When I got my 14m RISE, it flew awesome out of the bag, brand new. But after about 10-12 days of riding(especially after a couple of overpowered days) it began flying weird - lost the smooth flying, driving forward through the air feel, backing up and falling out of the air unhooked, even literally flying backwards. OR sent me the bridle specs - nothing stretched, EXCEPT the E2 braided spectra line that the pully runs on.

Ross thinks the stop knots tightened up, making the distance between the knots longer, thus the line length increased. Which is probably right, because the distance changed about 3/4” on one side and a full inch on the other. But WOW, that inch difference makes so much difference in terms of how the kite fies. It has made me aware of how important the tuning of the bridle is!!!

So if you think your kite is flying funny - check your E2 pully line length knot to knot. John Z said he would post these for us.

Cheers!

Mike in San Diego

Pictures would be nice I think I know what your talking about but I’m a visual person, is this an isolated problem or should we expect this on all kites just wondering.

Jason

Hi Guys.

I would hesitate to say this is a problem as much as just something that might happen as your kite ages, just like line stretch. That being said, if you notice your kite is not flying as you remember it to have done when you first got it the first thing you should do is:

Check your line lengths! The lines should all be at the same length at full power. Front lines will stretch out over time and will affect the kite’s performance.

If your lines are all equal and the kite is still doing weird things (i.e., stalling more easily than before) you should also check the length of the E2 bridle lines. These are the lines that the pulleys travel on and over time their keeper knots can tighten up and slip making a difference of up to 1 inch in length from factory packed.  Below is a chart of line lengths for each kite size, measured from inside of one knot to the inside of the other. If you need to shorten your E2 lines because they have stretched just slide one end of either the E1 or E3 line up and tie a new knot.

John

Measurements

Image of the E2 Bridle section

So it looks like the original “F” line is now a three piece “E” line.  This seems like a good way to go, very easy to replace the only part of the bridle that should be subject to wear.  OR guys, you should put out a drawing or photo that shows this on the 2008 Bridle conversion topic.  I am just about to buy a kit or otherwise replace my upgraded bridle (do to wear) and this would be great info!

easy on the fly adjustment

UPDATE: The easiest way I have found to correct the problem is to tie a granny knot on the E1 and E3 lines where they are doubled back and sewn. I found that untying the E2 knots, remeasuring, and retying them only led to the same problem… the knots tightening up and thus the distance between the knots getting longer again. JohnZ also made the suggestion to tie knots on the inside of the knots of the E2 line, which may make more sense. Either way, this is a quick fix, on the beach solution to retune the bridle. For me, I have found this to be more noticeable on my 14m and 16m. Hope this helps!