let's talk bridle science

Ozones adjustable bridle makes a difference you can feel. C4 had them in 2011? and now the enduro takes it one knot further. Its a simple set up that works for me.

Just wait a while and you'll notice where the pulleys wear on the rope slide up or get rid of the pulleys tie loop at this spot n add short pigtails to suit and adjust line length you will then have a kite with no pulleys and faster turning

Yeah, a little over SB bull**** topics and newbys asking if they need lessons. Gets old quick.

Any kite designers wanna put there 2cents worth in.

Love to know what makes a good bridle and a bad bridle.

What works best for what type of riding?

How do I want the kite to sit for what type of riding?

What's the deal with pulleys?
If they are so crappy and unreliable then why have them at all??

Explain the difference in bridle system from SLE to bow kites??

Could you make a kite more / less like a bow kite / SLE by changing bridles?

How does that 2015 RPM bridle work, still havnt seen one in the flesh but looks cool?

What's going to make it turn fast / slow?

What the f*** is "drift" ????

Its a damn shame that this forum has such crap in it at times. Politics fantasy and fairy tales.

There's a lot of us that wanna learn & know more.
Board set up.
Materials.
Repairs
Customising
Line lengths.
Line work
Low V & high V
Tech tips
Kite review
Spot review
Beaches with good looking woman
Poleys who've had their car broken into...
And poleys cars we have broken into!!

My god, have you ever read the 'how to' section, its a goddamn disappointment. Less talk about how busy WA is to kite. Oh god, is any body else sick of people asking "who has right of way??"...... Christ!!...... The guy megalooping, just stay the f*** outta his way, got it!! Godammit!!

OK. I have some experience in this area.

Now I am not a flight engineer or someone with exemplatory skills in aero dynamics, but I found the old "trial and error" technique worked for me.

Case in point?

My Slingshot 2007 Link 12m kite. Considered one of the most dangerous, most hindenburg of all kites in the world, yet I managed to redo the entire bridle system and it flies really well now.

The re-launches are still a hit and miss, but it does re-launch after some persistence. It has great depower. It now has good upwind ability.

I also converted a Peter Lynn Waterfoil 5.7 kite from its original crappy fixed-bridle setup into a depower system, with pulleys. I admit, that "Ian B" here in Townsville, is a very well renowned foil kite maker and kite engineer with many decades of experience. He had a Waterfoil and I simply copied his design, which he also turned into a depower bridled kite. His kite flies on anything from 7knots to 25knots and has a lot of pull. However, he managed to redo the insides of the kite as well to give it more upwind performance. I did not get it to that point yet.

Anyway, the point is you need patience, persistence and experience flying kites in general. Modifying a kite is not for a beginner by any stretch of the imagination. However, if you're confident in kite control, abilities and know how to handle dangerous situations, then I highly recommend giving it a go, especially with older kites to give them new life.

Back to the Slingshot Link:

I simply removed all its original bridles. I then bought an old and damaged 2nd hand Cabrinha Switchblade, but with its bridle lines intact. It was a great buy as I also scored bladders, valves, connectors, etc. Anyway, I sought out the Switchblade because the profile of the kite is similar to the Link. The bridle points are different of course.

I took apart all of the bridles from the Switchblade, but made a note of the distances from the bridle points to the end of the original bridles, of the Link. I replaced the bridles entirely over, and shortened sections to try and keep the distances the same.

Eventually, after testing, flying, hindenburging, and nose collapses, I simply kept modifying the bridles until it flew with more and more stability. Anyway, after about 2 months of testing, I managed to get it to fly well and did a few static flights just testing its ability on the wind window. Held well I thought.

Over to the surf! Wow.... first time out and I was powered in 12knots easily. Upwind was an issue, so I tried a more higher Y-point to get the tips of the kite to pull in a bit more and allow the wind to fly faster over the outside of the kite giving it more pull upwind. It worked!

I don't have videos or photos, but I am happy to take a pic of the kite's bridles and show you. The red-bridles that Slingshot recommended for the Link was also crap. I tried it as per the PDF instructions (google it) and the kite flew like a lead balloon with little control.

So yeah, worth a go in learning a lot I reckon. DO it!

I had a go at this twice. Once using an existing bridal. I added some small extensions in sections from old kites and put a crap load of figure 8 knots evenly on it to tighten the bridal where necessary.

