Ocean Rodeo stick shift bar

[Laughingman]

. We have found that in the cold, the bar is far more enjoyable to use than traditional metal bars as it is significantly warmer in your hand...

JZ

Hey John what is the bar made of? I'm dying here waiting for mine to show up!

[icurumba]

Richard from OR chiming in for John on this,...the Groove bar is injection molded with a carbon / polymer blend. The exact details of the blend are a trade secret,..it took a lot testing, $$ and hard work to get this right ...
Other than being light and strong,..one of the less talked about perks is the warmth. In cold weather,..this bar is noticeably warmer than Aluminum tube.

[K-Live]

OBX crew. I was able to try the bar a few times. I liked the shape. I could see liking it more as I got accustom to it. The grip is nice. I tend to either ride fully powered or depowered, so the minor adjustments are not necessarily beneficial to me. On the other hand having the depower line hanging or wrapping around the center lines are also not great. If i had to emergency depower...I could see where keeping both hands on the OR bar would be beneficial. The center line adjustment is great. The material is super light. I do like that the lines are visible and easily rinsed. Turning the stick shift is a little tight, but when you sheet out and not already overpowered, it can turn easier.

[knot_moving]

I rode this bar multiple times. My usual bar is a velocity race bar with 4:1 depower & I ride it with trim in one hand and bar in the other.
I'm a very average rider that has fun boosting and playing around on a directional.
Turns out I bought a LF 2016 bar for my 10m Flite just before this trip & so comparing all 3 bars:
I still love the fine tuning of the 4:1 and the confidence I feel in any conditions to get the trim where I want it - I love kiting but have a lower risk tolerance than many.

Still the stick shift is a VERY close second and the ability to reliably trim and release in gusts and lulls is awesome.
Comparing it to a traditional above bar depower - it is no contest. Stick shift is head and shoulders superior. My engineering mind is happy the bottom is open to be able to see what's going on there and to clean it out.

I haven't followed the earlier posts - I'm sure there are comments on the grip. I would wear sailing gloves if I had one - for cost of the bar I guess a more durable grip is a good thing & sailing gloves would be no big thing.

BTW if you have not made a trip to the outer banks it needs to be on your list - an absolutely awesome amazing week!

[DougP]

Great week at OBX Ocean Rodeo demo event! Got some time behind the stick shift bar on both my 17m and 12m. Bar was very clean with all lines through the center tube, and easy to depower. To twist the knob and power up I had to ride toward the kite a little, to get tension off the lines. No big deal really, but I'm used to holding my edge and yanking in the trim strap if I want a little more power on the bar. It was very nice not to have to reach up for the trim strap, especially to depower - trade offs.
Favorite thing about the bar - adjustable stopper ball for customizeable throw. Worked great! Great design!
Least favorite thing - aggressive texture on bar. Hands were pretty raw after 2 short sessions. I hear the production bars will be softer.

[LiquidXtasy]

Got to try this bar out this week in Hatteras with the Ocean Rodeo crew. It's a very nice bar, I liked the simplicity of it. There was no extra rope slack dangling in front of your face. And it seemed like they made it bulletproof since any sand that gets caught inside it can easily be washed away.

Since I wasn't used to the bar, the turning of the knob on the side to power up and depower felt awkward, but once it's set, you will probably rarely use it, so it's not too big of a deal. One thing that I didn't like though, was the fact that it takes longer to power and depower since you are turning a knob instead of just letting go or pulling the rope. It might be a problem for someone who is always adjusting their trim or someone who needs to quickly depower or power their kite.

All in all, it's definitely a great bar and a step into the future, and the simple design is top notch, but I just can't see spending twice as much on it.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars

[randycasburn]

Disclaimer: I'm an OR Ambassador

Demo'd the North Click Bar back-to-back with the OR Stickshift Bar. OR EV padding was a bit stiff on the pre-production bar while thinner and softer on the North bar. OR final production bar will be softer. Both bars have stoppers. They work more like bar throw limiters rather than the traditional ball stoppers we're accustomed to. It's possible but maybe a bit impractical to adjust either while riding. Both bars have very clean above the bar line configs.The OR bar is simple to adjust standing on the beach before launching. The North bar not so much (two person job almost). The OR bar's open slot seems brilliant for flushing out "stuff" - North bar not so much (or maybe not at all). OR bar has larger circumference so smaller hands may not like as much. North bar grip is smaller and more comfortable to me. I really noticed the difference with the angled bar from OR.

Making adjustments under way was interesting.

