I'm a 6th form student studying product design and I intend to design and produce a series of buggy accessories.
These accessories will be removable and suitable for use on all makes of buggy, they will also attach without needing to make permanent alterations.

Below is a list of 15 possible accessories, I would much appreciate it if you could put a mark out of 10 (1 being lowest and 10 being highest) for each option in terms of how useful you would find each one;


1 - Back rest
2 - Belly pan
3 - Bottle holder
4 - Buggy tow system (to save carrying and dragging buggy)
5 - Camera mount
6 - Foot pegs
7 - Foot straps
8 - GPS holder
9 - Mobile phone holder
10 - Mudguard (front)
11 - Mudguards (back)
12 - Number plates
13 - Rail covers
14 - Seat belt
15 - Towing attachment
Also, could you say what kite buggy you have please

Some of these are already in production; however I aim to improve on those existing designs.

It would be really appreciated if you could reply to this and leave your feedback.


many thanks!

1 - Back rest- 1 I haven't felt a need for a backrest on my Libre buggy- buggiers with other types of buggies might have more of a need for one.

2 - Belly pan- 7 this could be useful for rough terrain or for extra protection from those pieces of driftwood that pop up suddenly out of no where- it would have to be relatively inexpensive for me to actually consider purchasing one.

3 - Bottle holder- 8 this would be an easy one and something I'd probably use- it seems like I am always thirsty after buggying.

4 - Buggy tow system (to save carrying and dragging buggy)- 2 a loop of rope works fine for me.

5 - Camera mount- 7 this could be cool to have.

6 - Foot pegs-1 buggies already come with them and each type of buggy has a different attachment. Most manufactures sell replacement foot pegs so I don't really see a need.

7 - Foot straps- 1 I don't use them.

8 - GPS holder- 6 Not to hard to rig up one yourself, but it would be handy.

9 - Mobile phone holder- similar to the GPS holder

10 - Mudguard (front)-9 This is something I'd use if there were some nice looking ones available. It might be challenging to come up with a design to fit different buggies and wheel sizes.

11 - Mudguards (back)- 9

12 - Number plates- 1 no real use for me right now

13 - Rail covers- 3- I don't know how you improve on these but they are nice to have

14 - Seat belt-1 no use to me right now

15 - Towing attachment- 4 would be cool if I had another buggy! they aren't that hard to make, but for the non-DIYer it would be nice to have a premade option available.

hope this helps! good luck.

thanks archkiter! i didt think to ask what buggy people had (duhh) so ive put that in lol

making things to fit all types of buggy will be tricky but i should be able to get round it, if not i'll just base it all on my flexi buggy :P

thanks again

Something you don't have down is a pack to carry a second kite / tow rope / water and stuff to get you back . Fitting that into a design seems to make sense to me.

Yeah, a trunk bag, something that sits between the frame rails on the rear axle to hold spare bits is always good.

1 - Back rest (1) Unless you're using an old PL Comp or Classic Buggy
2 - Belly pan (5) Terrain issues, and it just looks cool, already designed by Rips.
3 - Bottle holder (2) Camel Pack
4 - Buggy tow system (to save carrying and dragging buggy) (9) Something that works for all buggies would be nice.
5 - Camera mount (8) as long as it doesnt look dorky
6 - Foot pegs (1) ???
7 - Foot straps (1) bungee cord, tie strap works fine
8 - GPS holder (8) a must have
9 - Mobile phone holder (1) ??? too busy riding to answer the phone
10 - Mudguard (front) (4) The PL Splash Guard works fine. My XXtreme ApeXX comes with a mudguard
11 - Mudguards (back) (1)
12 - Number plates (1)
13 - Rail covers (1)
14 - Seat belt (2)
15 - Towing attachment (1) I perfer the old knee and kick method.

yeah i was thinking about the bag but id rather not be working with fabrics, not sure it would work with anything else tho so i left it out

the foot pegs one is pretty stupid (haha) i was thinking along the lines of foot pegs with an oval shape to them so they would double up as having a foot strap (i would get marks for making it and saying it was rubbish and pointless :P)


ripsessionkites, you do have a point about the phone holder lol maybe i could try a small box that would attach to the downtube to keep valuables in like keys and a wallet

thanks

dunno about metal foot straps, most guys run something with zap straps or a bungee, then if it goes pear shaped it'll snap long before your ankle does.

l have come up with something for my bug...my back rest flips up to expose a small bag for stuff... since the last time I went out I lost my wallet...now I just flip the seat back-rest up and toss in all of my crap and then the back-rest flips back and acts like a lid. I am going to make a baggy pack next to stash an extra kite or two...I can send pics if your interested....but a nice front fender attachment would be great...something made from a solid nylon that attaches to the fork legs the same way a cheap fender for a mountain bike works..I tried using copper for the fender but it ended up being way to clakkity...I don't have much of a problem with the back wheels except when my elbows hit the tires accidentally at speed......rubber burns!!!....but back fenders that attach to the axle and are susspended over the wheels would look smooth....especially if they were airfoil shaped......by the way I thought I would throw this out there...I am eventually going to build a buggy that is identical to the Star Wars Tatooine land speeder....it will look awesome in the desert!!!

