I've got the LF CPR bar.
Below bar depower sucks!

I can only depower if landed on the edge of the window or when blasting down wind, pulling the power lines with one hand trying to pull in some depower strap with the other hand.
as an added bonus - once depowered, the pulled in strap frequently whacks my balls.

has anyone converted this piece of crap to above bar depower?
If yes, how easy is this?
how does it affect throw length?
where to get parts?

thanks!

a conversion could cost as much as a new bar by the time you finished fooling around looking for parts just go buy a new above bar system or get a second hand complete above bar system and just do the change over. I have a slingshot below bars set up and yeah I recon it sux lol but I like the bar and oh **** handles haha

Should be fairly simple. Just add a pulley block (http://switchkites.com/regulator.html) to the trim line above the stopper ball.

Yes you would lose a whole load of throw. You can get some back by adding line extensions to the backlines and moving the v a bit higher but its not an elegant solution.

Easier to pick up a cheap new bar as end of season change over stock (Zeeko/Takoon/etc clones) or secondhand other brand bar and then sell your unmodified bar when you change your kite. But then I like to have a spare bar for emergencies (like when one of your idiot mates borrows your kite, crashes it, punches out, drags in and leaves you with a spaghetti mess - with a spare bar you just unroll another set of lines and tell him to get on with untangling them whilst you go out on the water)

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junglejim1971 said...
a conversion could cost as much as a new bar by the time you finished fooling around looking for parts just go buy a new above bar system or get a second hand complete above bar system and just do the change over. I have a slingshot below bars set up and yeah I recon it sux lol but I like the bar and oh **** handles haha

Slingshot do both above and below now. I always wanted above the bar so when ss braught it out i was stoked. Its funny because now i actually much prefer the below bar. I have both (9m bar is below 12 is above)

I love the cpr bar. Below the bar rules unless it's nuking and gusty.

Takes some practice, get off your edge and pull the dower simple

Ive found unhooked my kites don't tomohawk any more just clip your leash around the depower ropes knob. Soft crash every time.

I just find I have to stop what I'm doing and yank the crap out of the line to loosen up the cleat to adjust . ahh well who cares I'm on the water having fun I usually forget about stopping within seconds after I am moving again lol

Your depower is at your feet, rarely touch my depower, if on a directional then certainly reqd,
Most 4 line bars will fit with an above clam cleat

If your de power is hitting you in the balls your on the wrong size kite. The kite would fly so sh!t with that much depower.

Add some pigtails to the back lines for adjustment so you can tune to conditions easier... and not pull the depower so far

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glendog said..
If your de power is hitting you in the balls your on the wrong size kite. The kite would fly so sh!t with that much depower.

or your front lines are stretched and you need to pull in 10cm to even them out. then another 10cm if depower is needed and all of sudden your balls are in the danger zone again.
thought about pig tails but my real problem is the bloody below bar depower that is impossible to (easily) adjust. powering back up is even harder than depowering.

I think below bar depower sucks too, its not a natural strong way to depower a kite, Im amazed that there are $700 2017 name brand bars out there with below bar depower and no above or below bar swivel.

I have made above bar depower systems using comon available parts, very easy if you know how.

you need some dynema line, a ring and a clam cleat, then add the above bar depower to your current bar with some knots

www.cleats.co.uk/browse-by-activity/kitesurfing/cl826-11-aero-cleat-for-4-6mm-ropes.html

i have the cpr bar and love the system set it once and forget. if you have pulled on that much depower you kite is over sized for the wind. There is two holes on the chicken loop to put the end of the depower line in. also if you connect tor safety leash to the end of the depower line 90%depower suicide mode it seems to make it hang on the side of the chicken loop. i also hook in with the depower line facing up to me not down to the water.

Honestly it would cost maybe $30 to convert it and pretty simple to do, but they are a pretty clean and simple system as they are. If you are having issues pulling your depower try turning the chicken loop upside down so the cleat is on the bottom, some people find it easier to use that way. If your in Brisbane I could help you change it.

