Hello
I just got a rev and flew it last night. I have to say I was a bit disappointed with it. the winds were 0-9mph off and on. the kite flew ok but I couldn't seem to make it fly backwards hardly at all except reverse launching. This kite is suppose to fly in almost no wind and I had a hard time keeping it up. What setting do you use on the brake lines I tried changing it a bit and got it dialed in ok but not sure if it is right.
This kite came with rev plastic handles and the line seams to be sticky when you spin the kite. My power kites seem to be much more smooth when they are crossed over. Flying a rev is going to take some time to get used to it is alot different than a power kite.

Can you post pics?

All the Rev handles I have seen are carbon or stainless with foam grips.

SLE Ultra Light seems to be an oxymoron. The Super Leading Edge (SLE) is the thickest, heaviest leading edge made for the Rev. Adding ultralight upright spars to that would just seem strange.

The various Rev frames are listed here:
http://www.revkites.com/main/Accessories

ATB,
Sam

If you don't want to pay the premium for REV sticks then the SkyShark P200, 100 and 90's work. One of the guys here flew in 1 - 2 mph with P100's in the LE and P90's for the verticals. (flying without the bridle - attached at the verticals)

Long handles and pigtails in the leaders for adjustment. (Most REV flyers adjust for lots of brake)

Ron

I think I put the down spars on the wrong side. I had them on the front of the kite. I looked at some pics online and it showed them on the backside of the kite.
First time out and no manual or dvd came with this kite.
I think it is the SUL not vented I will have to check when I get home.

Revolution handles are all stainless steel, except for the power series and the indoor, which are carbon. If you have plastic handles then those are NOT the original Rev handles and that could possibly be a major part of your problem.

The Revolutions will fly in a very large wind range but are not for indoor or zero wind flying except the indoor Rev (obviously).

The different rods for the different revolutions are labeled in such a way that it makes them very easy to identify.

Professional use only - 2 wrap carbon
Ultra Light - 3 wrap carbon
Revolution Equipped - 4 wrap carbon.

The SLE rods is available in both the 3 and 4 wrap carbon, which is why it can be labeled as an Ultra Light rod, even though it is heavier than the 2 wrapped rods. The SLE rod is also larger in diameter than the standard rods which obviously makes them heavier - bigger rod with the same wraps obviously weighs more - more material is used.

The SLE rods are 7/16" in diameter, the standard rods are 1/4" in diameter.

It depends on which model Revolution you have but for the EXP, 1.5 SLE and the B-Series, all of the different frames can be used in all models making them very versatile. Changing frames only takes about 30 seconds and can be done without having to modify anything on the kites.

For light winds, I suggest swapping the heavier SLE rod to the 1/4" standard rods, 2 wrap or pro use only rods for the lightest of winds. Even doing this, the rev will only fly down to the 2-3 mph winds with a ton of skills. For a beginner, I suggest the standard or SLE 3 wrap rods and minimum of 5-6 mph winds. Anything lighter than that makes it very difficult to fly.

Also, Revolution ONLY uses Laser Pro Gold 100% Spectra line for all of their Revolutions. This is one of the best lines you can buy and highly recommended by many, even the professional comp teams. If your line is sticky or crappy bad then you did NOT get official Revolution line and have received a cheaper substitution. With you saying you have plastic handles, I would only assume that the official handles and lines have been swapped out on you with cheaper replacements.

If you purchased this kite from a shop, I would return it and demand the OEM lines and handles that should have came with it. If you purchased it used, then you may want to go back to whomever you purchased it from and complain.

Also, you may want to check and make sure you have an Official Revolution kite. The reason I mention this is that there are a couple of illegal copies of the Revolution kites floating around on fleabay and some other auction type sites. These kites are not only illegal copies and knock offs, but they are CRAP! They don't fly worth a gnat's A#$# and are made from inferior materials and not sewn properly, the sails don't have the proper cup/broadseaming built into them and don't fly right. They can't reverse hover worth a dang and control is pretty much a joke. Just bad kites.

Also, the down spars go ON THE BACK OF THE KITE. Many new people make the mistake of putting them on the front. This will also make it much harder to fly the kite.

The Rev's can be quite a challenge to learn but once you get them figured out they are totally awesome to fly - and they will help you with your power kite flying and control as well.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I will help you out.

Hope that helps.

Stick with it vwbrian because one you get your Rev all sorted out you're going to have a really engaging time flying these quad line sport kites.

As for rods, I prefer the lighter Race Rods both for my standard sail 1.5 B series and my vented 1.5. Race Rods are light and yet strong - an excellent frame for this kite.

Lines the usually come with a Rev, as Kent as mentioned, are top quality and therefore stretch very little and are smooth to fly whether you cross over with your own kite or with a group of other fliers which you will want to do as soon as you have the fundamental skills because flying in a pack in one of the many really cool aspects of flying a Rev.

Here is the printing on the kite it says made in California and has a copy right number also says SLE.

Here is the handles and line the handles are marked Revolution

Those 'handles' look more like winders for the line.

I never looked at these kites before man do they look fun!:Ange09: this video shows off some amazing versatility

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCl_wyjJpRE&feature=playe...

this one too!:eekdrull:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOEaW3oRL1w&NR=1

They are like a winder handle combo. and the line is really rough. I dont think the line disconnects from the handles either. When I flew last night I had to switch the lines as I had the power line on the brake line and vice versa. When I tried to change the lines I could at the bridal but not at the handles it was dark and swapping lines was difficult so they maybe able to disconnect from the handles I have not looked in to it as it is raining today here.

vwbrian, I have to break it to you but those are most definitely NOT Rev handles.