This worked great. I think I got lucky and the kite flew amazingly.

I also tried with purchased rope from the sailing shop, but I couldn't get it a professional, as I cant spice, so this was a bit average.

So Ragzilla - sounds like you are trying to surpass the endless hours of a huge number of kite companies to achieve Nivana - and come up with the perfect kite !

Sort that one out and watch us all line up to buy the Ragzilla 'one kite suits all' super model !! the aerodynamics of the different range of kite profiles means they all need something a little different to get them to be friendly items to sell to the generally apathetic kiting community ( no negative intentions there - most people just want their new toy to work and dont really know much about the ' how ' bit)

Simply put the front lines take the load and the rear lines change angle of attack and turn the canopy - simple really !! but then we change the kite profile (low/high ) and all hell breaks loose if we use the same attachment points - oh and then throw in a bridal ??
So big kite brands don't look for the optimum bridal/ line configuration ??? - I reckon that they work pretty damn hard to make sure their product works really well right out of the bag - occasionally someone may find a unique change to make an awesome kite even better - Griffins upgraded bridal would be an example of that evolution process.

When it come to pulley or direct connections - are you a holden or a ford man - both work really well on the right kite ! I fly a brand of kite that uses pulleys and simply love what I fly - and I have another brand of kite that has no pullies and its just not a kite that I choose unless I really have to pump it up - Im sure others on here with have the opposite experience !!
You are spending far too much time thinking about the how - and just not getting on with the water time!!! LOL

#rpmiswhat

So ignoring cost for now, is a true custom kite practicle or is there just too much R&D required to get it right, alternatively based on what you are saying is it possible to have basic kite frame with a full custom bridle? Like a shaper with 1 blank, that can produce many different board styles, as a comparison

There is years fo R&D to get a kite right, and then get a bridle right, and its always imporving, I think there are 3 main kite shapes for racing ( long thin ) freestyle C shape and waves/freeride/allround ( more medium aspect). Ignoring dedicated 5 or 4 line C kites and race kites, a all round do everything kite could come with a wave bridle, a fast agile bridle, a beginner friendly bridle and a freestyle friendly bridle, a bridle is about 80% of how the kite fly's and feels, so there is a lot you can do with the bridle.


Now for costs and presuming there would be a market, what would the cost for a custom kite or full custom bridle?

Ok, brands need to sell kites, the best way to do this is offer a new kite every year that makes your old kite redundant with new features ( marketing hype ) I think brands may not want to offer bridle upgrades because this may reduce the chance of buyers buying new kites each year.

I think many riders hold on to kites for 2-3 years regardless, I think if there is a good performance upgrade available then why not be able to have the latest performing kite and be able to get a new bridle once a year, and a new feel like new kite without having to get a new kite. Bride upgrades are about $80, I think custom kites would not work, as need to buy bulk kites, and many kites are custom for racing, waves, free ride etc.

Would someone pay 20-30% over retail for this service? i know i would consider it, as i imagine i would then use that kite until it completely dies, hence being cheaper in the long run.

I think people wont pay $4000 for a custom kite ( unless they want the latest race kite, thats redundant 1 year later), but given the chance would happily pay $80 to $120 to get a new better performing bridle each year for there current kite, or be able to choose a bridle to do a style better. Thats what I am working on.

Fast kite with awesome bottom and top end. Why isn't every1 making fast kites then?
Because many people are not use to a very fast kites, from giving many lessons most beginners want a forgiving slower kite, some wave riders and freestyle want a slow kite so they can focus on tricks, waves or learning, I watch people not use to a fast kite drop the kite, or continually push the bar out and wonder why they stopped going. I have watched many people fly a fast agile kite i love, and over turn the kite, over depower the kite, and because they are not use to it, not like it, and prefer the slower one.

I thought it was "limited" by design and way it delivers power, stability, flying angles etc.
Its part kite design and most part bridle setup

Could only imagine kinda of new style of kite or at least compromise in some part. I know i could fly fast kite slowly, but... can i fly slow kite fast? No.

Sounds like perfect kite if u pull out reasonable range :D No sarcasm, ill buy it in the future for sure if it turns out even close to that perfect :D

That's what I am working on just now, releasing something soon, will look forward to feedback