Hello everyone, I had a few beginner questions, I have been considering getting a buggy and just wanted to know some things before I make any purchases.

First off, I live in Reno, NV and plan on doing most of my buggying out at blackrock. I would like to know what you guys think would be the best beginner kite for the types of conditions I will see out there, wind, playa surface, etc. I was looking at this package Here What all do I need to have to start out with? buggy, kite, harness, helmet, pads. How fast can I expect to top out roughly with a kite like one of the 3 shown on a hard surface like the playa? Sorry for all the noob questions, but any help would be appreciated. Would one of these kites double well for kite skiing? And if there is anyone in the area, do you know any good spots to kite ski around the reno/tahoe area? Mt. Rose Meadows maybe?
Btw, does anyone have a link to a good resource for beginners to read up on everything I need to know?

Thanks for any help you guys can give me, anything is appreciated, and I look forward to getting into the sport.

Oh yea, I left out that fact that I'm a bit big, 6'6" 210 lbs if this makes a big difference.

Here are some links:

http://www.kitesurfingschool.org/


A Couple of quick thoughts . If you are 6'6" some buggies may be short for you. The downpost is adjustable. Let some tall folks give opinions on that.

If you want to cross over to snowkiting you may want to pay a bit more and get depower kites. They are much safer and generally better in the mountians and still work with a buggy . Peter Lynn, Flysurfer and Ozone are 3 good but different examples.


GOOD QUESTIONS !!!

for your size I would recommend a Libre v-max buggy. (by from John Ellis at Kite buggy speed shop) I am 6' 170lbs and I love mine, there is plenty of room to adjust the front fork for someone larger, a flexifoil buggy would be too small for you.

I would also recommend a 2m samurai, or flexifoil bullet for the playa. when the wind blows it is strong and you go fast on the playa.

check out white lake near reno, I hear that is an ok place.

Looks like a nice package, the flexi bugs are solid, I'd go with the 3.5m Rage over the Sammy. On the playa though you will probably need to add a smaller kite in the 2m range. You'll find snowkiting that anything under 5m is really a tease. So expect to get a different set of kites for the snow than the playa. Probably get a decent depowerable kite for the snow.

The Flexifoil bugs have an extended downtube available that would accomodate a 6'6" rider. It is about $84 and is only available as an after sale option, so you do end up with the spare shorter down-tube.

An I'll second the vote for the 3.5m Rage. I love mine in the bug.

I have the a wide axle Flexi and a PL Comp XR+. The PL is my little lite wind roadster and the Flexi is my SUV for heaveir winds or when I just want to carry more crap on the beach.

I'm 6'5" 300lbs and use a modified PL Comp that I got used for a steal. I treat it gentle and it's held up fine for three years on playa and bumpy soccer fields after some modifications, though I'm sure if I pushed it things would start to break. From what I've seen, the XR+ is much beefier and would hold up well, but it and the Flexi are both the standard 'small' buggy proportions. The problems with them for a big guy are comfort and stability. You can adjust the seat to sit farther back in the buggy to give you more leg room, but you'll need an extended down-tube before you can call it 'comfortable'.

Even with the long down-tube, you're center of mass will be moved closer to the rear axle than a 'normal' sized buggier. This will lesson the weight on the front wheel making the steering very twitchy. This is fine tooling around a beach or a soccer field where you're lucky to get 20 mph but over about 30 mph it get's downright scary dangerous. On the playa you can get 40 mph pretty easy. The solution is extended side rails to move you forward from the axle to more evenly spread the weight over all three tires. But this lessens the turning radius, so to compensate you need to have a wider rear axle which also gives you a more stable foot print.

Add it all together you have the same geometry as a normal sized buggy with enough room to fit a wookie.

I made my own modifications because I'm crazy like that. You can buy them but only as add on extra pieces which quickly increases the cost of the buggy and gives you most of a buggy in spare pieces.

If I was to buy a buggy for Playa use I'd go with a Lybre full race which already has the geometry you need, the v-max is a bit small for someone 6' 6". It's a lot more to bite off than a PL or Flexi intro package, but a much better buggy for big people. If money is an issue (when isn't it!) and you want to get something to start and see if you like it, then I'd recommend fining something used to start. Then once you get hooked save up for the Lybre.

-Chip

Good Post, Chip

What I failed to mention is that the Flexi wide axle adds 11" between the back axle and the back of the seat, putting the driver that much farther forward. that should help restore the geometry with the longer down-tube, but I havn't had the need to try it. I've been over 20 mph with the standaard down-tube no problem and I cannot imagine the exra couple of inches of the lnger one would hurt stability. The longer side-rails would pretty much preserve the geometry as you said.

Those longer slip joints are what make the bug harder to dis-assemble for transport.

Angus, the longer downtube by itself won't make the buggy unstable, it's just that I found for us wookie sized riders the extended down tube does not give sufficient length, so you still end up sitting farther back in the buggy in order to not have your knees in your chin!

I also forgot to mention in my earlier post that the shorter wheelbase is what you'd want if you're going to be doing freestyle tricks where large stable footing is the last thing you need!

-chip

This site has some excellent how-to guides to get you started:

http://www.racekites.com/howto/howto.asp

Quote:

Originally posted by Chip Angus, the longer downtube by itself won't make the buggy unstable, it's just that I found for us wookie sized riders the extended down tube does not give sufficient length, so you still end up sitting farther back in the buggy in order to not have your knees in your chin! I also forgot to mention in my earlier post that the shorter wheelbase is what you'd want if you're going to be doing freestyle tricks where large stable footing is the last thing you need! -chip

Yeah, I can see how the longer down-tube without the longer siderails of the wide axle would be a problem, and I should not assume that all will want the wider axle. Partly my bias towards relaxed cruising on the bigger bug. Right now my biggest engineering challenge is where to put a beer holder.

But I would think that a machine shop could easliy make some side rail extenders for the Flexi or the PL (standard axles). Basically short tubes with bolt holes for the Flexi and slip joints for the PL

Now Popeye, there's a commercial after-market opportunity for you!