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thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

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RalfsB
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Re: thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

Postby RalfsB » Sun Apr 15, 2012 7:44 pm

Rattlehead wrote:Hope I havn't blabbed on too much

Jay
Actually this was a fantastic review. You gave answers to all questions I had in mind and even some more! Thanks a lot!

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Re: thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

Postby Tone » Mon Apr 16, 2012 2:58 pm

leepasty wrote:Tone was at the BKSA round 1 last week and I saw him on the beach and around the start area and that was it. I think if you are keen on course racing you are much better off buying a year old board for the same money- i have a north ltd 69 for sale :D
funny thing is on the beach he was saying prob for downwind is it has too much rocker, which also means slow upwind but if its any flatter you cant ride it when its windy. seems like too many comprimises means its very average all round.
another funny thing was he didnt race on the sunday as it was light rain and he said Flysurfers dont work if wet :lol:
Lee, Have I done something to upset you?

That is quite a personal set of comments.

For starters, upwind the board is fast and on the races I did complete I was reasonably fast to the upwind mark but I do agree off the wind the board is hard work and I am strugging to make it work.

The five people that dominated that weekend were Steph, Oli, Callum, Denzil and yourself. it was clear that you were all a lot better than us, and by US I mean the other 3 riders one of which was on the same board and kite as yours, does that mean it is a crap board?

Interesting you didn't pick up on that.

Tony

p.s. I joked about the kites not flying in the rain as it is something that is bounded around a lot by people who don't know what they are talking about - the real reason I didn't race on sunday was I was injured.

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Re: thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

Postby hamlindp1 » Tue Apr 17, 2012 5:35 pm

Lee, you're a real tool. Way to kick someone when they're down. You da man. :thumb:

Who sponsors you?

Yeeeharrrr
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Re: thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

Postby Yeeeharrrr » Wed May 09, 2012 7:01 am

Great reviews all round, good bits and not so good points have convinced me not to bother and stick with my TT, went through a load of race boards over the last 3 years and found them all hard work apart from the early north one the 09 one, great fun, up to the 2012 north, not fun.
I was thinking of the fly race, but not anymore,
I Do not race , but used to race windsurfers so love the challenge of lock and load sailing,
Maybe a test on the airush sector 2012 will be more suited to me, I did get on with last years sector v2 54, the previous sector 60 felt too big and the fin Boxs exploded.

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Re: thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

Postby Nico » Wed May 09, 2012 3:53 pm

Been reading your reviews with interest as I love prototyping and building my own exentric stuff.
One point that hasn't at all been brought up and that struck from the beginning as a NO NO for this system: Safety ??
Anybody ever had injuries or close shaves with that fin when it is partially or fully up between your feet.?
Downwind you will probably want as little as possible of that long dagger in the water, so any unlucky fall could result in you racing on with only one foot.
Thoughts ?
Nico

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Re: thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

Postby gmb13 » Wed May 09, 2012 4:47 pm

Nico wrote:Been reading your reviews with interest as I love prototyping and building my own exentric stuff.
One point that hasn't at all been brought up and that struck from the beginning as a NO NO for this system: Safety ??
Anybody ever had injuries or close shaves with that fin when it is partially or fully up between your feet.?
Downwind you will probably want as little as possible of that long dagger in the water, so any unlucky fall could result in you racing on with only one foot.
Thoughts ?
Nico
Hi Nico,

The fin is not very sharp.

I have kicked it a few times and nothing has happened. I have crashed quite a lot when testing, and so far I have never had contact with the fin in a crash.

--
Gunnar

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Re: thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

Postby Nico » Fri May 11, 2012 7:53 am

Hi Gunnar.
I sincerely hope that I will never think "well I thought so".
To me this is a blatent error in design, as I have often had attachments on my deck that were a lot more harmless than that fin on which I have hurt myself (exemple a go pro mount without the camera).
Regards
Nico

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Re: thoughts on the Flysurfer FlyRace board?

Postby lexflex » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:31 am

thanks so much, great analysis - I can get the feel of what you mean..



Rattlehead wrote:I had a fly race for about 6 months , got a hell of a lot of use out of it , traded it about 3 months ago for a 190 x 70 naish 2012 Venturi race board . Pro' s and con' s for the flyrace.

pro's
The fly surfer flyrace gets going in just as little wind as the directional race board , the flyrace is fun to use and as quick upwind and downwind as the directional board in the right conditions(i'll come back to this). The adjustable fin means you don't have to walk out a mile to get going without hitting the bottom. Tacking is easy but gybing fast is a little more technical. The board is very robust and nowhere near as fragile as the directional boards. It's light and easy to transport as especially easy to carry down to the water with a kite flying over your head.goes up wind like it is on rails and in my opinion points just as high as the directional board...


Con's
You need to constantly adjust the fin . Upwind you need to get the fin in the right position for the power of your kite , if you a little under powered you need to have the fin all the way down ,if you start getting powered you pull the fin up a little , about 40-50 mm is the sweet spot ,you get the fin right and the board hauls ass . Reaching you need to bring the fin up to nearly half way and down wind I had a stopper made up so it could only come up all the way except 75 mm or so.also you need to cant the fin backwards and forwards after each tack or gybe , by canting the board it seems to allow you more control.
All this fin adjustment is a pain in the butt , if you don't get the fin in the right spot you can't push as hard , to much fin the board rounds up and feels overpowered and not enough fin you lose drive. the advantage of the directional race board is no need to worry about where your fin is.

The stance is good for short distances ,because it is twin tip ( goes either direction) the stance is fairly harsh on your legs ( position of the straps)cause your trying to keep the board flat . This Is a big difference I noticed straight away with my new board , because of the footstep positions it's a heap more comfortable I like it to riding a sailboard , I can go miles upwind/ downwind on the same tack with no discomfort , the fly race after about 10 mins on the one tack you really start to feel the burn.

Downwind pushing it hard in a chop is fairly sketchy , first you need to get the fin within an inch of the sweetspot ,because the board is designed to go in either direction there is minimum rocker , so it is super easy to stuff the nose into the back of a wave . The new board is a dream to sail downwind compared to the flyrace , the new 3 fin racebords go downwind like a rocket ship on rails ...I'm yet to stick the nose in on the new board because it's got rocker in the front the front sits way up in the air. Whilst pushing the flysurfer hard in a decent breeze and waves the nosedive over the handlebars was a common occurrence.also downwind the ramped footpads are painful , because down wind you want to stand more upright to get the weight over the board ,you feet are constintly at a rediculas angle , this is good for short distances ,long distances is a struggle .mind you this is at race speed , when your just cruising you can back off a little and it's not as bad.

Overall I love the flyrace and got right into it , this is not a board you can jump straight on and go flatstrap , it takes a decent amount of time to get the feel for the board , in flat water I would put it up against any race board , the 2 big problems are the fin , (getting it in the right position for the conditions too much and it will spit you off , not enough and it lacks drive)I made up a handle for the centerboard because I had trouble reaching it whilst it was all the way down ( dodgy knee) . And the lack of rocker downwind in a chop is a killer.

Overall great build quality and great for those looking for a light wind board or a board to dabble in some racing , it very technical to get full potential out of though.


Hope I havn't blabbed on too much

Jay


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