anyone heard of that brand of buggy? is it any good?

kitesurfer,

You can use the Search feature of this forum to find some hits on the kite trike, a.k.a. Rockville buggy.

I own one and have had some problems. Here's what I've found.

: The Price. Used you can pick one up for about $200-$250 USD.

: Easy to remove rear tires, front wheel, and make adjustments to the frame. I can fit the thing in the back of my SUV by simply removing the rear wheels in less than 3 minutes. So when the wind's blowing, I can quickly throw it in the truck and head out.

: Adjustable foot peg position. You can move the foot pegs up and down the length of the fork for a tailored fit for your comfort.

: Seat is deep with a pocketted wood plate (~4" x 8")providing some back support.

: Seat attachment is non-intuitive and instructions are lacking (they simply say attach the seat and give a picture of the assembled buggy).

: The straps and/or buckles used to secure the seat to the frame are unreliable. I've had the plastic buckles break and the straps snap under my 190 lbs. Some here have successfully replaced the buckles with metal ones. I and others are looking at replacing the seat with one from another manufacturer ($40-$80'ish).

: Front wheel attachment to the forks is unreliable. Using the hardware provided, the wheel will from time to time be loose in the fork so that when I lift up on the buggy, the wheel falls off. From discussions on this forum, it seems this should be able to be rectified with the addition of proper lock nuts / washers / etc.

: The thin piece of wood used to provide back support easily snaps in half (first time I tried leaning back in the seat), so you'd want to replace it with something like 1/4" ply.

: I've had problems sufficiently tightening the bolts that secure the footpegs to the fork. The bolt material is soft, so it's easy to strip them if over-tightening. I'm considering tack-welding the footpegs in place.

Bottomline, from my experience: The kite trike / Rockville is inexpensive in $$$ to get into ($200-$250 used), but it will require some time and a little more $$$ to make it more reliable. Time is money, they say, and for me the saved time and frustration of not having to deal with these inadequacies would have been worth the extra $200-$300 to get a better buggy.

Take all this with a grain of salt. This is my first buggy, and I haven't even sat in another one. Hopefully others will add their feedback here for a few more data points.

Scott

Agree completely with GSE. If you're just getting started, and don't want to spend a lot of $$, it's not a bad way to go. Do suggest a replacement seat tho. Just be prepared to to either put up with it's shortcomings, or be ready in a short while to buy another bug.

if your looking to be introduce to buggys w/ saving a few coins its so-so if your thinking with investing time money into the sport..... upgrade to another model

not bad "starter"buggy{ everybody has to start somewhere}
but once your skills improve you'll grow out of it fast by the restrictions that a starter buggy offers

if your looking at one on e-bay...... beware! the ones that state chrome plated aluminum

must be some:alien:technology

support kite shops in turn they support you in return

I ripped two Rockville seats just by sitting in them. Blew the side seams out. (i'm 5'9"/ 200 lbs). The third seat they sent was better reinforced but very stiff.

I think Scott said it all! I like to tinker on things so this buggy is good for me. If you just want to throw and go then pass on the Rockville.
I see the seat, front wheel, buckles as challenges for me to get them right! Yeah, the seat buckles are the biggest issue I can see. It took a couple of attempts to get it secure. After replacing the front bearings my loose wheel problem went away- I will have to see in time if is the bearing that causes the issue or the design.

Maybe we are focusing on the bad too much? It all comes down to you get what you pay for.

I am on a tight budget aka: wife 3 kids- so spending $400-500 on a buggy is hard to justify with wifey. I am happy with a $200 buggy that is not the greatest but still puts that shi*t eatin grin on my face when I use it!

$299 plus 35 shipping for new off ebay. good to go?

I paid $200 plus $30 for shipping. Granted it was slightly used. I watched how much they were going for and around 230-50 was the norm.

Do a search on google for "buggy and Craigslist" and you can see them from around the country. I saw some good deals. I think you can get a better used buggy for the price of a new Kite trike. Be patient. Someone might have received a new one for xmas and might want to part with the old.

And definitely search your local Craigslist separately from google as well. I've found many google hits have already expired, while current local items have not yet made it into google/yahoo.

Beachrights...what about creating a new post here in the Kite Buggying section for inexpensive Do-It-Yourself mods for the Rockville Kite Trike? I think it would be very helpful for us all to see in one place what mods have been done. Then we could paste in web links / photos / prices / instructions... I haven't done any mods yet other than strap some more webbing under my broken seat to eek out a little more life before buying a new one!

Fyi...re: kite trike sales on ebay...I was watching the weekly sales of the buggys about 6 months ago when I was looking for a second buggy. Best price I saw was a bid for 199 during that time. I called up the company and asked if they could sell me the buggy at that price even though some had sold for over $260 since then. They said no problem and I got it a few days later. New of course. Same practice worked for another vendor selling power kites. Spent $280 for a new Flexifoil Rage 6.0 which including lines, handles and shipping.

