Hey guys,

I've just started riding with my 11m Cabrinha Revolver HD and I've been having trouble not teabagging! I have been riding a Hyperlite Parks 134 wakeboard with kite straps and it is a fair bit heavier than a kiteboard. On sunday I was riding in the surf and when I dive the kite I get enough power to get me up and riding but I need to keep figure8-ing to keep moving! Conditions were about 15knots. I also tried a Liquid Force Menace 12m with similar sorta results, up and riding... plonk... up and riding... etc. Later my footstrap came unscrewed from my wakeboard so I had a go on my mates surfboard with no straps. On his 6'3" board I could actually ride along and stay out of the water, even changing tack and riding upwind (Even caught a wave!!) On the same day I saw guys a similar size to me riding 12m North Rebels and they could just keep the kite in one position and ride along until changing tack.

Could it be my board or is there something obvious that I am doing wrong with my technique? I have only had a kite lesson and never had a board lesson... probably will the weekend after next if conditions allow. Any pointers would be much appreciated!! Thanks guys!

maybe you are trying too hard to go up wind, try to get some speed up before you edge really hard.
either that or time to sheet your kite in a bit.

im bored at work today so im gonna reply to all topics i think

Heheh thanks for the quick reply :) I think you might be onto something with the edging too soon... but if I go straight downwind on takeoff I end up with slack lines and I have to start edging until the kite picks up the slack again.

yea, that will happen on light wind days, I usually just sheet in and staay on top of the water by not edging too hard until the tension is back.

Seems like it might be time to venture from the middle pigtail knots on the rear lines to the short ones... I have suspected that is the reason that this kite also wont stay in the sky if you let go of the bar, it just gradually falls to whatever side of 12 o'clock it is at unless you sheet in and turn it back up... I have just been scared to set the kit to 'ball-tearer' mode while I'm learning!

I like it!!


its pretty much impossible to get into one of those out of control spped runs with a new kite, even on the last knot (or whichever the most sheeted in one is) the kite will still have enough depower to slow you down

sounds like you are not powered enough. you need more wind to get going on a wakeboard because of the extra rocker, especially if its choppy.

So would using the shorter pigtail knots on the back lines help in these conditions or should I stick with a bigger board or kite? The Liquidforce Menace 12m I rode (being an old C-kite) had more balls but didnt depower as much, kinda pulled all the time no matter where it was in the window... made getting the board on really difficult, that was why I switched back to the Cab...

It is definitely your board, toss the wakeboard and get a kiteboard.

as stamp says it all about the rocker.

I'll have to find someone to lend me a proper kiteboard and try it. After spening $1100 on a kite I am a bit reluctant to buy a kiteboard right away if it is me flying the kite like a kook that is causing the problem! I'll see if my boss will let me have a crack on his Liquid Force kite board... I'm pretty sure it is a 152cm! Until I saw it I didnt realise they even came that big!

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Travesso said...

I'll have to find someone to lend me a proper kiteboard and try it. After spening $1100 on a kite I am a bit reluctant to buy a kiteboard right away if it is me flying the kite like a kook that is causing the problem! I'll see if my boss will let me have a crack on his Liquid Force kite board... I'm pretty sure it is a 152cm! Until I saw it I didnt realise they even came that big!

152 that used to be a tiny kiteboard (in the old days)

I think he only bought it new last year

So would shortening the back lines make the kite more likely to stay up at 12 o'clock when you let go of the bar instead of just slowly crashing to one side? I'm interested in trimming the kite for optimal performance but I dont want to get my arse kicked either!

Another question... hehehe.. Does anybody know how the power/depower strap works in the middle of the 08 Cab Revolver bar? pulling on either of the cords (black or red ball) doesnt do anything. The cords are elastic and just spring back into position. I couldnt really pull either real hard on sunday cuz the kite would just die because it would shorten the front lines too much. Eventually I assume I'll be looking at unhooking and I wanna make sure I can trim the kite properly...

Travesso mate, howz it all going? I remember you saying you wanted to save money by using your McGiver wakeboard.

how heavy are you? In 15 knts of wind I will struggle but be OK on my 13 Rev. The 12 rebels are a great lightwind kite too.

Definately get yourself a kiteboard, but in a bit more wind like 20+ knts on an 11m you should get up on just about anything. I reckon it must have been a bit light but I werent there and you might have just been gumby.

In regards to your kite setup, try shortening your rear lines by using different knot settings, but if you can choke the kite with the bar in fully then you need to depower it a bit by either the knots or your depower strap.

The kite is choking if: put the kite in neutral above you, pull the bar in all the way. If the kite slowly flys backwards then you are choking it.

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Another question... hehehe.. Does anybody know how the power/depower strap works in the middle of the 08 Cab Revolver bar? pulling on either of the cords (black or red ball) doesnt do anything. The cords are elastic and just spring back into position. I couldnt really pull either real hard on sunday cuz the kite would just die because it would shorten the front lines too much. Eventually I assume I'll be looking at unhooking and I wanna make sure I can trim the kite properly...

Surely you can work that one out yourself? Unwind your lines on the beach and have a play. I reckon if you pull the red it depowers, and if you pull the black it powers (or could be the other way around).

It just trims your front lines. Have a good play around with it before you go out again!!

