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Old 06-10-2008, 09:05 AM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Default Crossbow IV Early Impressions


Having at it with the 11 m CB IV early on Sunday

We headed down to the lower Keys last weekend to take advantage of this late season wind, yeeha! Paul Menta of The Kitehouse who graciously hooked me up with some loaners of the latest Cabrinha kites including 11, 13 and 16 m Crossbow IV kites on IDS control bars. Also got to try out Cabrinha's new light wind board marvel, the Plasma. Paul explained IDS to me but I have yet to trigger this new release system. Paul recommended it for use in emergencies or solo landing scenarios only. He did activate the IDS release for me to show what it does with a 13 m kite in winds around 17 mph and it worked as advertised.


Paul with the IDS bar without pulleys

Saturday the winds were stronger, ranging from the higher teens to gusts into the mid 20 mph range. Paul rides wakestyle a lot and very well. I'm more of a wave cruiser and jumper, like to go for long sessions (all day?). So, once BOW and flat kites came out with reduced bar pressure that is what I started using. Paul likes strong bar pressure to help with orientation during some pretty radical tricks with no stopper. You can easily dial in the amount of bar pressure by point of attachment on clearly labeled points along the trailing edge of the kite.



So, I used the 11 and 13 m kites the first day with high bar pressure and found it to be a bit tougher than I am used to. That is at least since I was regularly using first generation BOWs a couple of years back. Holding the bar in with one hand and shooting video/stills with the other was tiring without a stopper, particularly with the 13 m. Still, the 13 m had nice range and developed impressive apparent wind. With the bar pressure tweaked up you want to be careful out inducing too much apparent wind cause the kite will deliver some surprising thrust. I cycled the kite just a little bit to pull over to my board and ended up lofting myself a few feet into it! The kite has grunt! Had I been smart, I would have simply retuned the attachment points and would have found things much more to what I am used to. Didn't do that until Sunday though and really enjoyed the experience.

Rigged down to the 11 m and had a bit easier time of it. Just 2 m can make an important difference and tuning to riding style even more so. It was a fun session the kite can really develop apparent wind for some nice pop.


The 16 m CB IV on Sunday. Look at all those whitecaps!

Substantially lighter winds came on Sunday. Things started off in the mid teen mph range and backed down into the 8 to 12 mph range later on. Quite a few guys showed up but for the last couple of hours I was the only guy on the water using the 16 m CB IV and the Plasma board. Paul weighs about 40 lbs. less than me and is able to do a lot in such light conditions with the Plasma using the 11 and later on 13 m kite. He said he's had some photo shoots saved by still being able to throw some moves using this board. There was a guy from the Key West Citizen shooting for an article in the gnat sneeze breeze but despite that Paul still put on a good show.

I liked the 16 m CB IV set for lighter bar pressure combined with the Plasma for working the lower end. I wish I had retuned the 11 and 13 m the day before as I suspect the change in performance for my style of riding would be substantial. I was able to point upwind very well and cruise at speed all over with the 16 m and big board. The jumps before the wind ebbed were surprising, leaving you wondering when you might come down being a little longer. The kite fly light something smaller than 16 m and was light and lively. The CB IV has a single inflation point, simplifying blowing up and tearing down the kite.


The Plasma. It measures about 146 x 46 cm.

Unlike other big lightwind twin tips I have used, the board was very simple to use, didn't throw a lot of spray in your face and was easy to land jumps with. It gave the impression of being a good easy performer. I shot a lot of video while riding both days. Hope to put something together to pass along other impressions from the sessions.


