Good.
Light bar pressure, very easy fast steering and auto-relaunch.

Not so good.
The stopper ball thingy wasn't working but there is a simple fix for it.
The webbing holding the chicken loop on is a bit dodgey and has been replaced.
Some kiters were a bit heavy handed and were either stalling the kite or pushing the bar out too far and dropping out of the sky. This has been fixed by using the trim adjuster and not letting go of the bar.

quote:

---

Originally posted by windburn

Like the kite, does everything I want it too.....

---

What winds are you flying the Sonic in? What do you weigh and what kind of board are you using?

quote:

---

Originally posted by windburn

GregW.
Was flying it yesterday in about 20 - 25kts. Weigh about 90kg and use airush switch. Think its a 135, not sure. Nothing wrong with the kite itself, plenty of power for me . Bar pressure is great, but it took me a while to dial in the cleat adjustment. Just the webbing is a bit of a worry, especially in stronger winds!!! By the way water relaunch is sooo easy

---

theres a temporary fix for this. You need a 40cm peice of 2.5-3mm dyneema

ftp://ftp2.globeriderkites.com/globerid/modif-gks-loop.wmv

Also place your safety leash above the camcleat.

New Sonics have just arrived and they all have had the modification from the factory. If yours hasn't I can email you the video on how to do the mod. Or you can take it to the shop you bought it from.

Jason
www.briskites.com.au/

quote:

---

Originally posted by BrisKites

New Sonics have just arrived and they all have had the modification from the factory. If yours hasn't I can email you the video on how to do the mod. Or you can take it to the shop you bought it from.

Jason
www.briskites.com.au/

---

good to see they have arrived. Still havent got the fix for my bar though

and you recieved them 12 days ago.

2 different failures on the same chickenloop. Way to go for product testing.

Failure one. Webbing is pulling away and will eventually fail leaving you with a kite flying away (safety attaches below the failure point). Also the bolt is bent and the camcleat is corroding (stainless bolt and aluminium cleat wtg). You can see the temp fix in the next lot.







Second failure. They eyebolt has snapped off. This will happen if you unhook.





kite 10/10
bar 1/10

I've got an 11m. It's one from the first batch. It flies great however you need to keep an eye on the section of the LE where the front lines are connected to the kite. The knot on the connection rubs your LE and will create a whole in your LE (very quickly). This has happened to my 11m. I am still waiting on the aftermarket kit from the dealer I bought it from but he's taking his f@#!ing time. GK have come up with a fix, so they say. On all the new kites they have a grey pad that is glued on the section of the LE where the damage occurs. Keep an eye on this as I can aready see a little wear on this pad on my new 14m. It will be a long time before it wears through it but keep an eye on it anyway.

Has anyone else had similar bad luck with the earlier models and what kind of customer service have you got from your dealer?

Apart from this I'd highly recommend these kites.

Cheers

Hey Guys,
this should answer all the bug questions and I know the NSW dealer just got the kits in.


Ok, so here's the skinny...

Nothing's broke so there's no real 'fix' ... there's a few mods that we asked Globerider for and Mat Pendle (GK designer) has done it quicker than we expected... we got news today that there is a simple extras kit for the few existing kites and that the mods will be factory fitted on future kites.

Closest one to a 'fix' is that Litewave Dave spotted, on his well abused demo kite, that the knot on the pigtail that attaches to the webbing on the Leading edge ... where the FRONT KPO bridle attachment goes (SEE PIC BELOW FOR LOCATION) ... was in a position (facing inwards) to rub on the dacron of the Leading edge ...



This could possibly cause undue wear over a lot of use, especially with sand in the equation.

Globerider have responded by reinforcing the area... they are sending out simple patches for existing owners for piece of mind... which are put on here...





Also new...

At the moment its easy to self land and get to your kite by just grabbing a front line ... its been done a many times in strong wind and has not been a problem .... never the less...

