steved1599968766

Who needs a tape measure - you'll know it's time to bend them back when your arse is dragging on the floor!

Crikey Phil, you've got a good memory! Really though, thanks for the thought but don't worry about it - I'm sure we'll end up down the pub one evening during the October trick school & it'll all come out in the wash. Anyway, your link to Makefast more than made up for it - my bug is covered in their buckles now! Talking of which - my bug is finally in at the welders now having that bracing done. I'm hoping it'll be ready for this weekends trip to the Ho! to test it all out. I've been holding off on the jumping a bit 'cos I've been worried about things breaking & bending so I'll have no excuses once it's done. How are your new siderail plates holding up?

Superb - the more the merrier! Just got to hope for good wind & a lack of rain now.

10 places still left! Come on Phil - get yourself sorted! Surely the prospect of a couple of chilly nights isn't putting you off!?! & what's happened to all the other guys? - LABen & co - come on, get yourselves booked lads!

I'm all paid up & good to go! Mark - are you able to confirm who the instructors will be for buggying yet?

Cheers Mark - I presume I'm one of the 6 you've registered so far? Do I still need to go via the web site & book a ticket? I tried the link and it took me to Paypal but gave an error.

I agree with Phil, it'd be a long trip just for a day so I'd rather do a whole weekend. Like Hank says, just got to bring your thermals! I had thought about having details of a couple of local b&b's or a cheap hotel to hand just in case. Or failing that i'll chuck my kit in my tent & kip in my car. But regardless of temperatures, I'm up for it.

Count me in. I'd like to crack reverse 2 wheels & aerial 180/360s.

Just PM'd you.

Have a look here: LINK >>> http://forum.kitecrowd.com/buggying/riding-reverse-tips-please-163497.html But basically, start off in light winds with a large kite. This is much easier to start with as you won't have to concentrate on kite control so much as you would with smaller kites. Your 7m Blurr will be perfect and you want just enough wind to trundle around without too much speed. The other tip that really helped me when I was learning this was to 'lock' my legs and push against the foot pegs. This doesn't mean you keep your legs so rigid that you don't steer, but keeping them more rigid than you would with normal forwards riding and good pressure on the foot pegs will stop the spinning and fishtailing that you're finding happens at the moment. You'll find that you don't need to steer with big movements - just small adjustments to hold a good line across/slightly up-wind and keep tension in the kite lines. Swapping to a wide axle may help a little with stability but personally I'd stick with what you've got - as once you can reverse a standard 'twitchy' Flexi buggy then you'll be able to reverse anything. Just get padded up (elbows, knees & lid) & you'll be fine. Just keep trying though - you'll find that one session it'll just 'click' and you'll wonder why you found it so hard to start with. Oh yeah - & don't forget to post up to let us know when you've cracked it.

& 2:09 in Part 2 - nuts! Some great footage there.

Ok, when asking for advice a lot of people will rave about the type of kites they fly and slate everything else, whether that be foil, lei, arc, etc. The fact is that there's nothing wrong with any of the different types of kite - they all have advantages/disadvantages so really it all comes down to what you want to do, your usual flying conditions/location and personal preference. Firstly, don't listen to anyone who says that xyz kite is cr@p. Secondly, your best bet is to either talk to your nearest kite shop & arrange some demos and/or blag a go off as many different kites from other local flyers as possible. Only by trying them out will you find which type is best suited to you and your style of riding. Just as a pointer though .... Foils are easy/quick setup, launch & packdown but aren't water re-lauchable and don't fly well when wet. LEIs need pumping up (with a pump) before flying so setup/launch time is longer. You will also need assistance with launching/landing at first until you've learned to self launch/land. however, they are water re-launchable and will happily fly when it's raining. They also tend to have a very large depower range. Do watch out for older LEIs though as prior to a few years ago they didn't necessarily handle as well and the safety's weren't quite so good. Arcs need inflating before flying but this is done by opening a zip in the kite and letting the wind inflate the kite. They can be water re-launched and usually handle gusty conditions fairly well. Launching can be a bit tricky until used to it. Hope that helps & good luck!

I've got a 10m 07 Frenzy and it gets me going from about 10mph up to mid 20s in inland gusty winds - higher in a clean coastal on-shore. I weigh in at about 75kg and at 10mph would only really be cruising around. To get airborne really needs 15mph. So maybe a 12m would be a better bet for you. To give you some idea, a 10m depower foil will be equivalent to roughly 4/5/6m fixed bridle. It will take a few sessions to get used to flying depower/bar, but after a while you'll dial into it and will then probably progress much quicker than boarding with fixed bridles. Like all new kites, you'll just need to give it a chance and start in lightwer winds until used to it. Regarding which model Frenzy, I wouldn't necessarily say that the 07 models and newer are better - just different. Lots of people loved the 05, a lot didn't like the 06, many raved about the 07, but it's all down to personal preference. I've not flown an 05 so can't comment on that, but flew an 06 and loved it. The 06 needs much more input (i.e. you really need to fly it) to get the best out of it. The 07 is much more grunty and 'park & ride'. I've only flown an 08 once and personally didn't get on with it, it just seemed a bit ..... ermmm, non-responsive to me. But one flight isn't enough to be able to pass judgement on a kite really. The 09 is awesome - quick with loads of power for it's size. But as I say, to be honest I don't think any of them are 'bad' so you can't really go too far wrong whichever you choose. The other difference with the newer models is the bar and safetys have improved a bit over the years. Again, I don't know about the 05 but from the 06 onwards they are all fine in terms of safety - the newer ones are just neater and from 08 onwards have the 'Megatron' chicken loop. Lastly, the 05, 06 & 07 models came in 10m & 12m sizes. From 2008 the sizes changed to 9m & 11m. As mentioned before, at 85kg and the wind range you mention I would say either a 12m in the earlier models or probably an 11m in the later ones - (the 09 & 10 models generate more power for the size - not sure about the 08). If you go to the land kite section on http://www.flyozone.com, click on the products menu and select 'previous kites' then you'll be able to see the info, manuals, etc for all the different Frenzys. Lastly, just to mention that my 10m 07 will be up for sale shortly as I'm just waiting for my new 9m 2010 to turn up :-) As you've seen I've recommended the next size up to you so personally don't think my 07 will interest you. But if for any reason you are interested then drop me a PM.

