so... Ive been contemplating changing my rails for fiberglass rails.
My theory is that a little flex in the rails will help with the downwind drag by steering against the force of the wind.

Try holding a platic ruler straight and run it along the carpet.
goes in straight line.
Now bend it a little.
turns.

If i change my steel rails for fibreglass rails, i might get just enough flex to make it all sweet. the hard part will be working out the physics of the line between not enough and to much.

Just theory, but I think it may work.

Any suggestions? Or expirence?

do you think it would work? If not .....WHY?:?:

It will problably not work because of the direction of the flex. If you lean left, the flex will want it to turn right... same thing as with inline boards, have a look they all have inverted steering.

A friend of mine built a set back in '94 using aluminum rails and fould that the flex was an unwelcome side effect. Several have done the same in the years since despite my warning that aluminum flexes too much. Personally, I recommend only heavy steal or stainless steel for a solid base and I wonder if fibreglas rails could handle the stress of landing jumps etc.

I apply your bent ruler concept by offsetting the front wheel slightly to the inside of the skate rails. When rolling upright, the wheels roll a straight line, but when leaning over, as is the case when kiteskating under power, the front wheel under load tends to steer an inside (away from kite) curve. The more the wheel is set off-center, the more of a turn it will make.

But, don't let me stop you from trying. If you have a source for fibreglas rails, give them a try and let us know what happens. I imagine you'll soon switch back to steal, but at least we will have learned something new!

cool. Thanks for the feedback guys. So the aluminum rails also flex and its no good huh. I too was wondering if i could get enough strength and flex at the same time, I`ll stay with the original design because it totally kicks-arse just as it is.
So..., so much for that idea! Next!

Next project is sticking a hub motor into my dirtsurfer so i can spin around town without having to skate it everywhere.:duh:

13 years kiteskating and have tried several materials. Others may feel differently, but my pref is thick solid steal rails and forget about the weight... it's a good thing. Mostly I keep the rails short for agility, but also have a long pair for stability and full-out speed (though I've gone over 70mph on the short pair with no trouble [pulled by my truck at Bonneville]).

Currently I am building a big wheel set using 16 inch rims. This will be the first time I will possibly bend the rails to lower the deck (although I believe height to be a good thing considering the terrain and amount of kite power desired), but only 2 inches keeping 6 inches off the ground. I'll report back on thier performance this summer.

DOOMWHEELS-

Excellent thought about the 16 inch wheels! If my dirtsurfer is anything to go by, then the bigger the wheels the better it goes.

I have often contemplated(only a dream) making kiteskates like two mini dirtsufers but still using 20 inch wheels. I really like the steering system with the dirtsurfers and am wracking my brain to try and build a simple steering system for the kiteskates. Just so I can do a few good hard carving turns, "surf style".

May Huey be with you!
smiley.:D