I often forget to do regular checks on my pulleys.
Yesterday i went to try spin them with no luck.

Its a good idea every time you unpack your kite to walk around and ensure they spin freely.
A stuck pulley will quickly snap your bridle line resulting in an out of control kite and a long swim in.

pullies and bridles wear out. depending on use but i'll fry the bridles that run through the pullies in 1 year. maybe 3years for pullies. Thats for my speed 3

i'm running ozone leis with no pullies ... therefor no pulley/bridle wear.

but it pays to check the attachment points. I have replaced the steering bridle lines on my c4 because of chaffing.

.......or get a kite that doesn't need pulleys. eg Ozone.

KIT33R said...
.......or get a kite that doesn't need pulleys. eg Ozone.

Clown not every sheep want to ride these average kites

eppo said...
What do you ride ugly?

New i would get a bite
Like fishing here plus i souldnt post after a Gin And Tonic afternoon on the boat
And sorry eppo something with pullieys

My kites all had the plastic ronstan pulleys and I made a habit of just pulling the line backward and forward through them virtually every time I hooked up my lines just to make sure they were moving freely.
They eventually wore out on my most used kite the 7 so I ordered some aftermarket sliders



They seemed to work very well so I have now fitted them on all of my kites, they will replace virtually any pulley.

tightlines said...
My kites all had the plastic ronstan pulleys and I made a habit of just pulling the line backward and forward through them virtually every time I hooked up my lines just to make sure they were moving freely.
They eventually wore out on my most used kite the 7 so I ordered some aftermarket sliders



They seemed to work very well so I have now fitted them on all of my kites, they will replace virtually any pulley.

Where do you get the sliders from?

I have always been skeptical of sliders, reason being have you ever seen what happens to dynema when it rubs hard against each other the combination of friction and heat melts them together or tears it like cotton.........

Having said that a lot of the new bridle lines are not standard dynema, would a seized pulley still not give you the same amount of friction?

Has any one compared the wear on working pulley lines and sliders say after a season...?

I have been using mine for about 6 months too and there doesn't appear to be any real wear.
Dyneema rubbing against dyneema would have a heap of friction and generate heaps of heat but rubbing against a super smooth polished steel surface I doubt that it would generate much heat at all.
I believe the BWS kites use steel rings that are similar but with these sliders just have a bigger circumference so spread the load more.

I think if you check your pulleys regularly and make sure they are hanging straight they should last ages the problems start if they are not hanging straight and the bridle starts rubbing on the sharp edge of the top section of the pulley and not on the roller, or if a gap opens up between the roller and the fixed part of the pulley and the bridle jams in there.

With the sliders there is no maintenance or checking required, time will tell but I don't think I will ever use a pulley again.

Flying High said...
Where do you get the sliders from?

PM sent.

trust me I was genuinely interested.

That is what the first wife said.

eppo said...
Ha ha nice one centurion. Lol. First, second , third I'd say it would all the be the same in the end.

Are you The Peoples Front OF Juddia

Ugly said...

eppo said...
Ha ha nice one centurion. Lol. First, second , third I'd say it would all the be the same in the end.

Are you The Peoples Front OF Juddia

No fuq off, we're the Juddian People's Front, (off topic but very funny movie)

pattiecannon said...
Hey Tighlines,
what's the news on the sliders shop?
Can't find these things anywhere 'cept on the EPIC site and they have ropes on them and $20 for a pair. Way to much.

Pretty sure Switch Kites have sliders similiar to the Epics, but much much cheaper. Haven't checked them out yet though.

tightlines said...
Yeah they are from Switch.

Went for a kite today and actually had a good look at my bridles, they are showing signs of wear, not to bad but the P line has flattened out a bit where it runs through the slider and is feathering slightly so maybe they are not quite as good as I first thought but the kite is 2 years old.

2 years, not bad at all! My Switch sliders on the element are different from the ones pictured... they are bulkier so less angle/friction I'm guessing.