I've used the North click bar on and off for about 6 months now & it mostly seems fine for launching & landing, however a few times when it's been >25 knots and I've had to let the safety go on the water to come in, I've noticed my smaller kites don't always seem to flag out properly & even flap about & leave the water, even if I've got the leading edge around. It might be an Evo/Dice thing but it doesn't seem to happen so much if I use my 5 line bar. It did happen occasionally with my old 4 line but seems to happen more with the click bar.
Just wondered if anyone had noticed this and/or has any tips?

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Relaunch said..
I've used the North click bar on and off for about 6 months now & it mostly seems fine for launching & landing, however a few times when it's been >25 knots and I've had to let the safety go on the water to come in, I've noticed my smaller kites don't always seem to flag out properly & even flap about & leave the water, even if I've got the leading edge around. It might be an Evo/Dice thing but it doesn't seem to happen so much if I use my 5 line bar. It did happen occasionally with my old 4 line but seems to happen more with the click bar.
Just wondered if anyone had noticed this and/or has any tips?

Are they North Kites or kites that are designed to match the bars safety system?

Hi Relaunch,

The Clickbar is designed to flag to a single FRONT line. The 5th line kites flag to the centre line attachment point. I'm guessing the older quad bar you are using was the twin front line flagging system, otherwise known as the "Virtual 5th". No one really does the "Virtual 5th" anymore because if the kite flops and rolls tangling the front lines around the kite it could possibly power the kite up with the bar being released from the chickenloop with no way to get it under control.

The 4-line, single front line flagging system can actually allow the kite to flip about and not stay put, because of the one sided bias of the connection. It is however safer, if you take the older scenario into account so despite the slight hassle, it is a better system.

Hope this answers your question.

DM

One of the north reps on the other forum mentioned needing to give the 5th line a yank in high wind conditions if the kite hadn't flagged fully. He was talking about the Rebels but same thing should apply. Apparently that's what the handle on the bottom of the 5th line is all about.

Assuming your kites are newer than 2011, ride it as a 4 line kite instead?

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ActionSportsWA said..
Hi Relaunch,

The Clickbar is designed to flag to a single FRONT line. The 5th line kites flag to the centre line attachment point. I'm guessing the older quad bar you are using was the twin front line flagging system, otherwise known as the "Virtual 5th". No one really does the "Virtual 5th" anymore because if the kite flops and rolls tangling the front lines around the kite it could possibly power the kite up with the bar being released from the chickenloop with no way to get it under control.

The 4-line, single front line flagging system can actually allow the kite to flip about and not stay put, because of the one sided bias of the connection. It is however safer, if you take the older scenario into account so despite the slight hassle, it is a better system.

Hope this answers your question.

DM

The 4 line trust bar that flags onto 2 lines is a complete dog. From what I can see the click bar is the only 4 line north bar that doesn't behave in this fashion. Don't wanna run a the 5th line to avoid tangles in the surf.

Is it possible to modify the trust bar to flag onto one line? I am thinking of trying to aquire some competitor's parts and rig a single line flag setup onto it.

The 2014 Trust bar was the last North bar that flagged to dual front lines. 2015 onwards flags onto a single front line (so potentially 3 years of second hand bars).

It would be possible to create a single front line flag. I'd raid the Switch parts bin or just use the North safety pully (www.brackleshamboardriders.co.uk/kitesurf_spares/north_spares/north_bar_spares/north_stainless_steel_safety_pulley). Its advisable to keep the split point consistent.

For my money though I'd sell my current bar and get another secondhand one that already has the single line flag.

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I'm using the click bar as a 4 line with my 2017 Evo 8 & 10m and 2015 6m Dice, & although all of them can be 5 line kites, I don't have a 5th line kit for it. So with the 4 line click bar setup if the kite is flopping about and not completely depowered it's really hard to wind in the lines. With the last episode I tried moving forward and yanking various lines to get it to sit on the water or flip over properly to reel it in but no luck until eventually in a lull I managed to reel it in enough.
My old 2013 4 line Trust bar is dead now but it sounds like it was the old style flagging system & when I used it a few years ago with the 6m Dice in high winds & let the safety go it was not great. I have a 2015 4 line Trust bar but when drift launching the lines sometimes get a bit tangled in the metal safety pulley at the split so I went off that one for drift launching. I have a 2015 5 line 5th element which I sometimes use with the 6m Dice when it's really windy if I want to be confident about the flagging/safety but I prefer the 4 line control system. The 4 line click bar is good for the drift launch & fine if landing with a helper, so I won't give up on it, but I might need to go back to using the 5th element if it's super-windy.

I hate to potentially burst your bubble but I suspect the 5th line won't help. Rebels are notorious for sometimes not flagging onto the water if they turn upside down. The pull through the lines should be fairly negligible though (although it will increase in stronger winds). Its something you have to live with in strong winds normally - good for big thrills but bad for safety. In this video even though his kite is flagged, the pull is still so much he has to dig his board in to avoid being pulled down the beach (skip to 2:30 for action) .

Sounds like somethings a bit weird if its feeling like its powered. How far is the bar flagging up the lines? Are you doing too many rolls or spins and the lines are getting jammed?