Am looking for a replacement set of bladders, what are the best replacemnts?
Aftermarket?
Genuine?
Where and from whom do you get them?
Kite is a 7m Flexifoil Atom and has had very little use. All valves/one pump joints are now coming apart.
Cheers
Ouch.... Many flexifoils had this delamination issue and it is a absolute pain.
Dont bother getting new bladders as they will more than likely have the same issue.
Just fixing the one leak wont help cause as soon as that one is airtight the next weakest will go, and so on.
Remove bladders, peel off all inlet, exhaust and transfer valves. Clean with alchohol and replace with kitefix valves.......$28 each......
What is the kite worth? How much will it cost to fix...... hard choice..
This was a problem with 1st batch of 08 atoms, 10 (?) valves on kite it's a pain in the arse to fix. Flexi replaced sets of bladders under warranty but that's now over 2 years ago, you can reglue the existing valves, search the forums for delaminating bladders and the product is mentioned in one of the posts. Otherwise call SOS in Fremantle Wa, and ask what they use.
Have 12m 9m and 7m Atoms, have used and abused these kites and rate them as good as any on the market.
Had the bladders replaced for the 12 and 9 under warranty, but not the seven, apparently importer had none in stock at the time. I never followed it up, but now need new bladder set. Kite is in great condition except it wont stay up!!!!
What does a set bladders cost?
Where can I get them?
Who imports Flexifoil now?
Cheers
We get heaps of valves peeling off bladders from all makes in Exmouth but usually takes 2 to 3 years if your careful. The u-stick valves are easy and work a treat. The best we have found is the orange not the OEM replacement. They do have a bit of resistance when pumping as they use a flap not a ball, it can also be cut off or for the leading edge just use a 2way valve. I haven't used it yet but the kite fix kits also have a glue for re-glueing valves.
Not sure who imports flexifoil but they were looking for reps in one of the mags not long ago.
Hi rwtaaffe
We are the distributors of flexifoil now, we took over at the beginning of this year.
We have the 08 Atom 7m bladders sets in stock.
Where in NSW are you? i will point you to your nearest Flexifoil retailer.
Regards,
Dan
Go to KitePower or to a dive shop and buy some neoprene wetsuit repair glue and put them back on. (I've tried everything--wetsuit repair glue is by far the best.)
Use a 2.5kg dumbell weight to hold the valve in place with pressure over the bladder while the glue dries. Make sure none of the glue goes through the valve hole and sticks the bladder together or you will have an even bigger problem.
Once this glue dries there is nothing that will get it off.