We asked for a front line re-ride facility so that when you are self landing, especially in strong / gusty wind and want to get to your kite / pack down etc ... you can just attach your handle pass leash to it and let the kite go onto a classic style front line leash out... this involves a stainless ring, a pigtail and a stopper ball. Its easy to fit and were pretty stoked that Mat has already done it.


Of course, we also asked for a new stopper insert to go inside the rope... a rubber one, not a tube... this will also be included in the kit.


Another thing we asked for is an extra stopper ball at the end of the de-power rope (before the front lines attach) ... This is beacuse when you punch through the stopper and the bar moves to the end of the rope for a full 'let go the bar' safety release ... it can wedge the sliding stopper balls/tube at the top of the rope... It doesn't get stuck and its very easy to recover... but we figured if there was another stopper ball already there at the end... it would more easily just slide back down to arms reach so you can re-engage the bar stopper... So Mat's put that on too.

The bar is still nice and simple... here is a pic with the re-ride mod... the HP leash is shown attached to the re-ride (it should still be used attached to the point between the c-loop and cleet when riding)...





The final and very simple mod is designed to help stabilise the kite more in strong and gusty wind... something I have subjected my 11m demo to on far too many occasions last 2 months.

As I have mentioned before... when you are getting to the top end of the kite's wind range (25-30 knot + gusts) and having to sheet right out to tap into extra de-power for heavy gusts... the LE may flatten out and flare for a split second if you are continuing to ride/edge .... as opposed to letting go of the bar for a full safety de-power in which case it is fine and does what it says on the tin. NB: THE SONIC DOES NOT INVERT (in case anyone has heard reports of some 'bow' kites possibly inverting, not that the Sonic is a 'bow' kite anyway)

It is to do with Mat's unique KPO bridle system ie: the tow points of the front lines where they attach to the LE bridle pulley are designed to actively move with sheeting to help optimise the power delivery of the kite.

In the strong gust / sheeted out / still riding scenario ... the KPO moves inward ... towards the centre of the kite ... this allows a load bias towards the centre part of the bridle and allows the tips to open more ... a heavy gust can very briefly make the pulley go further than it needs to which is what can cause the flare. Bear in mind this is something that we have found in very gusty, dense, UK wind up to 10 knots + beyond the kites 10-25 'safe in 30' claimed range ... wind we have only subjected the kite to for our own testing and one or two squalls...

Mat has simply added 2 small pices of 15mm of bridle with a knot at each end (see PDF sheet below).. these hitch onto the bridle 95cm from the its attachment point at the Leading edge... it effectively stops the KPO pulley at that point.

If we could be bothered with marketing speak we could call it the Kite Power Optimiser Override Limitation System (KPOOLS) ... but its effectively just a knot.


I actually put these on my 11m today (good old Q-line) and had the best session ever on the 11m... though with a nice 15-20 knots, sunshine, acres of flat water and waves I didn't notice the KPO getting that far... averaged around 2-3 inches away so it wasn't even needed. After all the recent super gusty 30 knot sessions on the 11m (for the sake of testing and not having the 8m)... today reminded me what it was all about. I self launched, self landed, stopper was working a treat and the kite was solid and smooth ... 4 hrs straight, no stress



Ok... so I hope that covers the mod pack, as I see it, in enough detail for a friday night... I am very pleased to see such a speedy response to all of the suggestions that we have been throwing at Globerider.

The first US kites will all be supplied with this pack fitted, cos Dave's kites have been on a slow boat from China

I believe the next kites due in the UK will be up to this spec and we will also be sending packs out to dealers and all existing Sonic owners for free.

I can't speak for the rest of the world but all distributors have been informed today... If anyone has any problems getting hold of anything, I will ask for some extra kits so if anyone is having any problem getting hold of any just contact me... please also remember that its all very easy to DIY !

All future kites will be coming with these mods factory fitted.

Here is a copy of the PDF showing all the bits...


_________________
Powered by... Airjam Kiteboarding

Hey MikeM...is it just me or did none of the images/pdfs work?