Usually, when Cabrinha puts "extra stuff" on bars, people complain about it...

Nuts - they won't fit the Dakine harness clips

Mine broke in the middle of a holiday, so I bought a Mystic harness... I can swap the spreader bar over to the Fusion by pulling the straps out of the clips and doing it that way...

Looking at the Mystic hook... it doesn't curl under as much as the Dakine one (and the CL jumped off when I landed on my ass in shallow water and it unhooked itself) but the 'arms' of the hook come together so when the kite moves left or right relative to your body, it's not loading the hook sideways against the bar. If you know what I mean...

Wondering if that extra strain is what's causing the wider Dakine hooks to fail...

Anyone made their own spreader bars?

I was out for a session yesterday and was nervous as hell! I just emailed a Neil Pryde dealer about their spreader bars. Being forged, it should bend before it breaks. I kite in a pretty remote part of the world and often alone. I buy the best stuff I can and look after it, but these recent both of spreader bar failures has me spooked!

An update - Dakine have been in touch with me to say

"Unfortunately, we've had some problems few seasons ago with Spreader Bar quality, we've made sure we've replaced all of them, but it seems that some are still in shops or have already been sold ! Today, we've identified the "problem" and trust me, our spreader bar is now 100% trustable."



Lets hope this is the case as I really like the design of the Hammerhead bar as the CL stays secure when not using the DD and twisting about - perfect for my type of riding

It would be nice if they produced some pictures to show how you can tell the 100% one from the risky ones.

I "suspect" that the Dynabar V-7 (with cord), may not have the same problems with breakage,
because the hook swings up and down and side to side as it travels , so all the
pressure is released, instead of loaded on the weld spots ?

I got my Dynabar V-7 at :
321 Kiteboarding & Watersports
321.302.5663
info@321kiteboarding.com

Bille

An interesting twist on the "breaking spreader-bar" theme.

A few years ago I was kiting at Cabarete, when a strong squall came through & started lofting me. When I came down onto the water I attempted to use the CL QR ... it didn't release. I decided to put the kite on the water to release line tension & grab the CL to unhook it from the spreader bar. Big mistake: the second I let go of the bar, the kite bounced off the water & flung me violently through the air. The kite was in a death spiral & dragging me towards shore (rocks/trees). Just before I hit the shore, the kite suddenly released & flew off into the trees. After catching my breath I looked down at the spreader bar & saw that it had severed at the attachment points from the pressure, possibly saving me from serious injury ...

Get yourself a mystic, they dont have a history of spreader bar failures.

Another one bites the dust.

This time, the right hand side broke at the weld - at the apex of a jump. Landed and rode back to shore with as little load on the kite as possible... the other side is pretty tough though, I can't even bend it by hand.

Starting to run out of spares and still waiting for news that the 2013 Fusion is available... grr.

Sorry -- but i Don't suspect Anything , I Know for a FACT that a Dynabar V-7
with the cord-spreader & pulley, will NOT be breaking in this manor. Just be sure
to replace the cord if it gets frayed.

If your Nuts enough to use a product that is Known to break ; please inform me
so i can stay Up-Wind of you if Ya come to Mohave. I already bin taken out twice
now, by a loose kite with a broken leash. Now "That's" some Bad Luck from
other peoples Negligence !!

Bille