Most of the manufactures such as ride engine, Mystic, Dynabar etc use single braided Dyneema for their rope sliders.

I find this wears very quickly. Ive used 5mm double braided (covered) Dyneema, as a replacement and wear is much better, however its a lot harder to tie a decent knot in the ends.

Any thoughts as to the preferred rope as a replacement on rope spreader bars?

By having two ropes. One line is devoted to your pulley or slider, the next is a tad longer so it gets no wear but activates should the other line snap and kill a session. I have used this method for quite a few years now and have had to wear through without my seeing a weak spot. The spare dyneema jumped into play and I was able to keep riding until I replaced it when I got home. Easy to tie figure 8 nots, but I still glue and stitch the knots just in case

Got a Dynabar, which is a full-length spliced 5mm line IIRC ... or at least, the replacements I've made are.

I've literally run it until the outer "skin" wore right through, and didn't notice until the end of the session. That was when I was using them for twin tip riding too.

So IMO without splicing it is a bad idea.

This is what Dynabar and Mystic use. Single braided Dyneema
This seems to wear very quickly.


This is what I'm more tempted to use - Double braided line
Donaghys Superspeed, or similar. This has an interior single braided line which is responsible for taking the load, and an outer braided cover that p;rotects the line


Here is a good article explaining the differences:
https://www.apsltd.com/aps-advisor/single-and-double-braid-sailboat-lines-explained/

What I don't understand is why the bigger manufacturers of rope sliders use the single braided line, as it dosn't seem like the best solution. Am I missing something here?

The other thing is that Mystic, for example, don't offer any way to add a second rope, so you need to be fairly confident in the one thats there

Cos it shouldn't matter. Splice your own if you're worried

It shouldn't matter I guess, but I only get about 15 sessions out of the manufacturers ones

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Kamikuza said..
Got a Dynabar, which is a full-length spliced 5mm line IIRC ... or at least, the replacements I've made are.

I've literally run it until the outer "skin" wore right through, and didn't notice until the end of the session. That was when I was using them for twin tip riding too.

So IMO without splicing it is a bad idea.

So you splice a 4mm into a 5mm, don't understand what you mean with IIRC?

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SavageCarrot said..
It shouldn't matter I guess, but I only get about 15 sessions out of the manufacturers ones

15 sessions??? Is your chicken loop made out of stone?

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DJMWA said..
15 sessions??? Is your chicken loop made out of stone?

Seemingly not. Maybe I am though. I'm heavy at nearly 100 kilos....The single braided line just wears through really quickly.

Here is my new Mystic rope after 3 sessions....

Use a low frictin ring on your rope slider, will help reduce the rope wear to a large extent

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LuigiKiter said..

Kamikuza said..
Got a Dynabar, which is a full-length spliced 5mm line IIRC ... or at least, the replacements I've made are.

I've literally run it until the outer "skin" wore right through, and didn't notice until the end of the session. That was when I was using them for twin tip riding too.

So IMO without splicing it is a bad idea.

So you splice a 4mm into a 5mm, don't understand what you mean with IIRC?

If I Remember Correctly.

No, it's all 5mm. You just splice the line inside itself like the whole thing is a tail bury.

With the Dynabar, you need an eye at one end if you use the pin safety release, or just tie a knot then bury the whole length.

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SavageCarrot said..
Seemingly not. Maybe I am though. I'm heavy at nearly 100 kilos....The single braided line just wears through really quickly.

Here is my new Mystic rope after 3 sessions....

This is mine after ... well it's been on since February 2018


I wouldn't worry about yours ... yet.

The fact that he goes through a rope after 15 sessions is really the issue of friction from the bar. As the other poster mentioned, a low friction ring is the go. Butter smooth and the line will last waaaaaaaaaay more than that. You should be able to get a full season plus without too much wear.

Search ' Wave harness ' in Gear Reviews by peppedurso 9 months ago. It's a great read, Seabreeze Gold!

