance buggy marathon through all kinds of terrains, but rocks, meh.

RedSky - 14-5-2018 at 11:30 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Windstruck  


That is a GREAT video! That does look like a great day. At exactly 1:20 in your video is a great shot of your pebble protector, which appeared to me to be a piece of wide rigid material extending below the sloped and angled down tube. Great design: ideal for deflecting small, hard projectiles. :D

With no power going to the wheels I do so how there would be little reason for rocks to get kicked up. Something freaky happening though could wreck your whole day.

Thanks for the video share - that was a really cool spot to buggy! :thumbup:


Thanks Windstruck! An old piece of driftwood or something could cause you harm, so yes, protection is advisable, as is a helmet to protect you from flying stones. You never know.

RedSky - 14-5-2018 at 11:45 AM

Quote: Originally posted by 48K  


@redsky: I'm based in Brighton - long shingle beach, but gets rather crowded in summer haha! Do you live in/near Rye?

I've visited Dungeness a couple of years back. We stayed at a house in Longstone-on-sea. No kiting for me back then though. I'd kind of forgotten about kites whilst the kids were tiny. Just re-exploring options...speaking of which: a pair of Flexi Blurr's were signed for by a neighbour on my street today... :-) (clearly I am a sucker for an Amazon sale).

Watching those vids (which are great by the way!) I'm not sure, even if I had the space to store a buggy, that starting out on pebbles is going to be a good idea...let me ponder it for a while!



I heard that it got so busy over the bank holiday that they closed Brighton to traffic! I live in EastGrinstead. Camber is about an hours drive, so not quite so local but its the nearest one to me. Haven't been to Brighton since I was a kid. I remember the beach though. And who could forget that video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=semzVdaACTU

Maybe we'll see you in your own video jumping off the sea defenses with your new Blurr's. Shingle is the very best surface to try jumping as it absorbs impacts well. Look forward to the video. :D



Windstruck - 14-5-2018 at 02:10 PM

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky  
Quote: Originally posted by 48K  


@redsky: I'm based in Brighton - long shingle beach, but gets rather crowded in summer haha! Do you live in/near Rye?

I've visited Dungeness a couple of years back. We stayed at a house in Longstone-on-sea. No kiting for me back then though. I'd kind of forgotten about kites whilst the kids were tiny. Just re-exploring options...speaking of which: a pair of Flexi Blurr's were signed for by a neighbour on my street today... :-) (clearly I am a sucker for an Amazon sale).

Watching those vids (which are great by the way!) I'm not sure, even if I had the space to store a buggy, that starting out on pebbles is going to be a good idea...let me ponder it for a while!



I heard that it got so busy over the bank holiday that they closed Brighton to traffic! I live in EastGrinstead. Camber is about an hours drive, so not quite so local but its the nearest one to me. Haven't been to Brighton since I was a kid. I remember the beach though. And who could forget that video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=semzVdaACTU

Maybe we'll see you in your own video jumping off the sea defenses with your new Blurr's. Shingle is the very best surface to try jumping as it absorbs impacts well. Look forward to the video. :D





That video (and the many like ones that came both before and after is creation) always leave me with a similar impression, viz, that jumping and flying under kite power is really quite easy and painless. It's the landing and dragging parts that come after that suck. More than 90% of the jumps in that video didn't show the landing part. Balls the size of cantaloupes; brains the size of raisins. :evil:

hiaguy - 14-5-2018 at 02:44 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Windstruck  
Balls the size of cantaloupes; brains the size of raisins. :evil:

Natural selection at work :lol:

48K - 14-5-2018 at 05:27 PM

Yeah Brighton was really busy over the weekend. We escaped on The Sunday and had a walk out from the South Downs ridge back into Stanmer. Beautifully peaceful by comparison! I did get my first 2018 seaswim in on Saturday though too...

48K - 14-5-2018 at 05:30 PM

@jeff. My board is an antique Scrub ATB. Maple deck and red hubs. 8 inch tyres I think.

jeffnyc - 14-5-2018 at 06:31 PM


Quote:

@jeff. My board is an antique Scrub ATB. Maple deck and red hubs. 8 inch tyres I think.


OK, then you probably need to replace the hubs with something that can take a 9 or 10 inch tire (tyre).
If the axle is like this:
https://www.atbshop.co.uk/mountainboard-accessories/scrub-sk...
9.54mm axle, so assuming you go with the MBS five star hub you would need 9.5mm X 28mm bearings
(if the axel is 12mm, then get 12mm x 28mm bearings... or if your bearings are already 28mm and in good shape, just reuse those)

Hub: FiveStar https://www.atbshop.co.uk/mountainboard-accessories/mbs-five...
Not sure if Trampa or Scrub have hubs that take 10" tires.
(not recommending buying there, it's just the place I found in search)

Tires: 10"x3" (3.00-4, 260X85) Pneumatic Mobility Tire with Spirit Ribbed Tread (Primo) (plus inner tubes that fit with elbow valve). You do not need to get that exact tire, just the size. Lots of cheaper scooter, wheelbarrow and go cart tires available.

Do a search here for granny tires and you will come up with info from other folks that have done this as well.

Have you tried with the board you have now? I know a big part of my problem at first was not keeping the kite high enough, and not leaning back far enough to power thorough the soft spots. The rocks would probably give you an equal amount of resistance, so assuming you could get yourself rolling you might be able to lean back and slide through them. Just guessing at this point...

RedSky - 14-5-2018 at 09:57 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Windstruck  


More than 90% of the jumps in that video didn't show the landing part. Balls the size of cantaloupes; brains the size of raisins. :evil:


I think given the edgy nature of the video and its title, the 10% of landings that did make the final cut were their most extreme, but even they were lame. I must admit, even after all these years, its still one of my favorite vids.
I know, the brain the size of a raisin. :D