FLYSURFER Soul bridle pulley lines

[Pari]

.My Soul 12m is the best kite I’ve had but there is one thing about it that is really bothering me. That’s the pulley lines.

before getting this kite new, I had the use of a borrowed Speed 3 12m for at least a year maybe more then I bought a second hand Speed 3 12m Deluxe, which again I had for a year maybe a bit more. 
I never even thought about the pulley lines, never occurred to me that they wore out or ever needed changing.

The Soul on the other hand- well I’ve changed all four and before I had to change them again I noticed that the B pulley blocks were stuck and worn unevenly so I change one side and on the other side a thought I try an experiment and put one of the Ronstan solid alloy blocks. Plus I switch the B pulley lines round so they are both wearing on a new part of the line. I just want to see if I can find a better solution to this, as I’m really nervous these days about having any more breaks whilst out in the ocean, it’s really scary.

[andy666]

Interesting to see how the experiment goes. I have heard mixed reports about the alloy slider blocks. 

[Chook]

Yes that is always my pre launch check, to see if the blocks are all rotating smoothly.

I haven't had a problem with the fine sand (actually our arctic white beaches in Esperance are calcium carbonate not silica. See pic below.), but the course sand in Yeppoon Queensland does bind up the small pulley blocks on my 18m2 ELF easily.  The Ozone R1's have slightly larger Ronstan 20mm blocks with dyneema loop and haven't given me any problems after freeing them up after I bought them second hand.

 

[.Joel]

These are pricey, I haven't seen them in person and I haven't looked at the weight comparisons yet however Stephen (Marine & Industrial @ Ronstan) shared a short video of these. https://www.ronstan.com.au/marine5/product.asp?ProdNo=RF25109HL 

Ronstan also make one called the 'Shock' which is similar to the slider you posted above, they super light weight.

I can't say I'm for or against pulleys as sometimes it's the pulley, other times different thickness lines, different braids and different sleeving textures also all play a part in the rate of wear of the pulley lines.  The only pulleys so far I genuinely don't like are the F-One pulleys, inside where the line runs the edges of the pulley on quite a few have been incredibly sharp to the point they need to be filed down.

Good work experimenting to find a better solution pari! 

 

[Pari]

On 9/18/2020 at 7:58 PM, andy666 said:

Interesting to see how the experiment goes. I have heard mixed reports about the alloy slider blocks. 

So far there is more wear on the block than the line. There a little groove forming. Also the block material, I'm assuming its alluminium, is depositing onto the yellow line leaving this almost black coating.

I wonder if it's possible to get titanium blocks!

Also I was looking for some bridle lines from LEI kite that use none pulley style solid blocks that would be the same lengths, 100cm and 120cm, and that are made from something more robust and less abrasive, something like Dyneema or Spectra.

I hope Flysurfer does something about this design- I know your supposed to check them but I've never had to check pulley before on either foil kite or LEI kites.

12 hours ago, .Joel said:

These are pricey, I haven't seen them in person and I haven't looked at the weight comparisons yet however Stephen (Marine & Industrial @ Ronstan) shared a short video of these. https://www.ronstan.com.au/marine5/product.asp?ProdNo=RF25109HL 

Ronstan also make one called the 'Shock' which is similar to the slider you posted above, they super light weight.

I can't say I'm for or against pulleys as sometimes it's the pulley, other times different thickness lines, different braids and different sleeving textures also all play a part in the rate of wear of the pulley lines.  The only pulleys so far I genuinely don't like are the F-One pulleys, inside where the line runs the edges of the pulley on quite a few have been incredibly sharp to the point they need to be filed down.

Good work experimenting to find a better solution pari! 

 

Those blocks look nice, yeah pricey though. The shock is what I have on now as a test.

What I'm finding with my plastic pulleys is wear in two places- one is the axle wears unevenly so the pulley doesn't turn coz' it's hole in the block is now elipticle, or the line is wearing through the block probably coz' it's not turning properly.

[Northern Kites Australia]

I've used the Ronstan Shock Blocks on my foil kites. They work fine. The coloring wears away, but the alloy itself is quite solid. Rinse and dry after use, to avoid corrosion. They come in two sizes. The larger 16mm version is just a few grams more than the smaller one. Well worth as pulley replacements.

[Pari]

These look interesting, from Wichard

 

Single plain bearing block - Stainless steel sheave 12 - Fixed eye

 

[Pari]

So these don't work for the Soul, about a month of use from new.

 

I JUST BOUGHT FOUR OF THESE, GONNA GIVE THEM A GO.