...but would I buy the Rockville again...nope...too many problems as mentioned above...Buy a used PL for about the same price or a little more and ride with confidence.

PL XR+, ridden a couple times, Still looks new. $450

Really nice starter buggy. You can get parts to stretch it out into a race buggy down the road if needed.

The Kite Trike came in yesterday. took me about 15 minutes to assemble the fame and 30 to strap in the seat. the seat appears to be redesigned with metal buckles and cross tacked attachment points on straps. it was very easy to install it. I did not even look at the picture. the forks came attached to the frame already and is secured with a big castle nut. Hopefully this is a fix for that problem of the wheel falling off. The front axle came with LONG spacers that worked fine--i tightened the nuts hard and the wheel spins freely. SO FAR, I am well happy with this buggy. The wind is predicted to be 15 to 30! today and our colded days of the year (25 right now and coming up into the low 40's). so...i might give it a try

Please keep us posted of its performance, Kitesurfer. Maybe it would be worth contacting the company to upgrade some parts to the latest versions if the bug works well for you.

Just to be clear on the wheel issue: It is not the big castle nut that is the issue. It is the nuts that go on the axle threads. Make sure they are good and snug, bring some tools to adjust as needed on your first run. As for the metal buckles: Get rid of them- they are inferior and will break. Keep an eye on these 2 issues and you will enjoy the Trike. I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but want you to be safe and enjoy your rides. Learn from our issues and you will reap the benefits!

A 20 inch duffel bag fits perfectly above the rear axle for a kite bag. I got one for $10 and it is waterproof. Have fun!

first usage yeterday for about 30 minutes. wind was 13 to 20 and using a phantom 12. This thing drives straight up wind! I TOTALLY ENJOYED it. only put it up because a few guys camout to kitesurf and the tide started to come in. so i got bot in. hopefully to get another session this afternoon.

Any loose bolts?

all bolts still tight! took out the fiancee and put up the phantom 12 in 15mph or so. her first time with the kite and the buggy. no injuriies
i learned to do figure eights and to slide into a tur to stop the buggy. also learned dead down wind don't work....don't luff the kite--and if you do don't run over a line and wrap it around the axle 25 times

Tell me you did not have a poop eatin grin on your face after that 1st slide in a corner!! Move the adjustable neck in or out one hole and it makes a huge difference in weight transfer. I found I had mine too long and my front wheel was sliding and not turning in fast corner turns. Moved the neck forward and it was a new buggy! Glad you have no loose issues.

Price sounds about right. I may look into one of these. sounds like most of the problems have been addressed

Deadhead,

Did you get your new seat installed in your Kite Trike yet, and did you get to try it out with those nice winds at East Beach this weekend?

the straps are long and go completely under the seat--a continuous strap that ties to one side of the frame, goes under the seat and sewn in many places, nut just a seam. the two straps form an x under the seat. i see not way these straps could tear out so it must be a redesign.

Is this the same Kite Trike that Kitesurfer is talking about....and the same that you guys are saying is really a Rockville buggy??

http://www.fullfx.com/fxstore/c9sc/index.cfm?page=product&am...

Just curious to be sure it's the same. Didn't find a post anywhere in this thread that showed the Kite Trike. I'm currently researching and trying to decide on a trike for when the time comes.....I hope soon. I was seriously considering this one, but I haven't read much positive news about the Rockville's.

Lobo :singing:

Yeah that's it. a.k.a. Rockville. I can barely make out the Ben-Hur Chariot Race Foot-peg stops, but the description of the allen wrench screws for the back axle clinched it for me. I recocognize some of the ad copy too.

I know it my first buggy and all, but I've herd bad things about pl buggys too. Like frames cracking and shotty weld jobs at the joints. But as far as my Rockville buggy goes I've had mine for a little over a year now and my biggest complaint is that that the tires are cheap! One or two ply at best, I've worn the tread right off of them. But this season I'm buying new flexifoil complete standard tires to put on it. Already did the checking and the axle bolts are the same size. I will say the seat isn't the best desighn out there, requires ajusting once or twice per session.(liveable) The buckles are cheap but still holding. Never had a problem with the front wheel coming loose, did a little re-tightning of all the bolts when I first got ,but once I got them tight it was no longer an issue.:P

I'm sure my wife will eventually let me get a flexi buggy someday, but until then I will not jinx my buggy by talking bad about it:!:

Anythng you hear about PL buggies cracking at welds is old news going back a generation or two of design. the latest XR+ and Bigfoot+ are of thicker tubing and are very stout. The 20mm bolts are stupid thick, looking like they came off a suspension bridge. tires are 4-ply.
Flexi has maybe better grade stainless; the PL does have tiny rust spots after a over a year and the Flexi is just as shiny as new.

Don't get me wrong I wasn't nocking on PL. I just saying for the money Rockville makes an alright buggy. Sure theirs a few kinks, but just because you spent a few more dollars doesn't mean your guaranteed to be headache free.

Pablo, I hope I see you at Nabx. I have got to see some of those Combats in action. Good deal on the buggy also.