I have a couple of Crazyfly kites, nine and a 12, which are in good condition and were very user friendly. Unfortunately the tropical climate in Fiji stuffed the bladders up to the degree where they have to be replaced.

I attempted to contact Crazyfly but help was not forthcoming.

Does anyone in Australia make aftermarket bladders?

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japie said..
I have a couple of Crazyfly kites, nine and a 12, which are in good condition and were very user friendly. Unfortunately the tropical climate in Fiji stuffed the bladders up to the degree where they have to be replaced.

I attempted to contact Crazyfly but help was not forthcoming.

Does anyone in Australia make aftermarket bladders?

A French company does heaps of brands, it'll come to me, I'll let you know, if it's just valves, ryan Crawford the sail doctors your man

Dr Tuba or something similar does a bundle of bladder brands.

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cauncy said..

japie said..
I have a couple of Crazyfly kites, nine and a 12, which are in good condition and were very user friendly. Unfortunately the tropical climate in Fiji stuffed the bladders up to the degree where they have to be replaced.

I attempted to contact Crazyfly but help was not forthcoming.

Does anyone in Australia make aftermarket bladders?

A French company does heaps of brands, it'll come to me, I'll let you know, if it's just valves, ryan Crawford the sail doctors your man

wanikou.com

Thanks

How does the climate effect the bladders?

Would think the heat would effect valve and inflate seals more

It depends on which process was used to install the valves in the factory. In recent years, manufacturers started to plastic weld the valves to the bladders. This process ensure the valves won't come off even when exposed to heat (i.e. kite left in a hot car).

Most older kites (before 2015) had valves that were glued on the bladders. Valves that were glued on are very prone to peeling off after a lot of exposure to salt water + heat.

Christian

If you're on a budget, do what I do, buy a similar size/style 2nd/3rd hand kite with the same number of bladders, instead of buying new bladders and valves. Just a heads-up: FixMyKite valves use TearAid-A stick-on patches, where unfortunately the valve itself self-peels in hotter climates or summer months. The tear-aid sticks, but not the valve - over time! And please don't flame me with "you're not doing it right" line. I've been doing it right for over 5 years and I can assure you, TearAid-A is formulated for mild temperatures and non-humid environments. The glue itself doesn't even set! It stays "wet". Just something to be aware of.
Anyway, here's what I do:
Measure one of the strut bladders from the 2nd hand kite to make sure it's at least as long as or slightly longer than one of your current bladders (pick any strut. once you know the bladder on the kite is longer, then all the struts will/should be longer).
It doesn't matter if the bladders on this old kite are leaking or damaged. As long as the kites not older than yours (ie. the bladders are not older than your originals).
Next take out all the bladders of your kite and mark them like (mykite1, mykite2, etc).
Take all the bladders off the 2nd-hand kite and do the same, but like Other1, Other2, etc. If any have valves, bonus as you can re-use them.
Now comes the patience part.
Lay all your bladders on the floor and fold them to be exactly in half (tip-to-tip). Mark a line across the bladder where the fold is. Do the same with all the other bladders and the other kite's bladders.
Now lay each one next to each other (one parallel to the other - not on top!) and align them where the middle lines you've marked earlier overlap. Make sure the two bladders are dead flat and aligned with the middle of each other's bladder. A ruler should help here. To be sure they don't move, place a slight weight on each end.
Look for the holes/valve locations of your bladder and using a square draw a line and cross-over that line on the other kite's bladder, where the center of the holes are. If you're lucky the old (2nd hand kite) bladder's holes will line-up with your existing bladder's holes. If not, just mark them anyway, so you know where to make new holes.
The old holes that do not align, you're going to have to cover them with a piece of spare bladder and a "certain" glue. I'll let you do your own research there!
Once you have all your "new" bladders marked out and the old holes covered up, simply lift off the cross-hairs where you've marked where the hole should be, and make a small round cut. Be very careful not to cut through the other side of the bladder! Mark the new hole to make it stand out so you don't forget where it is. Repeat until all the new bladders have the new holes.
Now all you have to do is clean the area with an alcohol wipe and place your new valve over it. Repeat again with the other holes.
There! You have a whole new set of bladders ready to put back into your kite.
Let us know how you go.

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cbulota said..
It depends on which process was used to install the valves in the factory. In recent years, manufacturers started to plastic weld the valves to the bladders. This process ensure the valves won't come off even when exposed to heat (i.e. kite left in a hot car).

They still peel unfortunately. Not soon from new, but after a few years, they peel off. The process is called electric-high frequency plastic weld.

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NorthernKitesAUS said..
If you're on a budget, do what I do, buy a similar size/style 2nd/3rd hand kite with the same number of bladders, instead of buying new bladders and valves. Just a heads-up: FixMyKite valves use TearAid-A stick-on patches, where unfortunately the valve itself self-peels in hotter climates or summer months. The tear-aid sticks, but not the valve - over time! And please don't flame me with "you're not doing it right" line. I've been doing it right for over 5 years and I can assure you, TearAid-A is formulated for mild temperatures and non-humid environments. The glue itself doesn't even set! It stays "wet". Just something to be aware of.
Anyway, here's what I do:
Measure one of the strut bladders from the 2nd hand kite to make sure it's at least as long as or slightly longer than one of your current bladders (pick any strut. once you know the bladder on the kite is longer, then all the struts will/should be longer).
It doesn't matter if the bladders on this old kite are leaking or damaged. As long as the kites not older than yours (ie. the bladders are not older than your originals).
Next take out all the bladders of your kite and mark them like (mykite1, mykite2, etc).
Take all the bladders off the 2nd-hand kite and do the same, but like Other1, Other2, etc. If any have valves, bonus as you can re-use them.
Now comes the patience part.
Lay all your bladders on the floor and fold them to be exactly in half (tip-to-tip). Mark a line across the bladder where the fold is. Do the same with all the other bladders and the other kite's bladders.
Now lay each one next to each other (one parallel to the other - not on top!) and align them where the middle lines you've marked earlier overlap. Make sure the two bladders are dead flat and aligned with the middle of each other's bladder. A ruler should help here. To be sure they don't move, place a slight weight on each end.
Look for the holes/valve locations of your bladder and using a square draw a line and cross-over that line on the other kite's bladder, where the center of the holes are. If you're lucky the old (2nd hand kite) bladder's holes will line-up with your existing bladder's holes. If not, just mark them anyway, so you know where to make new holes.
The old holes that do not align, you're going to have to cover them with a piece of spare bladder and a "certain" glue. I'll let you do your own research there!
Once you have all your "new" bladders marked out and the old holes covered up, simply lift off the cross-hairs where you've marked where the hole should be, and make a small round cut. Be very careful not to cut through the other side of the bladder! Mark the new hole to make it stand out so you don't forget where it is. Repeat until all the new bladders have the new holes.
Now all you have to do is clean the area with an alcohol wipe and place your new valve over it. Repeat again with the other holes.
There! You have a whole new set of bladders ready to put back into your kite.
Let us know how you go.

All sounds pretty logical. I've become quite adept at removing, repairing and replacing bladders having bought three kites which were part of a batch which failed on first use. The Cazyfly blades were my first attempts at repair and I pretty much destroyed them in the process.

Bit sad really because the nine meter Sculp is one of the nicer kites I have flown and I have used quite a few brands in the past 14 years.