Powering up:For me, it's awkward to power up either bar while going left. Picture going left one-handed. Now either use your left hand to reach across to turn the knob or control the kite with left hand and turn knob with right hand. Adjusting with the right hand worked, but was awkward for me. Additionally, in both cases the rider must turn the left shoulder toward the kite with the expected result. Powering up while riding to the right worked easily on both bars. OR takes a significant number of turns to go from full depower to full power. North not so many. I suppose an argument can be made for finer grained control with smaller increments. I'm not the strongest person but found powering up to be somewhat easy. Turning the knob on the North bar was not nearly as simple as on the OR bar. The North bar requires one to sort of jut an elbow out to get to the right position to adjust. The smaller, rounder knob just makes sense to me and is an angle that makes turning it much more natural. Sheeting out makes powering up easier on both bars.

Depowering: Going left is awkward only on the North bar since you lift a hand (most likely right hand) to push the button. The "bump" feature of the OR bar is very clever, but takes a few rides to get used to. At first I thought it weird, but once I knew how to use it properly it became simple. One has to push the heal of their hand down slightly in order to "bump" the control. I was able to depower the OR bar much more quickly than I could the North bar. By pushing out and spinning down on the OR bar I could release multiple "notches" of length. On the North bar it was click-chunk, click-chunk, click-chunk. The North bar seems to take more deliberate action.

Summary: For me, I can't say I'm ready for either bar. I realized while using these bars that I frequently go back and forth from full power to full depower. There are a few scenarios that I call "why fight the kite" situations. Standing in shallow water waiting for _____ (fill in the blank). Pausing to adjust bindings. Launching/landing in very powered conditions in a sketchy launch. Body dragging in very strong winds or opposing current when there is trouble reaching the board. And others. Whether these techniques are "proper" or "needed" or "correct" or whatever doesn't really matter to me - they are habits I've developed. While I ride with and was taught by guys that are fully powered no matter what conditions or scenario exists, I choose to use the control system to my advantage. So for me, transitioning from full power to full depower and visa versa is the show stopper.

Bottom line: The OR bar has the advantage of the open slot for flushing out stuff. I have very find sand at my beach and this is important. The OR control knob and its position makes better sense to me (turning a screw at natural angle rather than a wing nut @90 degrees). The North bar's rectangular PU tube is innovative for bar untwisting. The OR bar shape is a nice feature.

I did not ride these bars in super power conditions and didn't loop them a lot.

Hope this is helpful for at least two people.

All the best,

Randy

[Jerome Bonieux]

If an Ocean Rodeo ambassador will compare both bars, I feel someone from North's side has to give his opinion too.
**Disclaimer** I am the original inventor of the click bar and worked hand in hand with the North design team to get it on the market.

I have tried a pre production version of the OR bar minus their stopper ball.
For me the difference in powering up and depowering is quite significant between both bars.

Powering up: I find it much easier on the Click bar. The leverage you get from the winder on the Click bar is much greater than turning the small knob on the stick shift bar.
Also the fact that the lines don't go around as many internal pins on the click bar means there is less friction inside and thus again, it is easier to power up.
I do not agree about the "elbow out" description that was given previously, it is just a movement to get used to and for sure the first session won't be the best in terms of confort but after two or three sessions, I guarantee that it is an extremely easy movement to do.
I actually find the position my hand ends up with the OR bar being a lot more awkward.
And again, the biggest problem for me is that you really have the completely remove the tension from the back lines to power back up the OR bar.
With the North bar you can actually do it with quite some tension on the lines, which is handy when you are in a situation when you are under powered so where you would rather not have to push the bar away.

Depowering: On paper you would think that the OR bar would probably be better at this since you can hit the knob.. In reality not so much.
I find pushing the button on the click bar a lot more "civilised" meaning it feels more controlled.
The knob on the OR bar turning rapidly next to your hand isn't as refined.
Saying that, the depowering mode is much better than the powering up mode, but I still like pressing on the button of the Click bar better.

Regarding the fact that the bar is opened so better to flush, people might not have realised yet that the Click bar actually doesn't have any problem even though it is closed.
There are over 5000 bars on the market for now almost 9 months and still not one, yes not one single customer I am aware of that had his bar stuck with sand or salt. Can we move on from this argument now? It is getting seriously old.. Plus no one ever mentions the two rubber plugs which the Click bar has on either sides for cleaning.. Should you get some sand in there, it is as easy as opening a plug with your finger and shaking your bar under the water..

The shape of the bar. The OR bar has a funny square shape and it is rather big, I guess you could get used to it but as mentioned previously, the Click bar feels much better in the hand according to me.

Features of both bars: The Click bar come with automatic untwist of the front lines, lines extensions, variable V hights to suit all kites on the market and the possibility to add a fifth line. The OR bar has none of these features.
The one feature that the OR bar has that the Click bar doesn't is the springs in the floats that allows the release of the lines without having to pull on them; so for example to depower your kite before launching, before you get tension on the lines.
This is a feature that I had tested myself on some very early prototypes and I never went along with it since the springs also add additional resistance while you are trying to power up.
I have thus deliberately chosen the trade-of of having to manually pull on the lines to depower when on the beach but have minimum resistance while on the water.
The reason for that is obvious: it doesn't matter if you have to take 15seconds on the beach to manually pull on your lines to depower, but it is much better than always having to fight against a spring every time you power your kite up on the water.. I tend to spend the majority on my time on the water and not on the beach, I don't know about you guys?

