Curious to know what buggies everyone is driving. I will be making a decision on purchasing one. Would like to know if one stands out, which one has flexibility to grow into, ect. Let me know what you think and why. Curious to know if the is one where the left rear wheel/axle has reverse threads, so it doesn't loosen up, ect. Thanks in advance.

curious that you ask about the reverse threads - I don't know of many people that have had wheels loosen but there are people who have had wheels fall off and videos posted here. You see broken bolts once in a while from aggressive riding but very rare a loose wheel from riding. Personally I've never had a wheel loosen except when I had only finger tighten bolts and forgot to tighten more. Some models will have longer axle bolts so they would need to loosen off more than an inch to fall off. And also there are a lot of axles that can be flipped on way or the other so what was left one day will be right another.

I've never had an axle bolt come loose that I installed. I've owned a number of buggies and never had one with reverse threads on the left. Proper torque to begin with and check them before you go out every time. You can also upgrade to a stub axle with a locknut and lessen your worries.

What do you want to do in your buggy or more specifically, how much are you willing to spend, how high do you want to jump and how fast do you want to go?

Libre v-max here. I recently bought a peterlynn buggy not sure of the type but i think my vmax is built better. VTT makes bugs. He is in TX. He is suppose to come to OK next weekend and let me demo one of his Black Widows. He makes another bug called a Cricket. The Black widow is a bigger buggy made for faster speed and the cricket is made for beginners and tricks. VTT is also on the forum His screen name is Van. As for the reverse threads comment I don't know of any company that makes one but as long as your bearings work there should be no need for it. Just make sure your tires spin before before putting your kite up. I have also sat in a libre Hardcore these bugs are beasts it weighed like 85LBs and was made for a very tall person but it is made for very high speeds and rough terrain. The back axel was made out of a thicker larger tube just to support this guys insanity I think.

Ivanpah buggy for me. I also carry around a Peter Lynn Comp XR+ for riding in the park and freestyle.

The Ivanpah buggy comes with jam nuts installed on the inside of the buggy wheels that allow you to lock the bolt into the rear axle so it can not unscrew on you. You can also install jam nuts on the Peter Lynn buggies (and probably all other buggies too). Depending on the thickness of your jam nut, you may need to get a longer rear axle bolt. As mentioned you could also install some threaded studs into the rear axle and then use lock nuts on the outside to keep the rear axle from unscrewing. Both of these additions would be much cheaper and easier to replace if they got damaged than using a reverse threaded rear axle bolt. Trying to find a reverse thread 20mm x 110mm bolt would be very expensive and very difficult to find - probably only special order. Standard bolts are much easier to get and a lot less expensive if you need to replace one.

That being said, we have been using the PL comp buggies for over 12 years that I have been riding and have never had one unscrew unless the bearings have seized. As long as you keep your bearings in good condition and make sure the bolt is tight, it will not come out on you. When you tighten down your rear axle, it presses the inside race of the bearings tight against the internal wheel spacer into the rear axle boss, locking everything together tight. The only way it could come undone is with a warn or seized bearing. If you do use a jam nut and your bearings seize, it will twist the bearing in the wheel creating a ton of heat and will melt your wheel, damaging it beyond repair. Replacing bearings is a lot less money than replacing a wheel.

Hope that helps.

only one that stands out

++1 for the jam nut advice that Kent gives above. I use jam nuts on my buggies. They work great as long as you know how to tighten them correctly.

really depends on your typical terrain. i ride on a grass field but it is very very hard packed.
i was spoiled from the start and had a suspension equipped buggy (Peter Lynn [PL] Race).
i tried out my brother's regular PL buggy (no suspension) and nearly chipped my teeth from all the rattling about.
i then bought a Libre Supertruck II wich comes with BF (bigfoot) tires. My PL Race went to brother.
The Libre (no suspension),due to it's BF tires, is just as comfy as the PL Race.
*as I understand it BigFoot(BF) tires are/were meant for loose sand to help buggy from sinking/slowing. They do work real well on hard lumpy surface to smooth out the bumps.
At the same time as the Libre I bought a PL XR+ to use when I did not feel like bringing the big Libre. Long story short....thePL XR+ was recently sold in new/mint condition...I never used it. Always rode the comfy Libre.

+1 for the stub axle and locknut. Never thought of that (but have often thought about why the threads aren't reversed). BB - how then do you lock in the stub axles (assuming I'm right thinking they just thread into the bolt hole like the other bolt would have but the allow you to put a crown nut on the outer end locking the wheel.

