Depower Rope/line

[SupaEZ]

I am always surprised how quickly the depower rope wears out. I find myself replacing the rope once a season at least. I mostly fly north

I bet your North bar is 2010-2011 or 2012.....in 2013 and 2014 the center hole is servicable plastic
All those older bars had metal center hole
After a while the lower part of the metal hole gets a sharp edge from depower line abrasion / friction
That sharp edge is what chews it up
The 2011 bar on my 12m2 Reb even had a channel grooved in to the metal hole from lines
You can slow down the wear by using a smooth round file and removing sharp edge
Finish off smooth with wet 400 sandpaper then finally with wet 600 sandpaper

[Zepheros]

Is it true that most depower lines are made of Dyneema. Is this the best rope on the market for this use, does anyone know the pros and cons and are there alternatives that may be better. Perhaps someone with sailing or climbing experience can shed some light.

[Westozzy]

Bow string wax hey. As I'm moving back to north this season I might take this advice on board. The 2012 depower line change nearly killed me seriously.

With this wax idea, what about sand getting on it when you set up your lines? Surely the sand will stick to it, like it does on a surfboard. You never get that sand out once its in the SB wax and you need to remove and rewax eventually.

What have you found with hits situation??

Also there a different types of bow line wax, which one / brand do you use??

[William Munney]

Bow string wax hey. As I'm moving back to north this season I might take this advice on board. The 2012 depower line change nearly killed me seriously.

snip

Getting the line through the black pull with the velcro on it was the worst part for me. I finally was able to pull it through with some thin stainless wire I used as a wire fid. Even then it was a really hard pull. The rope I purchased from windchaser sports after I found I could not do an eye splice using a standard fid (too thick and too small inside). I'm going to try using a Selma fid next time.

[jbdc]

Bow string wax hey. As I'm moving back to north this season I might take this advice on board. The 2012 depower line change nearly killed me seriously.

With this wax idea, what about sand getting on it when you set up your lines? Surely the sand will stick to it, like it does on a surfboard. You never get that sand out once its in the SB wax and you need to remove and rewax eventually.

What have you found with hits situation??

Also there a different types of bow line wax, which one / brand do you use??

I wanted to get the stuff in a hurry, and "Mossy Oak" was the only brand they carried at a major retailer. It says 'for synthetic fiber bowstrings' on it, so that must be good, right? It probably means there isn't any petrochemicals in it which would eat the plastic. *shrugz*

After application and first use it will lock the braid, stiffen the lines up, and makes it look cool and silvery like a snake belly. It doesn't get super-hot here in Canadia, just over 30C in the height of summer. But since the braid is locked and the wax is pretty hard, a bit sand might stick on top; but doesn't really get *in* to the wax like it does on my SB. It's pretty easy to rinse and/or brush off. Any 'additional wear' coming from picking up the odd grain of sand is more than offset by the overall increase in wear resistance. YMMV in warmer climes, I guess.

The wax *will* pick up the corrosion from the bar hole and turn black; I like the look though.

[Westozzy]

Cool. Do you just rub it in...heard dudes melting wax and stuff and I don't want to do that!

[jbdc]

Yep; that's part of what attracted me to it as an option; I didn't want to have to take my bars apart or do any melting. Apply, rub it in with either the bar, the stopper, a rag, or a combination of all three; repeat as necessary until coated to your satisfaction. Rubbing rapidly with the rag will help it impregnate into the line. I did this while tuning my bars on the sidewalk (I live in an apartment building), I'm sure I looked more than a little weird. You could probably put it in your pocket for a few minutes beforehand to soften it up a bit; but it wasn't really necessary. I did 3 bars with less than half a stick.

Obviously, you'll want to make sure that the line is running smoothly through all the parts of the bar system. Wax will scrape off when you do this; like waxing a board, it's probably not a good idea to do over carpet, especially if you're married/common law/renting.

[Westozzy]

Ta for that...another relate question.

2013 and 2014 bars have those sacrificial plastic inserts right.

Okay if they are one piece...obviously you have to take out the depower line before you replace.

How hard is that?? Have they made it easy to untie from the depower strap?