For a above bar cleat you could also use the cleat that is designed for adjusting trapeze harness lengths. You will find this in your local marine chandler.

thanks everyone
I'll just extend my front lines for now and wait until I need to replace anything major and then upgrade to a bar with above bar depower
I like the look of the cabrinha and new LF bars

I have 2 CPR bars (below the bar sux), both converted easy and cheap - posted details awhile ago when someone asked the same Q will try and find it.

edit - copy from previous:

This makes a fixed length throw, above the bar trim. So the first thing you want to do is work out how long you want the throw, I played with the stopper on the factory setup for a couple of sessions to work out my preferred length throw, measured it (wrote it down). When I did mates, his is setup with a "short arms" throw length - it's a personal length. The trim strap handle can be secured with velcro. The factory CPR has a hard tube and stopper ball on the end of the trim (de-power) rope, the ball is reused with the tube cut down to about 30mm in length.
Parts I used:
1. Cleat: CL826-11 - http://www.clamcleat.com/cleats/cleat_details.asp?theid2=167 - this is available on-line, from a sailing shop like whitworths or even some kite shops might sell it. Pretty sure I paid about $18 each. Make sure you use the alloy cleat (there is a plastic version). This is the same cleat as used by Ozone and a few other manufacturers...
2. Velcro: $10 from spotlight gets enough to do more than 20 conversions.
3. small stainless screws - 2/conversion needed - 6 gauge x 1/4inch
4. home made handle for the end - 25mm webbing + loop part of velcro from above. I sat down and made 6 of these (in blue and some in orange) in about 20 minutes on the mrs' sewing machine. If you don't have access to a machine or someone who can do it, there are similar available online, try Switch Kites spare parts. Some manufacturers like ozone use a magnetic handle with a magnetic cover over the cleat instead of velcro.

Undo the current bar at the handle, remove the hard tube, stopper and handle off the trim rope. ** From the pics below you can see I also removed the throw length stopper to enable full movement of the bar (the cleat now acts as the stopper), if you are removing it, you need to feed the front line attached to the safety all the way through to be able to get rid of the stopper. with nothing on the end of the trim rope feed it back out of the bar and pulley (at swivel) - now feed it through the new cleat base and back around the pulley, and into the new cleat. Good time to replace the trim rope if it is a bit old - we are using 6mm double braid from the offcuts bin at whitworths (about $3).
** very important - the cleat position will determine the throw length, position it so the bar can move the length you decided at the very first step. Put the round stopper back on and slide it right up the rope, now (only hard part) slide the 30mm bit of hard tube over the rope and all the way up. Time to tune your lines to determine how long the trim rope needs to be and set position of stopper ball/tube/webbing handle - couple of good youtube clips on line tuning. The stopper ball should be over the tube as it is in factory fit and will be against the cleat when fully powered with tuned lines. Cut the trim rope at the end of the tube with a hot knife - soldering iron also works to seal the end. The webbing handle is now screwed into the hard tube (and rope) with 2 small stainless screws. Final step - glue the hook part of the velcro to the cleat, I wrapped it around 3 sides.

costs roughly $22-25 per bar. Hope this helps, between my friends, we have done this on 6 bars now. You can use parts from ozone or switch to save making anything, I made the handles because it was free (had the webbing) and a lot quicker than waiting for parts to arrive.

Thanks heaps mate, this is good stuff

Harlie, legend mate, that is exactly what I've wanted to do to my old CPR bars. I feel a modification session is due!

I love how the LF HiFis fly, but the below bar depower is so damn bad, I actually began hating flying them. It's a flawed design - to not be able to adjust the trim of a kite on the fly, simply, without any stuffing around, is backwards design in my book. Above bar is just so much cleaner, and leverage-wise, a no brainer.

I swore I'd never go LF again, and warn people against them, but love the kites so may pull them out the cupboard and dust em off if I mod the bars to above bar/cleat setup!

hi
done exactly that on naish bar.
used auro cleat and converted to above bar.
easy as.
original setup was crap and crazy hard to de power.
see pice the others have posted.
just make you keep same lengths on everything.

I'm currently in the process of doing this conversion.
All is going well but:
I'm not too happy with the reduced throw length.
I was thinking about getting a longer flag line to move the V up higher and then adding some pig tails to even out the difference in line length.

Where can I get a custom flag line made? It's basically a standard Liquid Force one plus the added length of a pigtail.

Cheers

Hi
I converted my Naish park below bar depower which was dangerous to an above bar depower.
cost me some new depower line and a depower cleat and initially look imposable .
I still have to kite (10mtr) and works a treat and I've used it for 3 seasons.

There is a story in there somewhere im guessing...