I tried out the 16"er for the first time today

I owned a 20" Roadracer a while back, so this was not my first time on a DSer, but by the amount of scrapes and bruises on my body afterwards, you would have thought so

The 16" Freestyle is noticeably smaller and lighter than my old one. It also sits much higher (for ground clearance).

Going heelside was easy, heelside to toeside transitions were tough and toeside to heelside was a little easier.
If you have room, a DSer is very cool option. In cramped areas, it just eats up too much space quickly.

It gets going a lot easier than a mountainboard and getting upwind really is not a problem - so a small quick kite would do the trick.

I kept overrunning the kite when I tried to change directions and the kite would just belly flop. I think jumping at the end of your run and rotating to the new direction would be the way to go once you got good enough.

It comes in two small boxes and it took about 30 mins to assemble. It was pretty straight forward, except two of the 12 holes for the deck were off center, so I had to get out the dremel to shave a bit off.

I understand that the decks were made in Australia and the frames were made in Asia. Other than the two off center holes, the quality looked very good.

I'm not sure how the straps will hold up, but I think a set of MBS straps would be a nice upgrade down the road.

Here are a few pics:

Two Boxes

Side View

Calf Operated Brake

16" DSer

Couple of things to be aware of with the new 16", the wheel bearings aren't sealed. So wash carefully if you get salt water or other muck on them. Also the decks come in 4 different flavours for different weight riders. In the UK, the first delivery's all had childrens decks, so they all snapped with in a week or so !!!

And the first upgrade should be to the brake.

Having said that, the ride is fantastic, the decks have a lot of pop and the frame is built extremely well.

SWAT

Thanks Swat - I have an orange dot on the bottom of my deck and I weigh 160 lbs. Sound good?

Yup, I think the Orange is a number 2 deck which is for lighter adult riders, which you are !!!

OK - sounds good! I'm off to try it out again today

Try and borrow a kitewing for a few days - the combination is awesome !! See our vid below !!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2oBQeIs3efY

Edit - URL Changed

SWAT

Hey Davinch,

I'm wondering about your impression of the 13m Century ? That kite and I didn't get along well. Big, heavy, skilled Pablo had it down but it was too much kite for me. when it powered up on apparent wind it was too much for me to hold back @ 140lbs..

The YouTube link did not work for me.
Scott

Ooops - sorry

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2oBQeIs3efY

I put in about 3 hrs of riding the DSer today - it is way more difficult than a mountainboard

I kept having trouble with the Pulse and Psycho, so I switched to XL Quadrifoil on handles and things got a bit better. I was just getting too overpowered with the larger kites and the handles gave me a lot more control.

I'm going to stick with it, but it's tough!

Swat – thanks for that deck info. I have two more 16”ers coming in and I plan on opening them up to see what color the dots are.

So far, it’s holding up pretty well. The griptape is junk – it’s pulling up already. I’ll be replacing it with some gool ol’ Jessup griptape.

Snowbird – I’ve only flown the 13m Century once so far just static to check it out so I don’t know what to think just yet.

Have you tried riding it down hill first. The hardest bit is starting. If you can nail this on a slight incline without the kite first, it will make starting with a kite so much easier.

The main thing to remember is to not look at the front wheel, look at where you want to go - once you get above walking pace the DS stabilises and gets more stable the faster you go.

Persevere with it, the ride is superb once you get it !!!

Then buy a kitewing !!!!!

SWAT

Thanks for the link. The kitewing and dirtsurfer combo looks great. I'm very interested in trying a water kitewing in strong winds. At this stage in my kitesurfing career I prefer lighter winds. When it gets to the point that windsurfers are out I start to not enjoy kitesurfing.

Scott

Let me know if anyone in the US wants a 16" Freestyle. I have two more of them coming my way

I hope to get a chance to try a dirtsurfer via the "pass the dirtsurfer" before I buy. They do look like fun. However, I think the lack of hills in my neck of the woods would limit it's usefullness.

Scott

Swat - I rode some hills tonight. I still think it feels more "twitchy" than the 20"er. But once up to speed, the board feels very stable.

The brake worked great:D

Sure got a lot of strange looks from people driving by...

-- double post edit--

Even the 20 inchers are bit twitchy for new riders .....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEFa2eu7rgk

Swat - things finally "clicked" the last time I went out with the DSer. I went to a flatter area (freshly mowed soccer fields) and the ride was fantastic! I got up to 25mph.

No jumps, but I was able to get in some smooth transfers at the end of the runs.

I can't wait to try out the Air Evo with it this weekend - it just needs to stop raining

Glad it;s going well.

Spent a day at a downhill centre near London in the UK - Great fun but the drag lift was alittle too slow for Dirtsurfers !!!

Blip.tv - Good Quality
http://wingsurfer.blip.tv/file/353589?filename=Wingsurfer-Wi...

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9JR4qNLW5U

That's great that they had a lift - way better than walking up!