Moving to C-Kites.

[jats2k9]

Does the Fuels have the option to be flown with or without the 5th line??

[Gioro_T]

No

[BWD]

on a DIY basis, yes.
Out of the box, no.
The compstick bar is easy to rig for 5th, run it to a tail of 1/8 spectra, through center of swivel and through bar along the path of the "css" front line safety line, out the bottom of the butter box.
Tie a loop in the bottom and clip your leash there.
Previous bar has provision for a small cleat to take the fifth line, good for the older fuels which actually benefited more from the 5th line.

[jats2k9]

ok so, 2012 Fuels have the 5 line or not.

[BWD]

No, and don't need it.
5th has always been an add-on option for the fuel, manufacturer supplied 2005 to 2007 or 2008, DIY before or after that date range.

[edt]

Does the Fuels have the option to be flown with or without the 5th line??

Yes. Andy Yates in the PKRA in particular rides the Fuel with a tensioned 5th line for better relaunch and upwind performance. Probably easiest to buy the kite and some other bar separately instead of the compstick so it supports the 5th line without having to do it yourself.

I would not rig the fuel to ride 5 lines because it's the only 4 line C kite in the market right now, if you want a 5 line C kite you have a bunch of options, if you buy the fuel, one reason is because 4 lines.

I know older C kites have a thick enough leading edge you can decide 5th line slack or tensioned your choice, but it seems all the modern C kites you have to have a tensioned 5th line or the kite tacos, the leading edge is too thin to rig it any other way.

I know Ruben Lenton likes the 4 lines, maybe next year the Best GP will come out with a thicker leading edge so you can ride it 4 line.

[jats2k9]

ok, I asked cuz I can turn my bar into a 5th line or leave it as is. The problem is that this bar has a high Y and I think it will stress the kite and cause it to taco if I don't put the 5th line in it.
If it helps is the 2012 BEST RP BAR.

[BWD]

get SS bar. No Y

[edt]

You can not ride a 4 line C kite with a bar that has a high Y (unless it also has a 5th line). The reason for this is that a C kite will not depower when a redline QR is thrown. C kites will fly on the front lines even if the rear lines are entirely slack. So if a squall comes in and you can't land it in time, you would have to ditch the kite. A V system is one where the kite will flag out to a single line. You can use either a bar with a V or a bar with a 5th line. So no matter what kite you choose you ride best, naish, slingshot, north, you are looking at getting a new bar, the redline system is just not compatible with a C kite. But I don't think the kite will taco, C kites aren't very finicky about how you rig them. If you don't care about safety, you can probably ride it that way. I would not bother to mod your best redline system, if you mod that bar to 5th line you have nothing to fly your best kites on.

[jats2k9]

Well, to turn this bar into a 5th line system, I just have to add an extension to the red line so that it reaches the kite, and untie the knot this one has were the Y begins. This way, it will flag to the 5th line instead of stay flying on the two front lines. This bar is almost the same as the GP bar. The diference is the 5th line.