Kiteboarding Forums

Can anyone help to explain how to check if my lines are equeal length still attached to bar.

 

thanks

What I'd do is have someone hold the bar still or attach the chicken-loop to maybe a tow bar or something then hold all the ends of the lines... or put it around a stick. Worked for me before. There may however be a more scientific way that I'm not clued up on. Hope it helps.

The more Scientific way of checking your lines is to rig the kite and launch it, the direction it starts looping is the side with the shorter line.

hahaha just kidding, don't do this.................it may cause injury or death!

Tom has it covered...

Shot, I'll try the scientific method and at the same time try pull a f16. 

I have just done this. I found out "scientifically" that my lines werent even as the kite kept pulling to the left side.....decided not to try loop it. I only noticed it when I switched from 2:1 to 1:1, obviously the pulley system allows for line length compensation to some degree.

I anchored the bar (two medium sized sticks buried in the sand) and walked the lines out. I found that if I anchored the chicken loop alone, I could not compare front line and back line lengths. I ancored the bar and pulled the chicken loop into the bar.

The lines on right side were 10 cm longer than the lines on the left side on the front lines and 13 cm on the back lines...huge difference.......I need new lines I reckon

Yeah, checking line length periodically is a good thing to do IMHO, stretched lines can make a kite fly like a dog. Your front lines are always under a lot more strain than the steering lines, so they can be more prone to stretching. You can compensate for front line stretch by adjusting the trim strap, but then you end up losing some depower. Also if you have a favoured side to do tricks, jumps, etc. one side will stretch more than the other. As mentioned earlier, anchor the bar, not the chicken loop, set your depower strap to full power, and walk the lines out at right angles to the bar. Kites could differ, but on mine, in this setting, all lines are supposed to be equal. You can tune out small differences by stretching the shorter lines individually. If in doubt, get new lines.

Hi there

I also us another method as a quick test.

I get a large, long screw driver and attach the ends of the lines to shaft and press it into firm ground.  The I walk the lines out and tension the lines by holding onto the Chicken loop.  You then can see how the bar sits.  This method takes out any differentials regarding a crooked bar or not laying your lines at an exact 90 degree angle to the bar.  You can really see a big difference in line length when running your lines out at 85 degrees, so by anchoring the top of the lines and pulling on the chicken loop removes this possibility.

Cheers

Rob

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just swop the lines around and fly like that for a while it will stretch them.

also check the kites bridles, on my shockwave I had a huge difference in bridle lenght on the one side

just swop that around too if it has. Just remember that the line colours will be swoped while rigging.

Thanks guys, better get my lines sorted before the weekend.  South Easter up again next week. I love public holidays.

I also use the method that Rob uses, but I go one step further and even wear my harness....... You can see quickly if any lines are too short/long - works well.

My neighbours do look at me a bit wierd, but then again they always have :-)

Cheers

Marc