Ive been using this since they came out, my RE rope slider is a 2017 model and is still sweet.
I probably kite 2-4 times a week in the summer.
Directional and foil only light weight at 76kg.
The wear I think is a combination of friction, weight & riding style.

Problem solved:

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CJ2478 said..
Problem solved:

Indeed. That is exactly what I did and extended the life of my rope by at least triple. I had a stainless ring at first, and the difference between the non friction and the SS are huge. Plus the chicken loop fits nicely in the groove bringing the setup even closer to my arms.

Ion bar mod

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listery said..



Ion bar mod

what size ring ya running there?

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CJ2478 said..

listery said..



Ion bar mod

what size ring ya running there?

Ronstan 57od 26id 25w

+1 for LFR. I tied a single piece of 6mm dyneema winch rope across my existing spreader bar - the rope and ring slide above the hook.
Can't notice any real wear on the rope after 5 months.
If the rope ever somehow snaps the kite will flag out and I can just hook in.
Only thing is to get a short chicken loop as per CJ's setup (I haven't got one yet). It can sometimes be a bit of a stretch to reach the trim.
My LFR is 47mm OD 14mm ID I think.

I have a low friction ring with the single braid dynema and a back up loop for when the first one breaks. 2 years on i'm still waiting for it to break.

I too am doing 2 separate lines on the spreader bar, one being looser and the back up. I haven't had any issues and the 2 lines gives piece of mind.

Quite a while back I did give the double spliced/sheathed rope a go and the outer sheathing wore through really quickly, the line didn't break as the inner core holds all the strength. I took it to my local yachting store and they said the sheathed dyneema was not the right rope for the job as the outer sheathing is nowhere near as robust as the single braided dyneema. The outer sheathing is mostly added to make it better to handle, easier to grip etc but for high wear applications single braided dyneema is the go.

To the OP I would suggest rigging up a back up line for peace of mind and then you won't worry too much about how the rope is wearing

Just wondering if rather than having a back-up rope hanging around the front of your harness, why not use the rope that comes around the back of a harness (for those freestyling unhookers) and in the case of any distant breakages unclip this rear rope and connect it to the front and use this just to get you in.

Yet another DIY pic,

Ive got a Dakine slider where the hook with two eyes runs on a solid dyneema rope. I was concerned about wear so sleeved the dyneema with some plastic water main pipe. Worked a treat. Cheers Jim

This is my latest slider, still prefer the smoothness of the pulley over the Ronstan rope guide, but the rope guide would be my second choice. All the metal rings and metal chicken loops eat the rope very quickly. My last slider rope with pulley outlived my harness. The one in the pic has about 50hrs on it already no sign of wear.

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CJ2478 said..
Problem solved:

I like the setup.Looks neat, but having the ring in the hook... isn't it annoying when self-launching and self-landing?
If quick-release the ring will go away, isn't it?
Or do you have a way to keep it tight to the chicken loop?
thanks for sharing your setup!

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mdecerle said..

CJ2478 said..
Problem solved:

I like the setup.Looks neat, but having the ring in the hook... isn't it annoying when self-launching and self-landing?
If quick-release the ring will go away, isn't it?
Or do you have a way to keep it tight to the chicken loop?
thanks for sharing your setup!

Usually I run the chicken loop through the ring not in the groove as in the picture. You need to open the chicken loop each time to connect/disconnect. Self launch is same as you normally would. For self land I get kite on side of window, release QR but still holding onto it so it doesnt flag out and (blow downwind and tangle lines) and walk up the lines to secure kite.

The added bonus of these setups is that you know your self release system is working properly because you test it every session. If someone has not used theirs for some time sand and grit could build up etc causing a failure when you need it. I almost always self launch and land without any issues. Only when it's really busy will I ask someone to land, or launch.

Been using one of these for a few years only went through one webbing. $25 replacement. I like it because the slide is smooth and close to the hip.