Taak said..
Hi all,
I have been lurking on here for quite a while and learned a lot. As information is scarce and things develop quickly I thought I would share the insights I gained on my Gong foil gear here. Hope it helps someone.
Rider: 80kgs. Winging for a year now in both waves and flat water. Many wing downwinders.
Location: Netherlands, Northsea and the bigger lakes
Gong foils I own/owned:
Rise XL
Curve L, XL
Veloce M, L, XL
Surf stab 45 cm
Veloce stab 43 cm
Kite stab 40 cm
Rise XL: about this foil I'm quite opinionated in a bad way. I don't think it has any advantages over the curve XL for people around 80kgs and lower. It just has way too much drag and lift. Which makes pumping onto the foil more difficult as it is hard to start going forward. When pumping it is hard to get your weight back above your front foot as it has too much lift. I have taught a couple of friends to wing and all preferred the Curve XL and the Veloce XL for learning. (Sold)
Curve XL: great first foil to start winging and once you progress it remains the foil with the best low-end. You can pump it onto the foil aggressive without stalling which is a big difference to the Veloce range where you need more speed. The top speed is ok but a bit too slow to keep up with the swell on the north sea. Yet perfect for easy downwinders on the bigger lakes here in the Netherlands. (Keeping it for extreme low-end and downwind with paddle)
Curve: L: great foil with, as expected, similar characteristics as the XL. I found pumping quite difficult on this foil compared to the XL and also the Veloce L and XL. I didn't own it for long as I also had the Veloce XL at the time and they overlap completely with the Veloce winning on low-end, speed and pumping. (Sold)
Veloce XL: my all-round favorite as it has a good low-end but also great speed/low drag. I found progressing with tacks a lot easier than on the Curve because you keep your speed way longer (lower drag). If you only wing on flat water I don't think there is much of a reason to go smaller in the Veloce line. Even though the Curve has a better low-end for pumping onto the foil the Veloce's low-end is way better once you are up. Because of the low drag you can go through lulls way easier as you don't lose your speed so quickly. So practically I nearly never use the Curve XL anymore as long as there are some gusts of 13 knots to get up. In bigger waves you do feel it wants to pop you out at some point. Hence, why I bought the L/M. The Veloce XL is still my favorite for wing downwinds on the lakes here. I often read that the Veloce line is harder to turn than the Curve line. Yet, I found the opposite and prefer the Veloce for turning. (Keeping it for wing and downwind paddle in more wind)
Veloce L: same characteristics as the XL. Pumps really nice and similar to the XL. Yet a lot nicer in bigger waves and downwind on the sea. Easier to control/turn/keep in the water at high speeds. Low-end for me with a 4m wing is 16knots or so. Currently this is the foil that I use the most. I have used it with the 43 Veloce stab, but it is better balanced when combined with the kite stab 40. (Keeping it, main weapon in waves and bigger wing downwind days).
Veloce M: I don't need this, but still I still bought it ;) It's fast, very fast. I do need >22knots to get going with 3m wing. Which is directly a complication as you need to be certain that it is really windy to pick this foil or keep a bigger wing in the air. Combined with the Veloce 43 stab it was not behaving well (a lot of front foot pressure). Yet with the kite stab 40 it is a lot better. I can imagine that it will be my go to foil for the really big days on the north sea (30+ knots and big swell). But so far the L suits this purpose for me as well so it is not a 'must'. (keeping it to learn/progress more).
My opinion on the stabs (@ 80kgs):
Surf stab 45 cm: balances out with the Rise XL and works ok with the Curve XL.
Veloce 43 cm: Balances out with the Curve XL and works well with the Veloce XL/L.
Kite stab 40cm: Balances out with the Veloce L and works with Veloce M (didn't try on the XL yet).
I've also gone through quite some Gong wings (the one in the air), so will write up my views on that as well.
Thanks for sharing. Interesting to hear your thoughts on the stabs and balance. I've got the Veloce L,XL, and XXL and the 43 and 47 stabs and have found that the suggested matching of L to 43, and XL/XXL to the 47 are all well balanced for winging. I have tried the 43 with the XL and although it loosened it up, it didn't outweigh the negative balance issue, which was mainly going nose down and losing ride height when getting hit by a gust and accelerating hard. I didn't think the XL needed loosening up especially as it's already pretty manoeuvrable but was interested to try as a friend who is also heavier than me matches the XL with the 43.
I'm lighter than you at 65kg which might be the significant difference. I mainly ride the L as long as I'm well powered up, and I only got the XXL a few weeks ago for very light winds, and although the XL is a great allrounder, it might just sit in the middle too much now... I've yet to work that out. It does have to be very flat to be comfortable on the XXL otherwise I get bounced around too much in the chop - that happens on the XL too (but less) which is why I go to the L as soon as I can.
Overall, I've been very impressed with the Veloce line. I was expecting them to be much more intimidating, but no. Their stall speed is fine (you can't hesitate tacking the L though!), all have great manoeuvrability and the low drag is fantastic when the wind is light and getting through tacks / transitions. The speed is an added extra which you don't need to use - they're fast but not frantic.
Particular highlights/points:
- the L is so controlled when is gets windy and choppy it gives you so much confidence. Can stall easily on take off if you're too heavy footed with your pumping.
- XL is the great allrounder
- XXL is light wind magic
I agree that they do need more speed to get foiling, so you'll get most fun out of them once you're gybing competently, and don't have to start again all the time.
