Hi nice forums thanks for having me,
I'm fairly new to kite boarding (been riding for a few months) and really like the idea of kite board racing (tricks are crap i like going fast
I'm looking to get some new gear and I want to get into competitive kite racing in the future and i need some basic advice on what gear i should be looking at- (I'm about 145 pounds)
- Regarding kite racing boards, I've noticed many companies make similar designed race boards in two size. Would a smaller board suit me due to my light weight or is it a matter of the conditions i.e lighter winds bigger race board and strong winds smaller race board or vice versa?
- Do the top racers carry several race boards for different conditions or once I find a board that suits me should it cover me for all conditions? Of course with evolution of the boards i understand serious racers will probably upgrade boards often but would the best board they can buy right now for them suit in all conditions (until a new better boards comes along)?
- Also I've seen some boards with narrow designs and some very wide flat front designs of the 4 fin style race boards what advantage does one have over the other?
- Does a race board make a nice freeride board and also does a kite surfboard make a good freeride board for ripping around the bay?
- What style harness (seat or waist) is best used in racing and is there any other gear do racers often use?
- With regards to kite sizing for racing, is it mainly a case of the biggest size kite that the rider can hold down in the given wind and ride well in the conditions? What is a normal racing quiver sizes?
- I understand racing kites are usually narrow and high aspect kites. What is generally the best race kite design type (SLE, bow, C, etc) and what other styles of riding do good race kites excel in and what styles of riding are they not so great for (i.e freeride, freestyle, wave, etc)?
- Do foil kites make good race kites and do the top racers have a preference?
- Would heavier riders have an advantage as they can hold down larger kites or is being smaller an advantage due to weight savings?
- Is there any formula or box rule used in kite racing like there is in sailing with regards to kite and board size, i.e. a person who weights X amount can use a kite of X meters max, etc?
- Is the any professional kite racing organized and a world kite race championship or anything like that as it would be cool to check it out?
Crap that's a lot of questions...
Thanks for any help..
Cheers