If your kite is falling from the sky if you let go of the bar then your stopperball isnt set right. I reckon you need to read your user manual and have a good play around and be familiar with your bar setup.

Also most learners have the tendency to try signing the kite (figure 8's) on the edge of the window. On light days you need to do this in about the middle of the window and as you get cruising move it towards the edge.

Hey Walshy, hows things? Yeah the ol' McGyver might not be working out for me now hehehe... The wind was a bit light on but I'm prepared for the fact that it also had a lot to do with me being a gumby hehehe.. Although on a stronger wind day I did manage to get up and riding and even caught a wave! Might need to put some straps in a surfboard for the lighter days... or just drop the cash on a KITEboard!

I did read the user manual thoroughly when I got the kite and I do understand what the trim strap does, but it is just a weird setup on the Cabs that I guess I'll just have to figure out on the beach as you say. The LF kite I was flying has a simple strap that runs through a buckle like you get on backpack straps, you pull one end it shortens, you pull the other end and it undoes it again. The weird thing with the Cabrinha setup is the elastic cords, you must have to pull the hell out of them to do anything!

On the Cabrinha bar, the stopper ball only has 1 position I think, as it has a fixed point on the depower line, there is a clip that goes around it that releases if you push it past (into 'bypass' depower mode) which is like a oh sh1t function. The stopper ball can only fix onto that point where the bypass clip is, as that point is fixed to the depower line. I guess the answer must lie in shortening the rear lines at the kite as this would have the same effect as moving the stopper ball closer to the chicken loop (if you were actually able to).

Yeh our winds have almost finished up here in south oz. It was blowin on the weekend but I'm still awaiting for my new board since I snapped my old faithful the other week. It rained the whole time anyway so I didnt miss out on much.

Yeh I'm not too familair with the Cabs, but I thought you could bring the stopper a bit closer to shorten your throw?

If you have a spare $500 you should be able to get a sweet board. It should have been good practice flyin the kite tho. In lightish days its good practice to try and sign the kite nice and smoothly and get familiar with your baby.

Good luck with it all!!

Thanks mate, I saw your picture of the damage to your board... thats some serious work you did there!! I'd be spewin if I did that to a $500-$1000 investment! I hope you can get it fixed or replaced on warranty!

I'll have a look at the instructions and the ball itself again in more detail and see how I go... Thanks for your help!

Board size and types make a big difference.

I have a 132 underground FLX and a 149 Slingshot Glide

I'll use the Glide under 15knts. It really isnt made for anything else, just a purpose built lightwind board. It has no rocker and 0.5cm concave, with a foam core to save weight and reduce flex. Over 15knts it aint much fun.

The flx is a good allrounder and very comfy. The board had run out of warranty but the guys at underground were legends and gave me a new 08flx for $350. So it actually worked out cheaper than selling my board and upgrading.

Cheers again Underground!!

Jeez mate thats alright! With after sales service like that I can see why people rate Underground gear! I'll have to keep an eye out for a good cheap underground board to get started on

Trav,

You should be able to answer this from your own first post.

You couldn't get going on the wakeboard, but could on a surfboard. It is the board.

If you search this forum there are many queries about using wakeboards and every one I have read someone has said they are absolute crap to learn on. JayP and Stamp have said why, and I know JayP tried the same thing when he was learning and said it was the worst mistake he made. I have heard of some more advanced riders using certain types, but that is only in dead flat water, and they use them for tricks.

Regarding your comment on the kite falling out of the sky.

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So would shortening the back lines make the kite more likely to stay up at 12 o'clock when you let go of the bar instead of just slowly crashing to one side?

No - inflatables do this by design. Let go of the bar and they fall to one side. They don't auto zenith (go back to 12 o'clock). Some ram foils do this though.

Shortening the back lines will increase the power for a given bar position, but it will also shift the stall point away from you as well. In light winds this means you can get maximum power where you normally have the bar in cruising mode, but pulling the bar all the way in may stall the kite. I do not recommend this if you are learning as it will likely give you more grief than benefit. Fix the board issue first and try again in a bit more wind, it will help more.

So inflatables dont auto zenith by design hey? Here I was thinking something was wrong with my kite! Of interest I have found that the Liquidforce Menace C kite I was flying was a lot more stable and tended to stay up around zenith for longer than my Cab Revolver HD SLE, but at the same time that kite doesnt depower much at all either!

I figured that the board must have had a lot to do with it, especially when I got up and riding on the surf board! But you know the old addage, "a poor tradesman blames his tools" hehe I didnt want to blame it if I was the one doing something fundametally wrong :) I will maybe keep trying with surfboards until I get the coin to buy a decent kiteboard... with the crap winds this time of year I will probably need to ride my 6'8"!! Maybe my budget might send me away from twin-tips and straps all together ... Actually, nah! Screw that! I wanna boost big, thats what got me into the sport from wakeboarding! hehe

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Travesso said...

So inflatables dont auto zenith by design hey? Here I was thinking something was wrong with my kite! Of interest I have found that the Liquidforce Menace C kite I was flying was a lot more stable and tended to stay up around zenith for longer than my Cab Revolver HD SLE, but at the same time that kite doesnt depower much at all either!

Yeah I find C's and hybrids (I ride a Vapor) like to stay in the air longer than SLE's/Bows. Likely because they have more curvature in the profile.