Power Kite Forum

Ground Industries board opinions

McDuck - 8-12-2008 at 02:08 PM

O.k. here's my dilemma. I want to buy myself a quality mountain board for Christmas this year and I'm deciding between the Flight Lite 100 or the Flight 93. I like the 100 better but it's $100.00 more. I've also seen the 93 listed as a good board for "smaller riders" because it's 7cm shorter than most of their other boards and I wouldn't exactly put myself in that category. I'm 5'11" and 160lbs.

I'll be using the board for mostly freestyle riding and some kiteboarding. What are everyone's thoughs? Should I spring for the 100 or will I be o.k. with the 93? I'm looking for some opinions here so feel free to say what you think.

thanks!

dylanj423 - 8-12-2008 at 02:22 PM

I dont know anything about the Flight 93, really. I love my Flight Lite 100, and its an older model, without bionic trucks or fancy hubs or anything. The board is better than I thought it would be, I can say that. The Flight Lite is shorter than what I am used to, and I imagine that if it were much shorter, I would really feel it in my stance... I am also 5' 11''

Very sturdy, very stiff deck, very stable board. And thats the older model, without some of the improvements that they have made.

McDuck - 8-12-2008 at 02:31 PM

Good info, yeah the Flight Lite 100 has the Inverted Cap Composite deck which I believe makes it lighter? That is actually the main reason I want to go with the 100. The 93 has the bomberlite deck (wood deck) which I'm afraid might not be as durable.

Good to know about the stance too. Maybe the 93cm would be too small. Argh! Looks like I might be spending $500 in the near future! Anyone else have an opinion?

Thanks dylanj423!

B-Roc - 8-12-2008 at 03:09 PM

I'm 5'7" , 145#s and have bee riding the Pro Flight 93 since 2006. Because its shorter it has a narrow stance but nothing you can't get used to. Also, because it is shorter it is pretty stiff. I got it when the store was switching from GI to MBS so I think I only paid $250 and it has been well worth it. Though I've ridden on Flight Lite boards and must say I like the added length and flexibility of those more.

McDuck - 9-12-2008 at 01:36 PM

Thanks, that helps a lot. I think I'm going to buck up and shell out the extra cash for the Flight Lite 100. I appreciate everyone's opinions. If anyone else has thoughts please let me know.

dylanj423 - 9-12-2008 at 03:02 PM

Hey, McDuck... if you want some Torsion cubes to swap out, I have a set of the purple ones that I bought, thinking I could swap them out with the older kind. Turns out you cant, so I cant use them yet.

If you are inclined to buy them, I'll ship them to you for $25. You pretty much save on the shipping.

Youll love the board, I think. Have fun, and play safe

McDuck - 11-12-2008 at 09:06 AM

Thanks, I'll be getting my board in a week or two (still haven't ordered it) and I'll try out the cubes that come w/ it but chances are I'll probably hit you up on that after a few rides. Thanks for the offer. Hope you find the older stuff you need. =)

B-Roc - 11-12-2008 at 11:20 AM

the board will come with the yellow cubes. You'll want the purples unless you like just going straight at high speed. Not that that isn't fun but the purples are much better.

stetson05 - 11-12-2008 at 12:48 PM

I don't know what prices you are looking at but the ones Eli is selling sound pretty good. I know he will take good care of you. I would be interested but probably not for my first board. Maybe I am really off but as soon as I have bought something I have found I missed a better deal right in front of my eyes. Good Luck with your new board

McDuck - 11-12-2008 at 02:03 PM

Yeah, I think I'm going to send Eli an e-mail prior to ordering. However I'm fairly partial to getting something new. This won't be my first board and I'm looking forward to having something nicer. My curent board is quite basic. =) Doesn't even have bindings/footstraps, just toeclips. Good info on the cubes though. I've heard the yellows are pretty stiff. It will just have to be a little while before I buy new ones because it was all I could do to convince my wife to let me buy a new board. I'm sure a few out there can relate.

I'd like to pick Eli's brain on some tuning tips, etc. If anyone else has any "must do's" to a new mountain board those are definately welcome here.

thanks.

kiteon - 11-12-2008 at 03:15 PM

eli sells new boards in the box

B-Roc - 11-12-2008 at 03:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by McDuck
If anyone else has any "must do's" to a new mountain board those are definately welcome here.

thanks.


Ride it. That the best advice I can give you and then spend some time adjusting the bindings to an angle and position you like. the GI mounting plates and rachet straps allow for quite a few variables and that helps to really get a position you can lock into yet kick out if needed.

Other than that there are no tuning tips besides changing cubes to your liking and tweaking the torsion screw on top of the board that bears down on the cube plate. Never overtighten that too much.

McDuck - 12-12-2008 at 09:11 AM

Thanks, that is very good to know. So I e-mailed Eli last night. Just waiting to hear back from him. If any of you know him tell him to check his e-mail. =) I'm hoping to order the board today or tomorrow to make sure it gets here in time for the 25th.

McDuck - 15-12-2008 at 02:24 PM

Well, I placed my order on saturday for the Flight Lite 100. Can't wait to bomb some hills on that thing. Time to break out the ramps and my 6.5m! WooHoo!

KiteProject - 15-12-2008 at 02:57 PM

^

Good choice, I have one and I love it !:thumbup:

McDuck - 16-12-2008 at 01:12 PM

Thanks all. I'll be sure to snap some pics of me and my bro-in-law putting it through it's paces.