Of course, like most I've not heard much in the way of axe bolts spinning themselves out and I think, given the speed demons and freestylers here we'd have heard LOTS of complaints if it was a real grave concern.

I have a beamer bob custom power buggy


Its a flexi/peter lynn mash up.... I like it

Beamer, thanks for the response. Great on the stub axels, good to know. I'm an extreme sports athelete and love to be as extreme as I can. I've raced motocross where we jump our bikes 120 feet. I race mountain bikes, BMX ect. To answer your question first, Money doesn't really matter. I do like the best quality I can get. I want to eventually jump and act crazy. Love to go very fast, but have work up to it.

John at kite buggy speed shop recommended the LIBER VmaxII, due to its ability to add on big foots well as grow with the advancement of my abilities

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Originally posted by Powerws Beamer, thanks for the response. Great on the stub axels, good to know. I'm an extreme sports athelete and love to be as extreme as I can. I've raced motocross where we jump our bikes 120 feet. I race mountain bikes, BMX ect. To answer your question first, Money doesn't really matter. I do like the best quality I can get. I want to eventually jump and act crazy. Love to go very fast, but have work up to it.

jumping (freestyle) and going very fast is two different buggies.
jumping buggy is short, stout and beefy. fast buggy is beefy too but a long and wide stretched out ride.

Extreme Apexx if you want the best!

Also you have the MG Aero and the ivanpah.

Freestyle buggy use to be the flexifoil scout but it is current not in production. The ultimate freestyle will be the Extreme Basixx but it is not in production yet, but its coming very soon.

I have 2 buggies right now...

If you are just starting out, I like the XR+ by Peter Lynn. Versitile little buggy with lots of upgrades available. Best part about it is, it wont break the bank. You can get some respectable speed with it, as well as ground freestyle without doing any mods at all. If you want to mod it up, you could even jump with it. It breaks down for transport very quickly and easily, and goes back together just as quick and easy. It adjusts easily to fit just about any size rider, and can take a lot of punnishment.

I wouldn't jump right into a race buggy or a pure freestyle buggy right out of the gate. Start with an XR+ and work from there.

It would seem that a manufacturer would simply reverse the threads on the left side. It's all in the details! No worring about stub axles, lock nuts ect. No big deal to me, just thought I'd ask. Just suprises me. What do you think about the Sysmic Buggies. The S1 is a work of art. Anybody ride one?

Mougl, great advice! I think I would probably end up with a buggy, better for all around. I would think that would be a shorter buggy.

Awesome Rev. I heard that the LIBRE is the way to go. The fact is If I dont like it, try another one. It seems that you could always sell it and go different. I will check out the exxtreme's

Just my experience but, never have axle bolts loosen up if I keep up with the bearings. If internal spacers get crushed, they can cause to poor bearing alignment and lead to seizing and plastic wheel/hub melt down.

I'm a fat arse @ 250# so bent axle bolts are common on 12mm axle setups just riding in rough terrain at moderate speeds. Hardened bolts merely strip the internal threads out of the axle bungs. There are a few high dollar 12mm ID annular contact and duplex bearings available that eliminate many problems but they are entirely cost prohibitive as standard quality bearings are "falling out of the sky" cheap in comparison and don't address the bendy bolt issues.

Bearing failures due to side loading are common in 15mm ID bearings as the load rating of common 32mm OD bearings is a bit lower than 12mm ID in the same OD.

I'm finding 20mm bearings with precisely machined and properly hardened spacers are holding up far better all the way around. However, there's a small price to pay in added weight of wheels and axle bolts.

Again, just my observations. Actual mileage may vary.

The XR+ is shorter but it's adjustable. I'm 6' tall and I can stretch out nicely. You can also get an extended axle for the XR+. makes for better tracking and the use of much larger tires, up to Bigfoot tires. I use the wide axle mostly and run 18x9.5x8 tires on mine without issue. I find that I can achieve greater speeds that way. When I want to practice ground freestyle, I just throw the short axle on and the barrow tires and it's perfect. Libre, Xxtreme, Sysmic, VTT, and Ivanpah are all great buggies but I stand by the XR+ when it comes to bang for the buck when starting out. Once you have it down and are wanting more speed (given you have the kites and space for it) then I would go with Xxtreme. If freestyle is the road you prefer to travel, the XR+ will NOT let you down. Check out Brian Holgate videos on vimeo.com and you will see what I mean. Also, the axle bolts in the rear are 20mm. I have yet to see those break. Durable as the day is long, stainless steel so just a quick rinse after a beach session and you're good to go.

