3m trainer, skateboard, 10knts and empty carpark and you can have hours of fun. good for practicing handle passes or learning them. just picked up a new skatey called a freebord today looks like a heap of fun they say its just like snowboarding . cant wait to get the hang of it and get my trainer kite towing me sideways across carparks.

I've had a dirtsurfer for about 3 years now and have had some good laughs with it in the mud flats over the years especially in the light stuff. I lived up in Port Douglas for a winter and when the tide went low and we had 5-10 knots it was a hours of fun. The only problem was you can end up way up wind and can't go downwind. My dirtsurfer has no brake so you couldn't slow yourself down -so the apparent wind thing cranked you upwind but i got stranded upwind once in a while which is backwards you would think. With a brake cross downwind should be alright.
The big problem of course is not being able to go backwards. I normally just rode it toeside and i don't really have any tips for you -to me its the same as riding a directional or surfboard toeside.
i have jybed (sp?) the thing before but thats a bit tricky. sometime i just stop kick it off and then ride it healside the opposite way.
As far as riding it in the non- packed sand... don't bother need some harder pack sand to work.
A bit of advice that i would have loved to had earlier... rinse the salt water off it after you use it. I broke all my spokes cause of the corrosion. Have fun with it and have fun cruisin

Thanks for that guys.

1. I`ll stay away from soft sand from here on in.
2. I`ll try rigging a bar for my little devil. I normally fly it on handles because it gives much better control and is easy to fix mistakes/relaunch, plus the handles were all I needed with a snowboard. Now that summer is approaching the nrth hemisphere, the water is now warm enough to kitesurf again, I (now) usually only use the dirtsufer when the wind is really low. (ie.not enough to fly my tube kite and get in the water.)

QUESTION. Is there anyway to rig a bar so it can have the same advantages as handles? (for an "ozone little devil").

Should be able to rig your Ozone the same as FlySurfers on a bar - see www.skywalk.org/ - note the rotating kite leash (RKL) for tangle free rolls, kite loops, etc.

The brakes go to the outside of the bar, although for more bar pressure on smaller kites you can rig them front line steering if you really want to.

To reverse your kite you simply pull on the brake lines as if they were handles - the point where you attach your kite safety leash and/or RKL to the brake lines depends on the size of the kite - you'll have to do some trial and error with this on your Ozone in light wind to make sure it comes down safely.

quote:

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Originally posted by glaucus atlanticus

thanks.(always good feedback from Ian)

I`ll try rigging it this week-end. I had a look a the peterlynn site and he has a bar that is shaped a little bit like handle bars on a bmx bike. Looks like a fairly simple idea, the turn of the bar pulls the brake line (maybe) 50%. good simple idea.

I plan to get myself a Flysurfer asap(maybe 7M psycho/extacy) so I`ll wait until that comes my way until I try rigging with the Flysurfer bar.

CARLBEVO- a fellow ocean lover huh?, GO THE NUDIBRANCH!

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quote:

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Originally posted by glaucus atlanticus

thanks.(always good feedback from Ian)

I`ll try rigging it this week-end. I had a look a the peterlynn site and he has a bar that is shaped a little bit like handle bars on a bmx bike. Looks like a fairly simple idea, the turn of the bar pulls the brake line (maybe) 50%. good simple idea.

I plan to get myself a Flysurfer asap(maybe 7M psycho/extacy) so I`ll wait until that comes my way until I try rigging with the Flysurfer bar.

CARLBEVO- a fellow ocean lover huh?, GO THE NUDIBRANCH!

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G'day glaucus atlanticus

What the does your name mean?? :-)
Just wanted to let you know that you can get a bar designed especially for your kite, its made by Ozone and it comes with a safety leash, which does not require any fine tuning, provided your lines are reasonably equal length.
If you have the genuine Ozone lines that should have come with the LD then the Ozone foil bar will work perfectly, the bar alos comes with a main loop with built in safety release.
You can see it online here
http://www.kitepower.com.au/cart.php?target=product&product_id=16586&category_id=258
Its in the Landboarding - Accessories section.

Kite specific landboards are now available, MBS make several models now, they are what my son rides in the videos on the website. The advantage with them over a dirtsurfer is that they are true twin tips for land, wheras the dirtsurfer is a directional.

Cya and
Goodwinds
Steve McCormack

OK ...

Ian seems to be the expert here, but if anyone else has input ...

I can access a dirtsurfer with straps (but no brake) (the owner willing to lend it as long as he can watch - for some reason thinks I may kill myself)

Weekend wind has been crap so am getting desperate.

I take it on land you would go down a size or two, so ....

- forecast tomorrow is 15/20 n/e (but I reckon it will be 10/15 at most
- my smallest kite is an 8

The questions are:

- where in Perth would I go
- will an 8 (inflatable) be suitable
- if on land does this mean it will be as gusty as all sh1t
- will the best option (as flying kite on land) be to fly unhooked?

Head down to tompkins park. Which is pretty much where melville/lucky bay is. Its the big fields up from the windsurfing carpark. You can ride here in all wind directions, but sw and easterlies (being on shore during easterlies with downwind obstacles, you have to be capable) are the best.

If you want a hand some day launching, setting up, rescuing etc send me an email. I only live up the road and can help you out.

Ocassionaly I head down there on **** wind days to have a play, static jumping etc.

DEFINITELY down 4m+ kite size for land compared to water!!!

In Perth:
SE The park along Riverside Drive in the City isn't bad or the rugby ovals in front of Steve's Hotel
NE South Perth is good or the parks near Melville
SW at end of summer if no rain - the salt lake off Enis Ave @ Rockingham or rugby ovals @ Cott
W anywhere you can find hard surface along the coast

If the wind is coming across the water or flat ground with no trees it's all good - not very gusty at all.

One thing you'll find with land boarding, especially the Dirtsurfer, is that you can maintain apparent wind much more easily than on the water due to the rolling momentum and lack of speed drop-off in lulls - it's the stopping that's trickier - love that disc brake on the Dirtsurfer :-) It's also fun to lock the back wheel and spin it out if you have foot straps!

Success!

absolutley amazing!

So......trying to ride a dirtsurfer with my 4.5 little devil and handles has been really soul(ego) destroying.
I thought it was just me being a complete gummby!

But I rigged a very basic 2 line setup on to an old pair of MTB handle bars, what a difference that made!
2nd thing was, i found a place on the beach where the wind was directly onshore.
3rd, Dead low tide,hard packed sand about 50M wide (no soft sand).

wind10-15knots of clean onshore.

Off I go...slowly slowly gaining speed....... bring the kite overhead, big carving turn and then off down the beach toeside. YEAH!
I`ll never try handles with the dirtsufer again, they suck.

Anyway.....up and down the beach with some really good high speed runs, couple of good high speed crashes because I was getting overpowered, due to the apparent wind increasing so dramaticly, and dragged up the beach and into the soft sand.(destroyed one rockgardn knee guard, but better that than my knee)

Fantastic.

Thanks for all your help guys and gals. I`m an inspired man.
I`ll rig my bar 4 line this week to stop myself getting overpowered so easily.