Looks good Sean, the pex even matches the XR blue

Thanks guys. Yes Spencer, I was glad to find blue pex and I will post photos of the completed back rest with the springback support webbing but I have the wrong color on it now. I'm getting either black or blue webbing. I may have to tolerate janky wind, but I don't have to tolerate a janky backrest
The webbing tensions the whole system and fits around me snugly providing more support.

ssayre springback version 1.0

I couldn't find blue or black strapping yet. Here's the finished product more or less. I tied the strap to the top by pulling the strap through itself and followed with a series of half hitches to keep the strap from sliding down the sides and to create more width between straps. I just need to test it.

That looks great Sean!... You can usually get 3/4" black nylon webbing by the yard at most fabric stores, with all the assorted buckles, snaps, etc too. JoAnn, Hancook, Michaels and such. Not very expensive either. They might have colored options too.

I have found that most rock climbing stores, REI, Eastern Mountain Spots etc all carry spools of the webbing plus they also carry really nice 3-5mm rope for strops in various colors. Looks good....let us know how it functions...

I went to Joann and they did have different colors of webbing but I needed 5 yards and it was just a little more than I wanted to spend at $3 per yard. They also had D rings that I thought about getting to make it adjustable but I wasn't sure If they would bend or break under tension. Bruce, I'll post about how it works when I get the chance. Looks like no wind in the foreseeable forecast.

Who needs wind.....


Flyguy0101 and Andrew.

I got to try out the backrest today. It worked great. It was very nice to focus on riding and flying instead of trying to sit up. I can't believe how much more comfortable and enjoyable a simple backrest can make a buggy. I'm surprised that pl doesn't make a backrest as an option.

Sounds good Sean... now after all that effort, you should buy the VTT rail Kit

Jus kidding, ...you're right, a comfy ride makes all the difference in the world for sure. Glad you like your mod!!!

Thanks Spencer, I do have plans for some other upgrades. Next, I want to upgrade to wide tires using your golf cart tire idea.

Make sure to keep your Barrows, especially for the tall grass. The extra surface tension of the bigger tires can make it harder to move in the bigger grass. Ideally, you can get an extra set of rims and put your bigger tires on those to be able to switch back and forth easy. I'm planning later this year to get another PL front fork set up to make my XR frankenbuggy complete and rework my tandem set up. A guy on KiteCrowd recently explained to me how in the smaller inland field, having a smaller lightweight buggy on barrows can be advantageous for gaining speed over the larger heavy weight bears like my Stinger Hybrid... made a lot of sense. If I can swing it, I'll have 2 complete buggies... one smaller light weight, one bigger heavy weight.

here's to dreaming, right.

Quote: Originally posted by ssayre

Backrest "Take 3" This time I used a 1" piece of PEX clamped to the buggy with 1 3/8" fence clamp. I plugged the ends of the pex and wrapped the siderails and the ends of the pex with EPDM rubber membrane to hold better and to dampen any sound. It's very supportive, has a slight flex for comfort and safety. My original idea was to support the top of the pex with webbing tied back to the frame like a spring back but I'm not sure I need to as strong as it feels. I will need to test to see if the tubing will try and kink. Either way, this is very comfortable and I think is my final design with the exception of spring back webbing if I need it and maybe some padding. I forgot to mention that 1" PEX is very rigid so I used a heat gun to ease assembly. Not sure that would be needed though. And this is extremely cheap. Less than 20. Update: I supported it with webbing from the top of the back wrapped around side rails and tied to downtube. That made it perfect. Super comfortable. I'm sitting in it now

Sorry for reviving the old thread. I'm curious how the clamp pieces are holding up after all this time? I'm debating making a cross bar for my buggy (so when I pop the axle off, the seat can stay adjusted just right. Debating between your fence clamp solution and a ZSI Beta Clamp. Pictures for reference for everyone (I'm open to any opinions):


The downside of my Sysmic S2 is there's no way to simply slide any kind of elbow/pipe over the existing side rails, so I need something for attaching a straight piece of tubing between the two sides (and still want it removable). The stock backrest is perfectly fine for me as a backrest, but I'm also going to have to make a new one for my wife so she has a backrest, as the stock one doesn't work for her, with us having to have made other modifications to the buggy. I'm leaning towards the ZSI one, as I can weld the metal tube to the end of it (they're made to be welded), and I have a feeling it may end up more sturdy. It's also available in stainless steel (or with an aluminum insert instead of rubber). I'd worry the other clamp wouldn't hold very well when using it for tightening the seat straps on.

The fence clamps are rock solid. I used nylock nuts instead of the supplied ones to prevent vibrating loose. I wrapped the side rails with pieces of rubber roofing before installing clamps and it makes for a permanent very strong connection between my pex (or whatever material you want) and side rail. It's never budged since the day I installed it. It's also what I use to mount a camera pole to various spot on the buggy.

Thanks ssayre, I could have seen it going either way some, so was curious.