What do I ride? XR+ for cruising, Flexifoil for hardcore freestyle. Eventually I want to go Xxtreme Apexx for speed (yes, best race buggy on Earth) and Xxtreme Basixx for freestyle (thing looks like it's goin to be SICK!)

Just my 2 cents

For the terrain in the USA Libre leads as the best buggy for all. No custom building required and more upgrade parts that you can count. If it is more money you want to spend I can accommodate by getting softer, flexible and shiny stainless. If it is durability then galvanize a good grade of steel then powder coat it and that is where you get a strong buggy at a reasonable weight and price.
I have sold Libre buggies since 1997 and have no one have their axle break and the rear tire fall off.
So which buggy is the best just ask another Libre buggy owner there are lots of them around.
MAJESTIC is in the wind.

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Originally posted by revpaul i was spoiled from the start and had a suspension equipped buggy (Peter Lynn [PL] Race). i then bought a Libre Supertruck II wich comes with BF (bigfoot) tires.

Snap!

My first bug was the PL race.

My second bug was the Libre Supertruck II. MASSIVE in comparison :D What a bug!

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Originally posted by jellis For the terrain in the USA Libre leads as the best buggy for all.

That is the funniest thing I read all week!

This is the reason I love America .... freedom of speech ... People can say what ever they want and it doesn't have to have a bit of truth in it.

Libre seems to make a pretty good buggy. I tried to buy one back in spring of 2010 and couldn't get a price. It's good that multiple companies are out there innovating and putting new ideas and products on the market. That way its more likely that everyone can get most what they want for the money they are willing to pay.

Speaking of pushing innovation and performance, this era of the large diameter wheels is new and it's pushing equipment to new levels of stress not seen before. Those at the top of the game will adapt and learn from any equipment failure.

I'm not sure there is a "terrain for the US" is there? What does it look like? I've ridden in polo fields, soccer fields, sodfarms, corn fields, soft and hardpacked sandy beaches, and now live 35 minutes from Ivanpah dry lake. It's all pretty widespread from one extreme to the other. I've owned 7 buggies now and all of them had strengths and weaknesses.

You live 35 minutes from Ivanpah! :shocked2:...You lucky son of a .....

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Originally posted by RedSky You live 35 minutes from Ivanpah! :shocked2:...You lucky son of a .....

It was one of those gifts from heaven I guess. The company my wife works for bought another company that has a plant in Henderson, NV. This happened in 2008, the year I learned to buggy. I had no idea the stars were aligning to shine so brightly on me. Now here I am and its so bleeping hot, I can't go out there. Whole day off tomorrow and its supposed to be 117 out there. Cooler weather will come though and then its playtime!

Bobby I remember when you took my buggy for a spin and the back axle popped off!:wee::shocked2:
There are few that dare take a ride in the ST crunchmaster.

If speed is what you need....Apexx (not recommended for starting out) to get the most out of this buggy you will need a LOT of space and some pretty powerful kites. Most pilots that ride the Apexx like to fly over powered. There are reasons for this.

If you want to freestyle...Flexifoil Scout (can't say I'd recommend this for starting out either) you sit a little higher and it would be easy to roll it.

If you want to spend a bunch on a buggy that will leave you wanting more speed or wanting to get something better for freestyle...Libre all the way.


I still vote XR+ great to learn on and does it all...

do what several of us did..Build it yourself!
I built all of my buggies and tandem trailers too. Nothing like cruisin in something you built:wee:

Speed, freestyle, it all depends on what you want to do. No buggy is going to be the best at everything. It is just like the "Ford vs Chevy" argument (Apexx, Libre, MG, etc). Best advice, find some people who have buggies, ride them all and find the one that fits you best, and your riding style. Start with a lighter buggy to learn the basics. Then when you are ready (you'll know when) you will be able to move to a larger, heavier bug. The lighter PL's, and Flexi's hold their value, so you won't lose a lot in a sale.

Speed, and free style in a buggy is 90% pilot (to do it safely).

Besides I'm a cruiser not a speed freak, so that's why I drive a "Cadillac". KBSS Custom Libre Suspension Hard Core. It's like butta.

Bottom line find the one you will be the happiest with.

I would stay away from the Flex Foil buggies!