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New to Kiting and Riding Upwind...

 
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Mister C
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PostPosted: Aug 13, 2005 1:18 pm    Post subject: New to Kiting and Riding Upwind... Reply with quote

Alright, I just got back from Maui a couple days ago, and while I was there I decided to give kiteboarding a shot. I took a two day private lesson deal, and it was completely awesome. I got to the point where I can ride downwind (I think my farthest ride was something like 100yds), but I still have a few problems.

One, I can only ride to the right (I'm goofy footed), and I dont know how to work it so that I move the kite over to the left and move the board at the same time to left foot forward (which feels very awkward to me).

And then two, how do you ride upwind? I never got to that part, and I'd like to know how its done so I spend less time walking and more time riding.

Just a little info, right now I'm back in SoCal, and I bought a trainer kite so I dont lose the kite skills, but I dont have a full on kite or board. Does anyone know what size kite I should be using given the wind over here (in Hawaii I was using a 6, but the wind was ripping over there). I weigh about 160lbs if that's relevant. Also, can you learn to kiteboard with a wakeboard, or is that not an option?

Thanks in advance...

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Wallrat
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PostPosted: Aug 13, 2005 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey man if you're ever down at Belmont or Sunset (advanced only) hit me up. Wow, lots of questions...where to start.

Riding switch on a kiteboard is exactly like riding switch on a wakeboard. Just takes a heap of practice.

To go upwind, you need to develope edge control. Again, more practice. Concentrate on turning your hips to face the direction you're going, moving the bar towards the rear of the board, edging hard but still keeping the kite powered up. You should be doing about 11-13 mph for maximum upwind speed. Learn to edge harder during gusts instead of getting pulled off edge towards the kite.

For your primary kite in SoCal I'd say a 12 would be good. We usually have wind between 12-24 with most windy days being in the 16-22 range.

For a board, while you can learn on a wakeboard, its ALOT harder. WB's have lots more rocker and not as much flex so they don't stay on a plane very well at the slower speeds found in general kiting. You can use em but you gotta be nuking - bad thing to attempt as a noob.

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Mister C
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PostPosted: Aug 16, 2005 3:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the advice. How much would you guess a setup costs for a kite, harness, and board?
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Wallrat
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PostPosted: Aug 16, 2005 11:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For old used stuff you could get away with about $450, but you're gonna hate it. Or you could go "top of the line" everything and spend about $2500. More realistically:
Figure about $500-$1000 for the kite/bar/lines - (new Best or other brand used or last years model).
Harness $50-$150
board $300-$600

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jason_ssr
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PostPosted: Aug 17, 2005 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Upwind- To go upwind you need power. Remember when you were riding downwind on your 6m? As you dove the kite deep into the window it would pull you, and as it got further to the right is would get weaker and you would have to pump it up and down again to get it back into the window which pulled you downwind again. To go upwind you need to have the power you felt while pumping in the middle of the window, but have it while not moving the kite and have it stationary further to the side of the window. This means managing more power. Imagine having a kite that when you barely move it, it is just as strong as a full dive with the 6m. Once you have that kind of power, you can move the kite in very small increments off to the side and have the same amount of power you had in the 6m diving it in the middle. Since the kite sits powered off to the side, you can point your board upwind and edge such that you ride upwind. The downside is that if you have that much power and as a noob, if you steer to aggressively, you end up in the air crashing back down out of control, and as you try to corect it, overcompensate and back into the air. Riding with less power, like you were on your 6m is a good way to learn kite control and how to ride, but you wont go upwind.
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Mister C
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PostPosted: Aug 18, 2005 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks to both of you for all the info. Now all I gotta do is find some gear and I'll be off.
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