A motorcyle / helmet trunk is sort of what I had in mind more than a back pack type thing. I picture it between the back axles. Then you could also use it to add weight for racing. It seems about the right size for a kite, tow rope and bits. It would have to be able to take a hit better than one off a bike though. The same material the belly pan is fabbed from would probably work ?

The Belly pan , back rest and mud guard would all rate above 5 for me the others, not so much.
GPS, Camera and drink holder would be novel I'll give them a 5.

An Idea I've had for footpegs is to have the end swoop back in a bit . Like a 1/3 binding. Then if you needed to use them push your feet to the end and they are there but you would naturally tumble out of them ?

I'm all for the mudgards front and rear. An axle attachment would allow them to fit many different rides. Ditto on the rear rack,a very handy item.

If you make decent splash guards, send a pair to Snowbird for testing out at mud bay.

I would really like a PSP Holder rather than a GPS Holder. No Wind on the playa sit and play games or watch a movie until we have wind.
Another idea is Ipod/touch RF Remote sewn into the buggy seat. I can keep the Ipod/touch in my pocket and control the track and volume.

See Burton Jackets: http://burton.com/Gear/Default.aspx#/tech/tech.swf?techTypeI...

Just FYI, so you can take notes. Peter Lynn just came out w/ 2 new accessories...
http://www.coastalwindsports.com/servlet/the-354/Peter-Lynn-...

http://www.coastalwindsports.com/servlet/the-355/Peter-Lynn-...

Here's a nice and easy accessory for the Flexi Wide Axle...

http://www.coastalwindsports.com/BuggyRackBack.jpg

It's made of 1x3 and 1x2 hardwood. Tip: version 2.0 will have tow hitch 8" farther out so that tow bar does not hit rear wheel in tight turns.

well here's my 2cents

1 - Back rest -10
2 - Belly pan -10
3 - Bottle holder -10
4 - Buggy tow system (to save carrying and dragging buggy) -2
5 - Camera mount - 4
6 - Foot pegs -6 - Kite Trikes could really use your help
7 - Foot straps -4
8 - GPS holder -7
9 - Mobile phone holder -1
10 - Mudguard (front) -6
11 - Mudguards (back) -3
12 - Number plates -2
13 - Rail covers -8
14 - Seat belt -3
15 - Towing attachment -2

I have 2x Flexi's, 1 PL Monster and 1x Libre VMax

I hope this helps.

I look forward to some commerce in the future. Good luck on you endeavor's.

Cheers!
Todd
"Scooter"

Quote:

Originally posted by art_lessing l have come up with something for my bug...my back rest flips up to expose a small bag for stuff... since the last time I went out I lost my wallet...now I just flip the seat back-rest up and toss in all of my crap and then the back-rest flips back and acts like a lid. I am going to make a baggy pack next to stash an extra kite or two...I can send pics if your interested....but a nice front fender attachment would be great...something made from a solid nylon that attaches to the fork legs the same way a cheap fender for a mountain bike works..I tried using copper for the fender but it ended up being way to clakkity...I don't have much of a problem with the back wheels except when my elbows hit the tires accidentally at speed......rubber burns!!!....but back fenders that attach to the axle and are susspended over the wheels would look smooth....especially if they were airfoil shaped......by the way I thought I would throw this out there...I am eventually going to build a buggy that is identical to the Star Wars Tatooine land speeder....it will look awesome in the desert!!!

photos of that would be awesome if youve got time to send them accross :D

the starwars buggy sounds pretty cool haha

cheers to everyone whos replied to this, i know some of its stupid (like the phone holder) but ive got evidence that theres no point in making them now
its all research lol

it seems that mudguards and a box type thing to fit onto the back axle are the two main things, im going to look into plastics for the back box and i'll see if theres any way of moulding it and making a lid.
I may look into a bottle holder type thing (or somewhere to keep a camel pack on the buggy) with a tuuube like what ripsessionkites posted that photo of. that would get around drinking with a full face helmet on (although if i made the back box i could put it in there?)

thanks again for your feedback

front mud guards are easy to make from a grinding face shield...
also can be fitted to many different buggy forks { and big foot too!}
...as little as 14.00
and slight modification..{removing the head band} and drilling 2 small holes


http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/222587103007241328...

also great to place race numer on and other sticker swag

and can be painted

heres one in blue

http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/282714516007241328...

I'd say on top of the mud guards and storage unit, a good GPS holder like the ones Susan makes and a simple bottle holder would be good ideas.

I guess I need to spend more time on the wheels, keep ripping everything off my bug...lol God bless the 661 guys :saint:

Yup, the back axle hurts doesn't it.:D