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Articulating Spreader Bars

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Eurus
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Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby Eurus » Tue May 21, 2013 3:31 pm

The only fixed (non-sliding) articulating spreader bar I know of is Dakine. Does anyone know of others on the market as an alternative to the Dakine articulating spreader bar? I Googled a search but could only find home made spreader bars. I want a durable, fail safe articulating spreader bar and the recent Dakine failure threads as well as the discovery of my Dakine spreader bar starting to crack has made me lose confidence in their quality. And for the thread Nazis I started this thread because it is a separate topic and I didn't want this lost 3 pages deep in another thread solely about spreader bar failures. Nothing on the forum search either regarding the topic of alternative articulating spreader bars.

Here is a picture of what I am referring to:

Image

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davesails7
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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby davesails7 » Tue May 21, 2013 5:20 pm

I think the newer Dynabars have an option to make it a non-sliding articulating hook.

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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby Eurus » Tue May 21, 2013 7:12 pm

davesails7 wrote:I think the newer Dynabars have an option to make it a non-sliding articulating hook.
Yeah I checked it out but Jeezus its expensive as hell. I'm going from $32 for the Dakine to $185 for the Dynabar.

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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby davesails7 » Tue May 21, 2013 10:00 pm

Ayahuasca wrote:
davesails7 wrote:I think the newer Dynabars have an option to make it a non-sliding articulating hook.
Yeah I checked it out but Jeezus its expensive as hell. I'm going from $32 for the Dakine to $185 for the Dynabar.
But apparently the Dakine bars break in half, so how much of a deal are you really getting :D

I agree, the price of the Dynabar, like all other kite equipment, has skyrocketed! I think my Dynabar V1 was $99. I liked the original better than the new ones. The hook on the new ones is designed to flip up when there is no tension, so it's always trying to unhook you.

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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby capitan nemo » Wed May 22, 2013 6:55 am

May I ask why are you looking for one ?

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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby Bain » Wed May 22, 2013 9:42 am

davesails7 wrote:
Ayahuasca wrote:
davesails7 wrote:I think the newer Dynabars have an option to make it a non-sliding articulating hook.
Yeah I checked it out but Jeezus its expensive as hell. I'm going from $32 for the Dakine to $185 for the Dynabar.
But apparently the Dakine bars break in half, so how much of a deal are you really getting :D .
I broke my Dyna bar in a hurry. Forgot what "V" it was, but it was the one where the bar that the hook slides on goes through a hole in a flat piece of steel, then it was only welded on the back side. No weld on the front side around the bar and hole. It broke exactly where I thought it could.
V3 maybe?
The Dakines on the other hand have never let me down. Knock on wood.
But from what I read they did have a bad batch a little while ago.

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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby L0KI » Wed May 22, 2013 5:20 pm

Aya - I thought you were a kiter who rode boots and unhooked.
If that is the case, how does an articulating hook work for unhooked kiting?.. I don't see that working well.

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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby Eurus » Wed May 22, 2013 8:02 pm

Oldnbroken wrote:Aya - I thought you were a kiter who rode boots and unhooked.
If that is the case, how does an articulating hook work for unhooked kiting?.. I don't see that working well.
I never ride unhooked. Musta misread something I wrote. I do like to boost big though. Dakine just replaced my cracked spreader bar at no cost to me but once I received it I got to thinking about how safe the Dakine equipment is. Based on what a lot of posters are saying on here there have been some quality issues. Maybe they corrected the quality...who knows? Anyway...I wanted to know if there were other manufacturers who made articulating hooks and it seems Dakine was the only one I could find (other than Jaybar).

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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby Eurus » Wed May 22, 2013 8:06 pm

capitan nemo wrote:May I ask why are you looking for one ?
Sure. I ride with my harness super tight against my waist so with a regular spreader bar when the kite is pulling up it turns the spreader pad into my stomach and is uncomfortable. With an articulating hook the hook is the only piece that moves and not the entire spreader pad. So much more comfortable.

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Re: Articulating Spreader Bars

Postby L0KI » Wed May 22, 2013 8:27 pm

If you want a hook that will not snap off anymore, get rid of the hook.
It is becoming a very popular (no cost) option that many surf kiters are going to.
Just grind off the remaining crap from your old Dakine spreader that broke and run a 6mm Amsteel rope from one side of the spreader to the other.
Then just hook your chicken loop around the rope before launch and go kite.
Nothing in your way, toeside riding is far easier, no chance of lines getting caught in your hook, the hook will no longer beat the hell out out of a surfboard, no longer does the hook hurt you the way you describe, the chicken loop opens from the rope and releases as well as from a hook, you can remove your donkey dick.
The rope has pull on both sides of the spreader and does not apply the same pressures as the hook receives in the middle, so it will be far less likely to ever fail, and you can replace the rope in two minutes for $6 any time you see any wear that you do not like.
You can also monitor the wear far better than a hook that will never really give you warning it is going to fail.
All this is for hooked only kiters though.
I know you opened this thread because you did not want it to get thrown in with other spreader bar conversations...and I get the impression you are young, which sometimes means impatient,...but if you take some time to search and read the threads that talk about the cool spreader bar options, some that kiters are making in their garages, without spending much money, you might pick up a some new ideas and information.
The reason I thought you were a boot rider was your comment, in another thread, about the geriatric Slingshot Joint straps, have you tried them?


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