Hi All
My 2019 Carve IQ 114 comes with a foil ready box so I should get a foil as well Would you recommend the Freeride or GT for an absolute beginner. I'm 68 kg.
Thanks Steve

Hi Steve - Good question - and one we get asked almost every day. Freeride offers an easier, less powered access path into entry and intermediate "performance" foiling. Or just makes more sense if you want to foil mostly in lighter conditions whilst enjoying regular windsurf in more windy conditions. This can be an important advantage for entry level and progressing foilers. GT is also temptingly versatile, really good mid wind range performance and certainly not beyond being an entry level for an experienced windsurfer. Your lighter rider weight would get you going fairly easy on the GT - but the ease, stability and control of the Freeride still may be your better option. The below chart probably spells it out best.


And in case you wanted to see how Freeride and GT compare with the rest of the range options for general or future information....

Thanks. That's great information Has anyone tried the Freeride ?
Cheers
Steve

I have, the freeride is really good to begin with as it's really, really, really stable.
I can't confirm an earlier lift/take off as opposed to the GT. My opinion is you need speed to get going and speed needs a thin wing.
A french shop did a parallel test of the two and the GT was faster to take off, but once in the air the control was with the freeride, especially when going downwind.
When I tried it I was amazed how slow it could fly without coming down, and it was just a dream through the lulls !

If you can afford it go carbon straight away, if not I would still go GT to get the fast wing. Once you get better you'll probably want it anyway.

At the end of the day all the starboard kits are great, and the good thing is whatever you get, you can always mix and match to upgrade or suit your foiling options/level.

Thanks again . Why is carbon so much better than the aluminium? I would describe myself as an intermediate windsurfer so can I confirm that, although you like the Freeride , you would recommend the GT as a better long term option. We get a lot of 10kt sea breezes on the East Coast so I'm looking to have some fun when the big Phantom 295 just can't get planning
Cheers
Steve

Select to expand quote

OldManSteve said..
Thanks again . Why is carbon so much better than the aluminium? I would describe myself as an intermediate windsurfer so can I confirm that, although you like the Freeride , you would recommend the GT as a better long term option. We get a lot of 10kt sea breezes on the East Coast so I'm looking to have some fun when the big Phantom 295 just can't get planning
Cheers
Steve

Go with the Carbon. It is an 85cm mast, and in my opinion, is better for getting through the waves and a much better height. Plus its carbon, and looks cool!
A few notes: After 20 years of not windsurfing since I was a kid (and a beginner back then), I took up the sport again 2 years ago. Being in a land locked area with little resources, I opted to buy a new SB board, but made sure it was foil ready. After long discussions and research, I opted for the Foil 147 and the GT foil. Even earlier this year, the jury was out on what Foil combo to try here in Colorado, USA's light winds with less density.
The Freeride/race foil looks to be the most stable based on the info above. I was sold on the idea that the GT will be a good one to grow into, and I can say that I'm foiling steady these days only after a few months. So the GT won't disappoint when you're still a beginner.
Mast: The 85cm mast isn't that much taller, but does provide more room for finding that stable flight. A few guys around here have shorter masts and stall out a bit more when learning.
Wings: The GT does require more speed for lift than the Freeride, which can be a bit intimidating at first for a beginner. But you can easily grow into it once the initial fears are over. More lift (larger wing) = less wind needed for flight. It also depends on what winds you predominately have.
Fuselage: The longer fuselage provides more stability than the smaller ones. It requires more effort to modify the pitch, so the feedback loop to keep it stable is slower, making it easy on beginners.

Summary: You can't go wrong with either the Freeride or the GT - I would opt for the longer mast, however. As a beginner transitioning to intermediate foiling, I'm able to just now get my foiling jibes (I haven't even get my planing jibes on my regular board!) on the GT setup. Here's the best part: You can order additional parts to make up for the rest of the foiling setups. I have larger and shorter wings ordered, as well as a longer fuselage. In the end, I would've bought the team kit and add the larger Freeride wings.

You CANNOT go wrong with the Starboard foils. In fact, I wouldn't go with any other foil company at this time.

Select to expand quote

IndecentExposur said..

OldManSteve said..
Thanks again . Why is carbon so much better than the aluminium? I would describe myself as an intermediate windsurfer so can I confirm that, although you like the Freeride , you would recommend the GT as a better long term option. We get a lot of 10kt sea breezes on the East Coast so I'm looking to have some fun when the big Phantom 295 just can't get planning
Cheers
Steve