Price: They both retail for USD 690.

In summary, for me it is an obvious win for the Click bar. Please don't take my word for it, if you have a chance, take both bars for a test and judge for yourself.

POV of the Click bar in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYinfyS4MPs

Feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions about the Click bar.

Cheers,

Jerome

[andylc]

Nice to see 2 biased opinions at least! If there is a weakness of the North Click bar it's that little bit longer to power up. However it is easy to do with any amount of tension in the back lines and I find it very easy to do when riding in either direction. Deposed is very precise and quick. I don't see that allowing the knob to spin as in the OR setup is an advantage because the whole point of it is precise depower. I'm
Sure both systems work but as Jerome says if you need flexibility in terms of V position and 5th line option, plus awesome line untwisting then there is only the one choice anyway.

[EastCC]

If an Ocean Rodeo ambassador will compare both bars, I feel someone from North's side has to give his opinion too.
**Disclaimer** I am the original inventor of the click bar and worked hand in hand with the North design team to get it on the market.

I have tried a pre production version of the OR bar minus their stopper ball.
For me the difference in powering up and depowering is quite significant between both bars.

Powering up: I find it much easier on the Click bar. The leverage you get from the winder on the Click bar is much greater than turning the small knob on the stick shift bar.
Also the fact that the lines don't go around as many internal pins on the click bar means there is less friction inside and thus again, it is easier to power up.
I do not agree about the "elbow out" description that was given previously, it is just a movement to get used to and for sure the first session won't be the best in terms of confort but after two or three sessions, I guarantee that it is an extremely easy movement to do.
I actually find the position my hand ends up with the OR bar being a lot more awkward.
And again, the biggest problem for me is that you really have the completely remove the tension from the back lines to power back up the OR bar.
With the North bar you can actually do it with quite some tension on the lines, which is handy when you are in a situation when you are under powered so where you would rather not have to push the bar away.

Depowering: On paper you would think that the OR bar would probably be better at this since you can hit the knob.. In reality not so much.
I find pushing the button on the click bar a lot more "civilised" meaning it feels more controlled.
The knob on the OR bar turning rapidly next to your hand isn't as refined.
Saying that, the depowering mode is much better than the powering up mode, but I still like pressing on the button of the Click bar better.

Regarding the fact that the bar is opened so better to flush, people might not have realised yet that the Click bar actually doesn't have any problem even though it is closed.
There are over 5000 bars on the market for now almost 9 months and still not one, yes not one single customer I am aware of that had his bar stuck with sand or salt. Can we move on from this argument now? It is getting seriously old.. Plus no one ever mentions the two rubber plugs which the Click bar has on either sides for cleaning.. Should you get some sand in there, it is as easy as opening a plug with your finger and shaking your bar under the water..

The shape of the bar. The OR bar has a funny square shape and it is rather big, I guess you could get used to it but as mentioned previously, the Click bar feels much better in the hand according to me.

Features of both bars: The Click bar come with automatic untwist of the front lines, lines extensions, variable V hights to suit all kites on the market and the possibility to add a fifth line. The OR bar has none of these features.
The one feature that the OR bar has that the Click bar doesn't is the springs in the floats that allows the release of the lines without having to pull on them; so for example to depower your kite before launching, before you get tension on the lines.
This is a feature that I had tested myself on some very early prototypes and I never went along with it since the springs also add additional resistance while you are trying to power up.
I have thus deliberately chosen the trade-of of having to manually pull on the lines to depower when on the beach but have minimum resistance while on the water.
The reason for that is obvious: it doesn't matter if you have to take 15seconds on the beach to manually pull on your lines to depower, but it is much better than always having to fight against a spring every time you power your kite up on the water.. I tend to spend the majority on my time on the water and not on the beach, I don't know about you guys?

Price: They both retail for USD 690.

In summary, for me it is an obvious win for the Click bar. Please don't take my word for it, if you have a chance, take both bars for a test and judge for yourself.

POV of the Click bar in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYinfyS4MPs

Feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions about the Click bar.

Cheers,

Jerome

Jerome
You do not need to remove the tension from the rear lines to power up on the OR bar, that would defeat the purpose. The springs add such a negligible amount of tension to the winder when using it that it is really not worth mentioning.
Nice work on the north bar though, I found it quite nice. Actually found the larger diameter of the OR bar fits better in my hands but that will be different for everyone.

I'll try and get a pov video