Pedro Marcos wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:58 pm
Regis-de-giens wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 7:55 pm
I use a "Custom" prototype of ketos easy but a bit smaller. In between officials freeride and easy.
Ok tanks for the clarification abot loop. But i feel and experienced that if i go toward the kite i get not enough line tension to put the big 15m2 in an short turn radius... am i the only one to experience that in marginal wind ?
You have to make the turn before the kite loops, so when you are already going in the new direction the kite its still looping and you can keep line tension to make it loop in shorter radius.
True.
It is a very delicate thing though, and slyde's thread here is great.
Have been looking more on this lately.
How do you jibe in marginal winds, a simple question it seems.
Downlooping you risk the kite does not turn and end in the water, a MAJOR risk.
Which goes for both freeriders as well as kiteracers.
Somewhat an advantage of the higher speed of racefoils, meaning more energy accumulated to transfer into flying through the jibe even with less tight lines.
Downside is of course, it is more difficult to turn tight, and you need more speed to keep foiling throughout the jibe.
Talked to several good racers, and they have the same problem in marginal winds...
Meaning they have to head upwind before the jibe, to avoid the slack lines, and also quite often they need to pull a line by hand if the kite does not turn/downloop fast so it would end up in the water otherwise - quite often resulting in a jibe where they get the board down on the water.
Also necessary to initiate the kite turn before starting the jibe, as otherwise it wont turn/follow.
The tricky balance is, if you carve too early, the kite wont follow and give power, if you carve too late, the kite will fly to the new side and you are "dead" with no power left into and when going out of the jibe.
Anyways, I can follow the trick to fly the kite up and around in marginal winds, at least with long lines, as you CAN make a fully foiling jibe in marginal winds this way, is my experience.
Ride hard upwind, kite quite low but of course not possible to be much under 45 degrees in marginal wind.
Fly the kite up and around and simultaneously start a really tight carve, so the kite passes 12 just before the end of the carve, meaning you can dive the kite for speed and power on the way out, to keep foiling, and switch your feet now.
Essential with long lines, to get a powersweep all the way around, and avoiding the kite reaches the side of the window where power is "gone".
Most often important to depower the kite along the turn, so you dont choke the power - as when riding towards the lines this is needed.
Downlooping works if just a tad more wind, but on the very marginal limit it does not seem very good in my experience.
I have no idea about short lines....
Not good to talk about wind strength, as this can always be misinterpreted and not an absolute value.
But for me at 78 kg I am talking about 5 knots or something like that, where a bigger and light foil kite is needed.
What are your experiences?
Peter