rogue_kiteboarder wrote: ↑Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:57 pm
Did you flush it using the little covers after use, and did you take it apart and clean it regularly?
flushing out both ends has been a job I do every few weeks or after 6-8 days on the water, I have taken the ends off for a detail inspection twice before, and to my surprise the internal lines are just like new, so this little lug breaking off was a bit of a surprise,
I don't know what caused it, but the I only knew there was a problem when clicking the button for depower, it would sort of feel partly stuck, and at times need a pull down on the bar to fully engage a solid click of de-power, this went on for around 4 sessions before I decided to investigate.
less than 18 hours after sending the pictures to my dealer, the spare part was sent to me, so a big up for Mark at Boardworx in the UK,
once you have taken all the bar down to its base of all the bits laid out neatly on a work bench you can see just how well made this click bar is and the high quality of engineering design,
all the internal lines and leader lines, including the depower line through the brilliant design of the main PU "tube" through the bar item are such strong items.
points to watch though are -
Right at the bottom of the PU tube is a robust knuckle style joint that needs to be opened up every so often to flush out the fine sand that can collect there,
its easy to do as its held together by a long grub screw, undone by the same thumb style key you get with the bar, and whilst this is being done pull the red safety line down through the quick release to expose a few meters of the red line then pour fresh water down through the top of the now opened up knuckle joint to flush out the fine sand that might be lurking in there, this is so important to do especially if like me you never release the kite out on its safety line on the water, which would do the cleaning flush thing anyways, (but not the knuckle joint internal)
many of us release the kite on to the safety on the beach, which is not good to do as the safety line when wet will attract sticky sand and when you pull the line back into its quick release housing you unwittingly trap gritty sand in there as well
I totally agree that the click bars main flying lines above the thicker non fluffy lines, are not the best, and are prone to break after heavy use and wear at one certain point, just below the final spliced end near the top pigtail attachments, basically where the line naturally bends the most easily when wagging in the wind, it good to check these areas often to spot the quite obvious signs that should prompt you to take action before they break, I have had mine break twice in 6 years, before the click bars but still the same line, and Wayne my sailing buddy has had 2 breaks as well, both north bars and one was last years click bar, but its the same fluffy type of north flying line, and all these breaks were in exactly the same place.
I have now removed that risk by replacing all my fluffy style north lines with Power Q line, probably the ultimate kite line available, but yes its expensive, but great to use as it never needs splicing, just cut to length and tie in a loop at each end with a simple knot, I have never heard of anyone breaking this line.
Back in 2001-2004 when most if not all lines used to break "easily" I switched to Power Q line which ended this breaking problem for me and many others.
To explain my understanding of breaking easily, - back before I was using any sort of quick release
I was out on Ainsdale beach in a good blow, and using a kite that was less than stable, and of course I was using an early 4 line C kite, I remember the kite stalling and falling back to the ground directly downwind into the power zone, I was on the beach and realised the danger I was in at that moment when the kite would power back up, I dropped to the sand and dug in my heels to brace hard against the massive yank downwind that was about to hit me, which at the point of the inevitable sudden pull I was saved by the weak lines, 3 of the 4 lines instantly snapped letting the kite flag out onto the 1 remaining line.phew!!
Internal parts of clickbar are just like lines prone to wear and have to be checked. I hope you check your lines often enough and replace them when it is needed. 