I’ve been riding ‘09 rises for a few years now, and had a 14m as my big kite.  I bought a 2010 rise 15LW a couple of months ago and am having a really tough time dialing in jumps.  I want to love this kite, and I like everything else about it, but i am just not able to get close to the height i could get on my 14m in the same wind.  I’m a solid intermediate, 180lbs, riding 135x41 twintip.  I also demoed a 10m razor this summer, and i think this 15m rise feels very similar, so i’d welcome comments from razor users.  Now i understand that i’m just not gonna get the jump performance i have on my 10m in 25mph winds (25-30 footers), but it seems it should be at least in line with what i could do on the 14m in the same winds. 

I think part of the issue is that this kite pulls harder while it turns (the rise sort of pivots without much power and then re-engages), so it’s a little tougher to set a good edge, but i’m leaning onto the board as much as possible.  I’ve tried a bunch of different things with positioning the kite, though i haven’t messed with the attachement points yet.  On my ‘09 kites i would just start somewhere in the 10:30-11:00 range turn back (quick turn, but i didn’t need to really crank the bar) towards 12:30-1:00, then back to 12:00, and up you go.  when i do the same on the new kite, i get a fairly vertical trajectory, but i seem to only go up maybe a little past half the height that i was getting on my old 14m.  it seems the best results i’ve had so far come from starting with the kite lower, maybe around 10:00 and really cranking the bar and sending the kite just past 12.  that seems to give me the hardest yank, but it’s more of a 45 degree trajectory instead of vertical.

So, who’s had better success jumping this kite (or some of the larger Razors), and what are you doing?

Thanks,
jason

I don’t have an answer Jason as I am still rolling with a 2007 14M Rise and like it’s performance.  What bar are you using with the 15M flight vs the 14M Rise?  I have a 60cm on my 14M.

I don’t think the newer bars are as long as 60cm, and I wonder if that is not giving you as much leverage as a 60cm bar would for bigger response.

i’m using the large 2010 bar on the outer settings, so 55cm and the fast (farthest back) rear attatchment at the kite.

I have been using this kite with a 50 and 60cm bar.
Te big bar is just slightly too big and can distort the wing tip a little when I really ream it in the upper end of its wind range.
The smaller bar only seems too small when I’m flying in really light winds.
This kite feels like a light wind wave kite to me, and is an awesome freeride kite.
Very forgiving to self launch…that extra pulley in the bridle is so nice!
No hesitation or qualms at all for me to rotate this guy into the wind even deep in the pocket in a stiff breeze.

I noticed that I glide a long ways when I just throw it up to 12 oclock.
Jumps where I initiate the traction by throwing the kite back behind me to 10 or 2 oclock…and then let it climb from there to 12 and beyond into a loop re-entry have really put me up there and its a rush with all the changing g-forces.

Its been a fun summer and I’m trying to enjoy these 2011 kites as much as possible…because I’ve got this feeling that Ross is gonna blow our minds and give us perma-smiles with this next generation of kites.

Cheers!

I’m guessing you have the freestyle (trim straps) bar.  The limited throw/ depower with this bar will make it hard to hold an edge for more vertical pop and go big.  The Fusion bar will make a big difference.

Which bar do you have?

i’ve got the freeride bar.  Plenty of throw on it.

this is from a session a few days ago

http://youtu.be/TI0c66aq6Fg?hd=1

I’m really digging how smooth you can make everything, it has excellent power control and directional thrust.
Because of a heel bruise I’ve been nursing lately,
I haven’t been able to jump so high it scared me or sacrificed myself to a lot of heat on the landings.
I’m craving the chance to do the coast and do a big downwinder
It turns fast enough to totally carve the crud out of anything you see for sure.

Just wanted to post an update on this.  I’ve solved my problem by moving the front line connections to the outer/further back pigtail connection point.  This seemed to give the kite a more traditional Rise feel.  Slightly less bar pressure and the feel in jumps is much more similar to what i’m used to.  It’s personal preference for how you want your kite to feel, but I’d recommend that anyone on this kite or a razor to give this a try.  I was surprised how much of a difference it made.