Yup - cheers Bash. @Phil - Oops!

^^ Thanks - As long as you're sure. I'll have a measure up in the morning & post up. Do you know when & where you might be flying this weekend?

Thanks for the reply MIn & cheers for the off cuts offer - much appreciated. Not sure I'll be able to get out this weekend but if not I'll drop you a PM and can always arrange to collect from you another time. Let me know how much & which currency you prefer (e.g. cash, beer, etc. ).

Got a few more questions for anyone who has already done this mod and is 'in the know' ..... 1. The siderails on the Flexi bug appear to be 28mm OD. I can't seem to find this diameter size anywhere, so is 1" (25.4mm) OD ok? 2. The wall thickness seems to be a bit of an issue too. I've heard that 3mm wall is what to go for but again I'm struggling to get this on tubes of suitable OD sizes. Would a 1.5mm wall (on a 1" OD diameter tube) be ok for this mod or would it be too weak? 3. Alternatively, if anyone knows where I can buy (either close to Southampton or online) some 28mm OD with 3mm wall stainless tube then please let me know. Ta, Steve.

^^ Yep - agree. Awesome vid Mark. @Greg - changed your mind have you? - could have sworn I remember you shouting "I hate Wallop" on the Saturday night. LOL!

Cheers guys - thanks for the info. Useful thread on KBB too. @Popeye - your drawings put mine to shame! LOL!

I'm after a bit of advice from all you stainless steel experts out there about the Flexi buggy siderail mod .......... This is the reasonably well known siderail bracing mod for flexifoil buggys used by a lot of the buggy freestylers. If anyone isn't familiar with it - it consists of adding a 3 pieces of stainless steel tube between the siderails (see the 'Siderail Bracing' pic for how these 3 pieces fit). Sorry for the poor drawings!! My questions are .... 1. How should I 'profile' the ends of the 3 tubes to be welded onto the siderails? - See the profiles pic. - is 'Example A' acceptable (i.e. just cutting a 'V' into the end of the tube) or should I be looking to create a nice curved profile to exactly fit the siderails - like 'Example B'? 2. Does anyone have any tips on cutting/profiling/preparing the tubes so they are 'weld ready'? 3. Which grade stainless steel tube should I be using? - 304 or 316? Cheers, Steve.

Little update - managed my biggest jumps so far today. Still not huge in the grand scheme of things but it's all progress. Realised I wasn't sending the kite back far enough before redirecting - once I did the airs were getting bigger and more consistent. Damn this sport rocks! - there's nothing quite like the feeling you get after a good session.

Ok, here's some pics. Sorry, quality not great but hopefully you get the idea .......

@Phil - Yep, so bolted onto the end of each footpeg, but at the fork end, have a nut welded onto the fork that a small bolt can go into and secure the other end with this - exactly as Stupid Dave is saying. It's exactly what Will told me to do when he gave me his bindings. Having said that, I've just had a play and found another way which seems to work pretty well .......... Bolt the bindings onto each end as previously mentioned. But at the fork end, bend the binding under itself and attach using the footpeg bolt. Not sure if I've explained that very well but I'll post pics up either later tonight or tomorrow. Either way, I've got to say that using bindings instead of the usual strap is way better.

Those Mystic ones above do look really nice. I got given a pair of old Flexi landboard bindings the other week. I started off by bolting them exactly the same way as the Mystic ones in the pics above. But, although I found they kept my feet nice and snug, my feet were at a bit of a funny angle as they were being forced up the angled part of the foot pegs rather than on the flat bit. The donator of the bindings suggested a mod where you get a nut welded to either side of the forks (just above where the footpeg bolt is) into which a bolt can be screwed and used to attach the bindings at the fork end. That way there's more room for your feet on the pegs. I simulated it by using a load of cable ties and it's much nicer, but the cable ties are breaking already so the welded bolts are definitely the way to go.

@LABen2010 - some nice little vids there. & I've never seen anyone chuck themselves into the sport with so much enthusiasm as you guys over that weekend. Considering you lot haven't been into the sport that long I was impressed with your skills on the Friday before we'd even started - let along at the end. Keep at it guys - good stuff! @Mentall - good move with the Flexi buggy - your Heath Robinson job was erm ............. well, something else! LOL! So have you ridden your Flexi yet & do you like it? Oh - & good to have met you all by the way. The only times I've been out since the flying school weekend there's not been a lot of wind. But I've managed a few more hops and feel like I'm getting some consistency in my jumps which is good. I'm gagging to get out in some decent breezes and really go for it now. Anyone else got any post school progress reports?