I'm having some issues with a 9m North Dice I bought last year.

I have all the original lines (22m) and bar, and I havent adjusted the set up at all. But when I'm flying the kite, especially in stronger winds, the leading edge of the kite folds inwards at the tips; imagine if there was an extreme C kite that actually turned back in at the tips. I know the dice is supposed to be pumped up to 9psi, higher than other kites, but it seems like the bridle is pulling the front edge in and crippling the kite in the air.

Anyone had any similar issues? Or suggestions how I can fix it?

It's 6 PSI mate and no, I have never had any dramas, sounds like your kite is over powered ???

It's a first generation kite so is bound to have a few issues that need some attention. I'd give it a couple of years before buying a fluffy. Bring on the red thumbs from the north faithful.

It's a long shot, but maybe this might help.

I've had issues with 2 year old Rebels flying poorly - lower jumps, bad upwind.

I measured the pigtails and nose V, found them to be 5 to 10cm different from the length printed on the lines. I removed all lines (super easy, takes 5 minutes), washed them well in warm water with soap, gave them a good tug (lines were all 2 to 4 cm longer after washing) and put them back and the kites flew much better. I now do it once or twice a year. The theory is that dirt caught inside the line makes it fatter therefore shorter. Sounds crazy but it's 10 minutes work so maybe worth a try?

Also if you fly your Dice on 5 lines you must measure both the 5th line length on the bar and the V nose line pigtail once in a while. If they drift out of spec by even 1 cm I can feel the difference on the Rebels. A little experimentation with an adjustable 5th line pigtail can bring in a lot of performance improvement.

Hi Probabli
Interesting!! i have ridden the dice for two years now and got to know it very well. If there is not enough air in the kite it will tend to be very unstable in the air when over powered. The tips will come together and the kite will charge to the front of the window and open up with a bang. Bit like riding a bucking horse ( I think).
The other issue you may have is the 4 line dice is way more stable and more power full than the 5 line. The angle from the centre line split is 10 meters lower on the 4 line set up making the kite more stable and the leading edge maintain its shape better when over powered.
I have been ridding the new 2015 dice for a few months now and it is again more stable and has even more drift than last year.
Hope this helps.

I think you're reading the psi upside-down.

I've one, okay, 3 of these 2014 DICE and don't have a problem.

Under-inflated? My guess is you don't have anywhere near 9 (or 6psi) in the bladders (don't trust the dinky pressure gauge on the pump) Or you have a leak and its going down during the session. Pump it up hard... or you weigh 150 kg and you are flying in 40 knot wind. There are no issues with the dice if pumped properly. Its a great allrounder and easy to fly kite. With one post I'd maybe guess you are just starting out kiting? .. Most beginners including me when I started don't pump their kites up enough.

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pintofpale said..
Under-inflated? My guess is you don't have anywhere near 9 (or 6psi) in the bladders (don't trust the dinky pressure gauge on the pump) Or you have a leak and its going down during the session. Pump it up hard... or you weigh 150 kg and you are flying in 40 knot wind. There are no issues with the dice if pumped properly. Its a great allrounder and easy to fly kite. With one post I'd maybe guess you are just starting out kiting? .. Most beginners including me when I started don't pump their kites up enough.

Should be "pingy" to the finger flick - noticed the dice does need to be much harder than some others, scary as **** when they jelly in high wind though (all kites- not dice specific)

It is a construction fault from the first batch, long read but the bloke who posted had the exact same problem. He exhausted all possible operator issues but still had issues ie inflated to 10 psi, checked line lengths etc etc.

kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2384933&hilit=north+dice+issue


In particular, read page 6 where the North rep makes reference to construction faults in the earlier models:

"@No Idea (and anyone else who sees the issue he describes with their kite) Ralf also noted that some early prototypes had issues such as you're describing due to errors on the production side, so if you continue to see problems with your kite deforming while in its normal windrange, please get photos to your retailer that shows the problems. Just to reiterate, though, as with any three strut kite, if you're way overpowered and have your depower pulled but are still lit, you are pushing the upper limits of the kite and some deformation is to be expected (even 5-strut kites will start deforming a bit in these conditions)."

