Alright i have been forced to buggying almost exclusively at my home fields due to the inconsistent and lower winds, so have decided it is time to
attempt a little buggy air. Any one gonna be at WWB in the fall that can give me some pointers? also for those that i have seen videos of jumping
like carltb- what are you using as a seat belt? any comments or tips appreciated.
Scott
I'm in!....I have an old seatbelt from an airplane...kinda like the old quick release systems they had in car seat belts...I put it around my sidebars
and then cinched myself in....I will say it was a bit scary....no air...this was just to keep my ass in the seat during the gusts....ditched it after
a couple sessions and learned to fly the kite better in those situations.....
I will bring it...looking forward to see what other experienced people have to say....
LOOK OUT WILDWOOD....if air is involved then screaming might happen more often....
1.8 Flexifoil Rage
2.5 Flexifoil Rage (new version)
3.5 Flexifoil Rage
4.7 Flexifoil Rage
2.0 Flexifoil Blade II
4.0 Flexifoil Blade II
6.6 Flexifoil Blade III
8.5 Flexifoil Blade III
5.0 Flexifoil Blurr
7.0 Flexifoil Bullet
NAPKA member US822
SS. Flexifoil buggy w/ both wide and std. axle Custom VTT seat
Funny you post this, I have been thinking of this my self in the last week or so. I was looking at my old buggy sitting outside this morning saying I
need to get the new axle for it so I can have some freestyle, jumping fun. This could get interesting quick.
I've also been thinking of giving it a try for just the exact same reasons. But I worry that a hard fall on a buggy could have the potential for
back/spinal injuries...a board just seems safer to me....
having said that though...it does look like fun -
Flexifoil Blurr 2.5, Ozone Cult 3.5, Nasa Star 3 4.0 Ozone Yakuza 4.0, PL Reactor 4.9, JoJo RM+ 5.0, Ozone Method 5.0, Ozone Yakuza 6.0, Flexifoil
Blade IV 6.5, Nasa Star 3 7.0, PL Vapor 7.8, JoJo RX 8.0 (in route), Flexifoil Blade VIP 8.5, PL Vapor 9.4, Ozone Yakuza 10.0, PL Reactor II 10.8, PL
Vapor 16.1, PL Venom II 13, PL Charger 15, 19, Flysurfer Unity 12, Flysurfer Pulse 2 14, Flysurfer Speed 2 SA 19, Flysurfer Speed 3 21, MBS Comp 95
landboard, PL Folding buggy, PL XR+ buggy, Slingshot LFT, Lots of surfboards
@Lunchbox i agree the lack of shock absorbers (ie LEgs) is definetly a real issue- i remember the first waterfall i kayaked and landed flat was only a
20 foot drop but hurt the back for a couple of weeks. but after riding yesterday and spending a lot of time with my rump constantly a couple of inches
out of the seat figure the seatbelt will help in other ways as well
....can take this kind of abuse? You need a seriously strong gauged frame and shocks on wheels ideally.
Although bigfoot wheels would absorb more than regular barrow wheels- if you chose them(most buggy jumpers seem not to use these)....you still need
strength and ability to absorb any impact/compression from gravity. For your spine.... as well as the buggy!
Custom build for this abuse?
Oh...and always floating down softly w/ 3-point landing would help-but realistically you can't expect that all/much of the time.
Several people jumping buggies at this time including, Carl, Karen, using the XR/flexifoil buggys, Stephane Bommel is using an MG race buggy.
I think with jumping buggy's its going to be no different then jumping ATB, a redirect to help soften the landing. I could be wrong, and I do agree
some frame stiffening may be in order, but you don't really see that on these other buggy's that are getting air time.
You can use a standard PL barrow wheeled buggy, but you need to nail your soft landing technique so as not to snap off your rear wheel bolts. The
technique is not the motorbike jump style, but as you've guessed, the kite lift , hang, and then parachute landing style.
The difficult part is managing the hang transition, into the soft landing, while looking around you, positioning your buggy for the landing, whilst
flying your kite in the power till you decide to land!
Atef that it's relativly simple :D :o
Many Freestylers now use a beefed up small buggy. Heavy duty rear axle, 20mm wheel bolts, but don't go for shocks on the axel as this extra weight
alters the flying angle of the buggy making it hard to keep the nose down or horizontal. in the air!
Watching video of other folk jumping only shows the buggy rider, and litte is seen of what is going on with the kite handleing. This is the bit you
really need to watch, how the kite is being flown during the lift and landing.