Go with the Carbon. It is an 85cm mast, and in my opinion, is better for getting through the waves and a much better height. Plus its carbon, and looks cool!
A few notes: After 20 years of not windsurfing since I was a kid (and a beginner back then), I took up the sport again 2 years ago. Being in a land locked area with little resources, I opted to buy a new SB board, but made sure it was foil ready. After long discussions and research, I opted for the Foil 147 and the GT foil. Even earlier this year, the jury was out on what Foil combo to try here in Colorado, USA's light winds with less density.
The Freeride/race foil looks to be the most stable based on the info above. I was sold on the idea that the GT will be a good one to grow into, and I can say that I'm foiling steady these days only after a few months. So the GT won't disappoint when you're still a beginner.
Mast: The 85cm mast isn't that much taller, but does provide more room for finding that stable flight. A few guys around here have shorter masts and stall out a bit more when learning.
Wings: The GT does require more speed for lift than the Freeride, which can be a bit intimidating at first for a beginner. But you can easily grow into it once the initial fears are over. More lift (larger wing) = less wind needed for flight. It also depends on what winds you predominately have.
Fuselage: The longer fuselage provides more stability than the smaller ones. It requires more effort to modify the pitch, so the feedback loop to keep it stable is slower, making it easy on beginners.

Summary: You can't go wrong with either the Freeride or the GT - I would opt for the longer mast, however. As a beginner transitioning to intermediate foiling, I'm able to just now get my foiling jibes (I haven't even get my planing jibes on my regular board!) on the GT setup. Here's the best part: You can order additional parts to make up for the rest of the foiling setups. I have larger and shorter wings ordered, as well as a longer fuselage. In the end, I would've bought the team kit and add the larger Freeride wings.

You CANNOT go wrong with the Starboard foils. In fact, I wouldn't go with any other foil company at this time.

Would it make sense to get the GT Carbon and in addition the freeride (1100/500) wings?

Select to expand quote

duzzi said..

IndecentExposur said..

OldManSteve said..
Thanks again . Why is carbon so much better than the aluminium? I would describe myself as an intermediate windsurfer so can I confirm that, although you like the Freeride , you would recommend the GT as a better long term option. We get a lot of 10kt sea breezes on the East Coast so I'm looking to have some fun when the big Phantom 295 just can't get planning
Cheers
Steve

Go with the Carbon. It is an 85cm mast, and in my opinion, is better for getting through the waves and a much better height. Plus its carbon, and looks cool!
A few notes: After 20 years of not windsurfing since I was a kid (and a beginner back then), I took up the sport again 2 years ago. Being in a land locked area with little resources, I opted to buy a new SB board, but made sure it was foil ready. After long discussions and research, I opted for the Foil 147 and the GT foil. Even earlier this year, the jury was out on what Foil combo to try here in Colorado, USA's light winds with less density.
The Freeride/race foil looks to be the most stable based on the info above. I was sold on the idea that the GT will be a good one to grow into, and I can say that I'm foiling steady these days only after a few months. So the GT won't disappoint when you're still a beginner.
Mast: The 85cm mast isn't that much taller, but does provide more room for finding that stable flight. A few guys around here have shorter masts and stall out a bit more when learning.
Wings: The GT does require more speed for lift than the Freeride, which can be a bit intimidating at first for a beginner. But you can easily grow into it once the initial fears are over. More lift (larger wing) = less wind needed for flight. It also depends on what winds you predominately have.
Fuselage: The longer fuselage provides more stability than the smaller ones. It requires more effort to modify the pitch, so the feedback loop to keep it stable is slower, making it easy on beginners.

Summary: You can't go wrong with either the Freeride or the GT - I would opt for the longer mast, however. As a beginner transitioning to intermediate foiling, I'm able to just now get my foiling jibes (I haven't even get my planing jibes on my regular board!) on the GT setup. Here's the best part: You can order additional parts to make up for the rest of the foiling setups. I have larger and shorter wings ordered, as well as a longer fuselage. In the end, I would've bought the team kit and add the larger Freeride wings.

You CANNOT go wrong with the Starboard foils. In fact, I wouldn't go with any other foil company at this time.

Would it make sense to get the GT Carbon and in addition the freeride (1100/500) wings?

Essentially, that's what I'm doing. I was focused on the wing (1100) and was going to use that with the 330 Stab in the back. I'm looking to get the 500 additionally as well. I was thinking of the long fuse, 1100 up front and the 330 stab in the back. Would love to know if anyone has tried that combo.

I've been using a freeride foil for a month or two now and am really enjoying it. I can't offer much of a comparison as it's the only foil I've used and I haven't really sailed against anyone on any other foils but in my limited experience I do feel it would benefit from a taller mast to give a bit more margin for error in controlling the flying height especially when it gets a bit choppier, it did make it very mellow particularly when I was stating and bouncing up and down learning how to control it.

I would be very interested in hearing your experiences in trying different combinations of wings/fuselages/masts and which ones work as that was one of the main reasons I went with a Starboard foil.

I just got my long Fuse (115cm) and the small tail wing (255)! So I'm going to start experimenting with the different configurations. Clearly the GT set has some similarities as the Race does, so I'm working to see if I can get better stability and lift using the longer fuse. I'm still waiting on the 1100cm Wing and 500cm Stab (tail wing) to setup the freeride config. Those are on back order here in the US.