An edge view of the board

In short, it was a good weekend down south. Thanks again Paul and good to see all the guys down that way at the beach!
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Last edited by ricki; 06-11-2008 at 09:28 AM.
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Old 06-10-2008, 04:11 PM
The Kite House The Kite House is offline
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Ahhhhhh rick....what happened to the wind.....? I think summer is upon us....damn....back to sup boarding
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Old 06-10-2008, 06:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The Kite House View Post
Ahhhhhh rick....what happened to the wind.....? I think summer is upon us....damn....back to sup boarding

Too True! We just had what looked like a classic thermal storm cloud stack develop up here this afternoon. Summer is in the air and it is dumping rain bigtime outside currently. Not a bad thing in this drought of course. Yes, standup is one thing to pursue and also diving. Both are explored in "Heading Out!." http://fksa.org/forumdisplay.php?f=90

I'm thinking of dredging up some really old diving images for the Photo of the Day. Some stuff from when we were looking for remains of Columbus' Santa Maria on the fringing reef off Cap Haitian, Haiti when Baby Doc still held sway down there. Whatever gets you through the calms of summer!

btw, Ian got in touch indicated the Plasma is a bit wider at 146 x 46 cm. Makes sense my XXXL big as a barn door is about 49 cm wide but not quite as easy riding as the new board.
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Old 06-11-2008, 09:22 AM
Clew In Clew In is offline
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Hey,

Is the new 16 meter Crossbow a replacement for the Contra 17?

If so, what are the differences between the two?

Thanks,

Clew In
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Old 06-11-2008, 02:23 PM
The Kite House The Kite House is offline
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Yes it is:

Bit more low end range

turns smoother in 1-1 and faster i think

less bar presure

jumps real good in light wind


i would say over all, more performance
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Old 06-11-2008, 06:22 PM
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Steve-O Steve-O is offline
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The original Crossbow 16M pulled like a truck....but man the bar pressure was alot. The 17M contra seemed to improve on the bar pressure being less. Cool to hear that the new 16M has even less. That is a plus. Now only if they could figure out how to get those big kites to self inflate.

I personally want to run the IDS system through a series of test. I would first like to simulate a front line break, flying line break, bridle line brake, a complete invert, wrapped line around the bar, and then a wrap of the bridal around the wingtip. I am curious to see how the IDS system will react in these scenerios. Not skeptical, just would like to see the system in these situations.

I would also still like to see a flag point on the steering lines. I know this is an easy mod, but why not put it in there as an option from the factory specs.

By the way Paul, have you noticed center lines on Cabrinha bars stetching a few inches evenly. My SB3 bars have all stretched exactly the same length...very curious.

Steve-O
Watersports West
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Old 06-13-2008, 01:02 PM
The Kite House The Kite House is offline
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Steve, i am going to try some of the things you have listed here, will get back to ya.....i want to video it.

My lines on bar i am supper agresive with....kite loops ect or always powered up have stretched, yes, i readjusted the knots on the center line.
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Old 06-13-2008, 01:44 PM
Tony Tony is offline
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Default IDS Crossbow - question for Paul

Paul-

Some q's for ya

Pertaining to this comment from Rick:

"So, I used the 11 and 13 m kites the first day with high bar pressure and found it to be a bit tougher than I am used to. That is at least since I was regularly using first generation BOWs a couple of years back. Holding the bar in with one hand and shooting video/stills with the other was tiring without a stopper, particularly with the 13"

I have a CB12M - 2. I have not flown the CB -3's. Is the bar pressure hard on the elbows with the CB4?? Can it be adjusted? How much faster is the kite through the window (13M)? I think the CB12M -2 is a great jumper, awesome range, easy re-launch, but has a lot more bar pressure and is slow compared to others in its class. Appreciate any comments.

Thanks -

Tony
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Old 06-13-2008, 02:00 PM
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ricki ricki is offline
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Hey Tony,

Check the bottom of that same paragraph and at other points within the post. Your first question is answered:

"Had I been smart, I would have simply retuned the attachment points and would have found things much more to what I am used to. Didn't do that until Sunday though and really enjoyed the experience."

Tuning for bar pressure is easy as I said. The attachment points on the CB IV are clearly labeled along the trailing edge for varying degrees of bar pressure. The 16 m flew with minimal bar pressure and good speed. Both the 11 and 13 m also had good speed. I'll try to put up a video clip so that you can see for yourself.
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Old 06-13-2008, 02:12 PM
Tony Tony is offline
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Thanks Rick. Does changing the attachment point also change any negative flying characteristics?? Meaning - light bar pressure but slower turning? Appreciate the feedback.
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