Thanks for the responses guys. A mate of mine also told me to try running the lines out to see if everything is the right length. I'll try all these fixes this weekend, but if none of the work then I'll take the advice of Gumby and send in a photo.

EDIT: Gumby, Just went through that thread and after filtering out all the bull**** that people were talking, it sounds like this problem has happened for a few people. I was out in 30+knts and weigh 100 kgs so the kite was definitely fully powered, but I don't reckon the kite should just give up the way that it does. I'll take it past a north dealer this weekend and hopefully they can fix the issue.

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sarc said..
It's a long shot, but maybe this might help.

I've had issues with 2 year old Rebels flying poorly - lower jumps, bad upwind.

I measured the pigtails and nose V, found them to be 5 to 10cm different from the length printed on the lines. I removed all lines (super easy, takes 5 minutes), washed them well in warm water with soap, gave them a good tug (lines were all 2 to 4 cm longer after washing) and put them back and the kites flew much better. I now do it once or twice a year. The theory is that dirt caught inside the line makes it fatter therefore shorter. Sounds crazy but it's 10 minutes work so maybe worth a try?

Also if you fly your Dice on 5 lines you must measure both the 5th line length on the bar and the V nose line pigtail once in a while. If they drift out of spec by even 1 cm I can feel the difference on the Rebels. A little experimentation with an adjustable 5th line pigtail can bring in a lot of performance improvement.

And check the fifth is not twisted up- it shortens it quite a lot over time . It seems to have a life of its own and I have to untwist frequenty

I had the 2014 Dice (9 & 12m) and now have the 2015. I like the dice for its drift and pivot in the surf, and the hang time for amateur twin tip jumping.

The 2014 certainly was prone to jellyfishing. The new dice has pretty much fixed it.

With both years models in both sizes I have found the back strings are too tight which makes them prone to backwinding and falling from the sky if you fully power on your bar. I could extend the lines on the bar but then Id have to adjust it every time I changed kites. So I always kite with no less than half my depower pulled on.

Pump kite up hard, do up your struts, go along the LE a meter or so and try bend it.
If it bend's easy, keep pumping. simple. Check your airvalve.

2014 9m dice = one of the most fun easy kite's ever. Never seen what you've got. Alway's fly it on 4 lines.

5th line? what the hell is a 5th line?

Prototype?

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Capt.Gumby said..

CodeRed said..
Pump kite up hard, do up your struts, go along the LE a meter or so and try bend it.
If it bend's easy, keep pumping. simple. Check your airvalve.

2014 9m dice = one of the most fun easy kite's ever. Never seen what you've got. Alway's fly it on 4 lines.

5th line? what the hell is a 5th line?

Prototype?

Simple?

Rather than having a go at the bloke, why not take it on face value and it may be a genuine defect.

Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it hasn't occurred. As the North rep said, the guy who designed the kites said the first batch was prone to the tips folding in.

If you had one of the first kites from the first batch then you may have experienced this despite pumping the crap out of the kite such as 10psi plus.

If you read the link to the kiteforum page the bloke who had issue only flew it 4 lines and had both a 10m and 8m dice. Both kites pumped to 10 psi and flown back to back using the same bar from the 10m kite and then back to back using the 8m bar. In anything above 17 knots the 10m tips would fold in and flutter despite kite psi and bar used. The 8m would retain its shape regardless of wind strength.

Rather than having a go at the bloke, why not take it on face value and realise it may be a genuine defect.

Why would I bother when you already told 'ím?
did you miss your nanna nap sarvo grumby?

I brought a north once never again

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CodeRed said..

Capt.Gumby said..

CodeRed said..
Pump kite up hard, do up your struts, go along the LE a meter or so and try bend it.
If it bend's easy, keep pumping. simple. Check your airvalve.

2014 9m dice = one of the most fun easy kite's ever. Never seen what you've got. Alway's fly it on 4 lines.

5th line? what the hell is a 5th line?

Prototype?

Simple?

Rather than having a go at the bloke, why not take it on face value and it may be a genuine defect.

Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it hasn't occurred. As the North rep said, the guy who designed the kites said the first batch was prone to the tips folding in.