McDuck - 17-12-2008 at 06:45 PM

O.k. so I just got my board in the mail today. Hooray! The thing is slick, I'm very impressed. One thing I noticed though is that one of my trucks is looser than the other. It has the bionic trucks so I know the cubes inside determine how tight or loose your ride will be but my front truck has a little too much play/give. Should I tighten down the bolt that goes through the kingpin? I did that a little but it felt pretty snug and the truck still had lots of play.

I don't want to crank on the thing and over tighten that bolt.

thoughts?

B-Roc - 18-12-2008 at 10:56 AM

The kingpin is meant to be snug not super torqued so don't go crazy with that. What about the torsion screw on the top of the deck that snugs up the top plate on the cube, is that more loose on the front truck? If so, snug that up a bit. If still not happy I'd recommend you take the cube assembly apart, inspect it to make sure all is well and put it back together.

Mine was assembled by the store and one truck was on backwards (the GI logo faces out) and the board was sort of #@%$#!-eyed. I took it apart, reversed the truck, snugged up the torsion screw and all was well.

Eventually the cubes will develop some play and the board will develop a heelside bias so unelss the thing is way looser, I wouldn't worry too much about it if all looks well once taken apart.

McDuck - 18-12-2008 at 01:00 PM

Good info. As soon as I can I will check the torsion screw, but unfortunately my wife made me put it back in the box and stick it under the tree until Christmas!!! It's killing me! I actually don't recall seeing a torsion screw on the top of the deck. I only saw the four screws that hold the truck to the board. I'll have to look again after the 25th.

Truthfully, it wasn't THAT bad, but i would like to firm it up to match the other one if I can.

Thanks B-Roc!

awindofchange - 18-12-2008 at 01:16 PM

The newer boards did away with the adjustable set screw that ran through the top of the board down to the plate on top of the cube.

On your truck, check to make sure the top plate is in the right place and everything snugs up to the deck the way it should. If your play is between the truck and the cube, check your anti-friction plates on either side of the cube - semi curved black plates that sit between the cube and the truck. Make sure they are both there and in the right spot.

What hangar's did you get, the newer style hangars are GRP (glass reinforced plastic) style and the newer style king pin fits molded into the hangar & truck. The older style hangar's are cast aluminum alloy and the king pin fits flat against the truck through the cube.

The newer style kingpins will work for both hangar's but is preferred with the newer GRP ones. If used on the older hangars then it will slightly looser and may not feel like it is tight enough. Be careful to not over tighten the kingpins, they can take some stress but you don't want to over do it.

Either style hangar/trucks will work great. I am still riding on the older style ones myself and have never had any issues at all with them. The newer ones look pretty rad though!

You're gonna love the board once you get the chance to ride it. Awesome product.

dylanj423 - 18-12-2008 at 02:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by McDuck
Good info. As soon as I can I will check the torsion screw, but unfortunately my wife made me put it back in the box and stick it under the tree until Christmas!!! It's killing me


Oh my God! How could she do that to you??? It's not windy is it?? Sorry to hear about that... I would go mad.

McDuck - 18-12-2008 at 11:24 PM

Yeah, it's absolute torture not to be able to open that box again. I will definitely be checking those suggestions on the truck on Christmas morning. Without being able to look again I'm guessing the hangars are the new GRP kind. They didn't feel like aluminum, more slick but I can't be sure until I can look at them again. ARGH!

Again thanks for the great advice. You guys rock!

KiteProject - 19-12-2008 at 11:58 AM

Do you know which year boards "did away with the adjustable set screws that ran through the top of the board down to the plate on top of the cube"? I got mine in '07; it's a flight lite 100 with vegas hubs.

Thanks.

Quote:
Originally posted by awindofchange
The newer boards did away with the adjustable set screw that ran through the top of the board down to the plate on top of the cube.

On your truck, check to make sure the top plate is in the right place and everything snugs up to the deck the way it should. If your play is between the truck and the cube, check your anti-friction plates on either side of the cube - semi curved black plates that sit between the cube and the truck. Make sure they are both there and in the right spot.

What hangar's did you get, the newer style hangars are GRP (glass reinforced plastic) style and the newer style king pin fits molded into the hangar & truck. The older style hangar's are cast aluminum alloy and the king pin fits flat against the truck through the cube.

The newer style kingpins will work for both hangar's but is preferred with the newer GRP ones. If used on the older hangars then it will slightly looser and may not feel like it is tight enough. Be careful to not over tighten the kingpins, they can take some stress but you don't want to over do it.

Either style hangar/trucks will work great. I am still riding on the older style ones myself and have never had any issues at all with them. The newer ones look pretty rad though!

You're gonna love the board once you get the chance to ride it. Awesome product.

awindofchange - 19-12-2008 at 12:02 PM

They changed the hangars over around the middle of '07 if I recall. It is pretty easy to see which hangar you have just by looking at it. If the hangar is made from the same greyish colored material as your trucks (cast aluminum alloy), you have the earlier design. If it is shiny and smooth and looks like ABS plastic, it is the newer one. The older style kingpins won't work in the newer hangars but the new kingpins will work in both styles.

If you have the newer style hangars you probably don't have the adjustable top screw. The newer style T3 cubes have a hard plastic casing around them so the adjustable screw is not usable on them.

McDuck - 19-12-2008 at 01:54 PM

Yep, I have the newer one then. I still don't have access to my board but are the anti-friction plates inside right up against the cube? I will be checking them when I can finally unwrap my board again. Where is the "right spot" for them to be?

thanks,

McDuck - 3-1-2009 at 04:20 PM

Just an update on my new flight lite 100. I friggin love it. I haven't been able to fix the loose truck issue yet but it's really not affecting anything. It takes a little getting used to -vs- my old board but I'm really liking it. Happy new year to all!