Best to talk to Craig Sparks or "Stupid" Dave to get some useful info as regards to this.
but don't go for shocks on the axel as this extra weight alters the flying angle of the buggy making it hard to keep the nose down or horizontal. in
the air!
So why not design a buggy so it's balanced for this and with freestyle buggy jumping in mind. Besides.... I am thinking a shock up front too(all
wheels shocked). So added weight there(to balance?)
That....going from standard commercially made buggy to a custom made(for jumping) is of course a bigger $ investment...yes.
Shocks seem like they could REALLY help....your spine and buggy.
Alright i have been forced to buggying almost exclusively at my home fields due to the inconsistent and lower winds, so have decided it is time to
attempt a little buggy air.
Scott
Sounds like our winds and park.
Trouble here is we rarely get clean winds over 12mph. Trying to jump in less is frustrating.
We have some riders who do a fantastic job of enjoying these winds by throwing down transitions, 360's and 2wheel. ALL great skills to have down
before jumping.
@blade- could not agree more have been spending time trying to go smoothly in reverse and have discovered some really fun 180 "flip arounds" The
other reason for the belt is to keep me in the buggy when i am really working an edge or working on a slide or two wheelin. Every time i OBE buggy
lands on top of me anyways so its not like it will be an extra hit just means less likely to have the wheel in the head event:D
if your interested in a buggy jumping and want some pics of a modified buggy and the seat belt i use then have a read through this thread i made from
kitecrowd. ive changed my seatbelt a little over the past couple of weeks (just to incorporate a cam cleat)
ted- thanks for the links i finished my seatbelt last night so if the wind gods cooperate i am off in about an hour to strap my a$$ in for a little
ride of course wind is not matching the forecast and is blowing 1 and gusting
to 3 maybe it will build some more or i will have trailer work to do
Scott
Hello, Karen here. So I started with a piece of industrial Velcro! It kinda works but the quick release isn't so quick! For jumping a 3 point belt to
start with works really well since you may initially struggle getting the front end off the ground, so the 3rd point will help with that. I personally
found a 2 point lap belt better past the bunny hop stage since your legs are free then. I have a wichard QR after cheaper ones kept breaking.
For those who say they struggle getting off the ground, try static jumping, then try them sidewards to get more of an in buggy feel. You'll
naturally/nervously not send the kite enough to begin with, but don't worry & just enjoy the feeling of an extra bit of lightness till you send
the kite a little more each time.
The lighter the buggy, the easier to lift off the ground. Don't worry about breaking it til you're past the bunny hop stage. I have a Flexi & only
needed to reinforce it once my jumps got up to 4ft. It would have been cheaper if I'd learnt to land pointing the buggy downwind slightly & always
landing by pushing the front wheel down first, but that would involve doing more than 1 thing at a time & I was never much good at that!
Learn flatland stuff first then relearn it with your lap belt on before you start jumping. This is purely because jumping itself is easy, recovering
from rotating accidentally in the air & landing backwards /on two wheels etc is where you'll struggle, so get that bit sorted 1st.
Don't worry about jumping so high you feel out of control ..... You'll soon wish you could before you actually can!
I have flatland & aerial trick guides on www.ridelikeagirl.co.uk under the trick guides section which start from really basic stuff like going backwards & sliding. Hope it helps. But
if you are stuck with something email me at ridelikeagirlkite@gmail.com & I'll try & help explain whatever it is some more xx
Absolutely! We've talked about changing the competition format over here so that when the wind in blowing less than 15mph the comps move to a flatland
freestyle competition instead because like you say, you don't need much wind (& also it stops it being a competition about who has the biggest
Flysurfer!)
Thank you, but anyone can ridelikeagirl, it just takes a few goes at your chosen trick each time you go out x
Karen- Ken beat me to it- i am a regular viewer of your site and wish i could ride like a girl. Thanks for the reply- i built my 3 point harness and
hooked in for the first time yesterday- i like it. Never left the ground but definetly added to some buggy control
Scott
Aww thank you Scott, that means a lot! Yes it's weird how just being strapped in
can change the dynamics. It takes me a while to do flatland stuff without a belt on now, even though the belt itself doesn't do anything to help or
hinder. Can't wait to read about your stoke! You'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner
![[*]](images/perspective/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
of course wind is not matching the forecast and is blowing 1 and gusting
to 3
maybe it will build some more or i will have trailer work to do