If you had one of the first kites from the first batch then you may have experienced this despite pumping the crap out of the kite such as 10psi plus.

If you read the link to the kiteforum page the bloke who had issue only flew it 4 lines and had both a 10m and 8m dice. Both kites pumped to 10 psi and flown back to back using the same bar from the 10m kite and then back to back using the 8m bar. In anything above 17 knots the 10m tips would fold in and flutter despite kite psi and bar used. The 8m would retain its shape regardless of wind strength.

Rather than having a go at the bloke, why not take it on face value and realise it may be a genuine defect.

Why would I bother when you already told 'ím?
did you miss your nanna nap sarvo grumby?

Ha, I'll give credit where its due...I bit and swallowed the hook. As soon as I replied and read what I said, I deleted the post cause I sounded like a twat.....yet you were quick enough to quote my ramble....

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Capt.Gumby said..

CodeRed said..

Capt.Gumby said..

CodeRed said..
Pump kite up hard, do up your struts, go along the LE a meter or so and try bend it.
If it bend's easy, keep pumping. simple. Check your airvalve.

2014 9m dice = one of the most fun easy kite's ever. Never seen what you've got. Alway's fly it on 4 lines.

5th line? what the hell is a 5th line?

Prototype?

Simple?

Rather than having a go at the bloke, why not take it on face value and it may be a genuine defect.

Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it hasn't occurred. As the North rep said, the guy who designed the kites said the first batch was prone to the tips folding in.

If you had one of the first kites from the first batch then you may have experienced this despite pumping the crap out of the kite such as 10psi plus.

If you read the link to the kiteforum page the bloke who had issue only flew it 4 lines and had both a 10m and 8m dice. Both kites pumped to 10 psi and flown back to back using the same bar from the 10m kite and then back to back using the 8m bar. In anything above 17 knots the 10m tips would fold in and flutter despite kite psi and bar used. The 8m would retain its shape regardless of wind strength.

Rather than having a go at the bloke, why not take it on face value and realise it may be a genuine defect.

Why would I bother when you already told 'ím?
did you miss your nanna nap sarvo grumby?

Ha, I'll give credit where its due...I bit and swallowed the hook. As soon as I replied and read what I said, I deleted the post cause I sounded like a twat.....yet you were quick enough to quote my ramble....

Lol, just a fluke I checked it in time Cap'n :) I bet a lot of folks would delete my posts too m8 !

Sounds Dicey.

This is like watching a train crash in slow motion

same happens to my friends 2014 dice, 10m and 8m. it fits the exact description. when going to unhook it chokes and falls out of the sky, even when there is a reasonable amount of wind. he demoed a 9m and had a ball but got these kites and hasn't had a good session since!

Has he tried adding length to his back lines?

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BrisKites said..
Has he tried adding length to his back lines?

not yet, hes going to measure that the bridles are the correct length before anything!

As above, your friend will need to trim the front lines using the trim strap in order to stop it choking following the unhook. Just pull the strap in a couple of inches and it will keep its profile just fine.

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Steve86 said..
As above, your friend will need to trim the front lines using the trim strap in order to stop it choking following the unhook. Just pull the strap in a couple of inches and it will keep its profile just fine.

keeping in mind the choke isnt the main problem, the kite not keeping its shape is the main prob. so will give it ago with the longer back lines. we are light wind experts (cause it hardly gets over 20knots) so we how to not coke the kite in normal situations but this is really strange when im on a 9m c kite and killing it and he has a 10m and choking the shiiit out of it and deforming!

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SaltySinus said..
I think you're reading the psi upside-down.

I've one, okay, 3 of these 2014 DICE and don't have a problem.

Hey salty, why the change from rebels to dice?
do you recommend dice ? as I'm a rebel rider.

I've never had a problem with the 9 and 12. Great kites!

I was out with a mate today and he was on a yr14 Dice 9 m - and it simply looked crap when he was fully sheeted - lower wingtips twisted in and it looked like the lower bridal point was just wrong so it seems a few North Dice kiters are having the same problem.
Apart from complaining to the north dealers - is there a known fix for what is a very crap bridal and hence kite flying experience??