Did you buy this kite from a kite shop? If so, you need to go back and ask for the correct handles....check the Rev website for more info about the Rev's and accessories - there's a good forum there too.

If you purchased the kite from a seller other than a shop then you really need to contact them to ask for the correct handles.

The Rev is a high quality, technical kite that has been carefully designed. It makes no sense to try to fly it with the wrong line and handles...that'd be like trying to drive a sports car after putting diesel fuel in the tank.

I did get it from a shop so I will contact them and find out what the deal is. I paid $150 for it and he said retail was $300 I thought it was a good deal as I have wanted a rev for awhile. I looked at other prices since then and found pricing to be about $250. It also has the ultra light spars which are not the standard SLE spars. This is also the 2007/8 model so it is a close out item for a kite store. With the correct lines and handles I think $150 is an good price.

well.....

The lines and handles are NOT Revolution equipment. The line you have is a cheap braided pair, not spectra. Spectra Gold line is 100% white in color. what you have is called a "sport grade" line which is crap and only a fraction of cost to what the actual LPG Spectra line costs. What the shop has done is sold you a "kite only" model and then stuffed in crappy aftermarket line and cheap garbage winders/handles. First problem is that with that crappy line you will only get about 2 wraps out of it before it binds up and makes the kite uncontrollable. It will also have a ton of stretch in it making the kite sloppy and sluggish. The SLE rods are actually more expensive than the standard rods - so once again the shop has swapped the expensive rods out of the kite and given you the less expensive standard rods which are less durable (although the smaller diameter rods are lighter and can give you a bit more control with the kite) still, the shop swapped out the more expensive rods for the less expensive ones and sold it to you.

On the cheap plastic handles, thee problems....one is that they appear to be much shorter than the standard Rev handles which will make it harder to control the kite, also it appears that they don't have the same bend in them which means that you will have to do some adjustments to tune the kite in properly. The third problem is that your hands are located well down in the middle of the handle which is totally wrong, your hands should be very close to the top of the handle with your thumbs at or next to the very top, giving you the proper control of the kite. Those handles would be very frustrating to try to fly with and give you nearly zero control.

All four lines should be the same weight/strength and length, meaning you should be able to connect any line to any position. If you don't have a minimum of 90 pound lines on all four you will break them in the higher wind ranges. The bottom lines will have the same tension and stress as the top lines.

On the good side of it, Rev has not changed the kite from the 06 to present, so even though you say you got an 06/07 model it is the same as the 09 models. The red / gold color pattern is still available as well.

Take it back to the shop and demand the right gear or you will only be wasting your time and never be able to fully enjoy what the Rev kites are all about. The Rev is an awesome fun kite - when I hear about shops doing this it really irritates me as it makes a very fun kite nearly impossible to fly just so they can make a higher profit. If they don't give you the right equipment, ask for your money back and give me a call - I will work out a deal for you.

Also, anyone wanting to see what these kites are capable of... here's a couple shots of I-quad, a professional 8 man team that is sponsored by Revolution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNqxhQsk_0Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBzbB13xSAc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOP9td9RdnE

I flew mine today in almost no wind - wanted to see if my wrist would work and it did :wee: - but I had to keep walking backward to get it to fly ... more wind is better

I would like to know the shop that sold this kite to you.I also sell revolution kites and take pride in the product i sell, as i know revolution does also. This shop should not be selling revs with the accesories like the ones you have it gives revolution and people like myself that take pride in what we sell a bad name if your not comfortable posting here please send it by email or message

thanks Steve

I just did a closeup look of the pic with the handles. The handle has revolution stamped on it. Is someone going through that much trouble to make copies ???

I know Kent has been flying alot longer than myself and has a lot more knowledge on the subject. Did rev ever make a handle like that? maybe for a cheap entry level kite? If not I think we should definitely let Lolly and Ben know.

Though word revolution on it doesn't really look like it's intended to be a logo. Maybe they were intended as a revolution in handles, since they act as winders too? :dunno:

I contacted the shop and after a bit of explaining they are going to send 110lbs 50ft spectra lines and reg rev handles. He said he did not look at the handles/ lines before I left and they are the wrong lines. But said the handles are an older version of rev handles. Has anyone seen handles like these?
The main thing was that he looked up the kite price said it was $300 and I could buy it for $150 so I jumped at a chance to get the Rev. I did notice the handles were not the rev handles I had seen before. but figured if the are older rev handles I could live with that and they did say revolution on them.

they are not rev handles the older rev handles were 12 inch and had blue foam on them dont know what those handlesare from and if you fly with that line in anything higher than 5 mile an hour wind they will probally break the new50 pound i mean you need at least 90 lb and they should be laser pro in my opinion

Yup, even though the handles have the word revolution on them, they are not the standard handles sold with the Revolution kites. Rev has been using the stainless steel handles like what you should have now for over 15 years (that know of), even on the earliest ones. The length and the grip color has changed slightly over the years but they still look basically identical. Rev has never used plastic handles on their quad line kites. The 110lb line should be more than strong enough but 50 ft. is rather short. Factory sets from Revolution are usually 85' and 90lb. Make sure all four lines are perfectly even. Any differences more than 1/2" can cause flight problems

Hope that helps.

Hey Brian, I'm up for a road trip. LOL. What shop did you pick this rev up at? Bring the rev with you the next time we meet up, which is looking like December.