kitesurfing lines shrink!!

[BillyGoatGruff]

Well I never knew that!.. Dyneema kite lines get shorter over time.

Just bought some new 24m dyneema lines for my used 2014 Naish Torch bar, and some new naish 13m front flying lines. I offered up the 24m lines (not Naish) and they were around 18cm longer.... I put it down to a error in measuring when being made. Offered up the new 13m Naish lines and the new ones came up about 15cm longer..... right this can't be right surely old lines have stretched out and are longer than brand new lines

http://www.wetestkites.com/2016/10/14/s ... ite-lines/

[Matteo V]

Front and back shrink at different rates due to loading.

There can be errors in how a lineset is put together. Some years the factory will cut at the finished length, then other years they may cut at a length that finishes off to the specification for finished length. Most years they have some consistency to their construction methods.

Just make sure your front's are proportional to your back lines. Mixing old and new lines is very much a hazard to your health, unless you measure.

[jakemoore]

You might imagine that from a thermodynamic standpoint that heat assisted prestretch of the UHMWPE braid and fiber decreases the entropy in the line.

[BillyGoatGruff]

This link is interesting:

https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kit ... ink?page=1

[iriejohn]

Regularly re-calibrate your lines and whenever they are replaced. Always replace in pairs. Wet them and give them a good pull before re-calibrating. Make sure that the centre lines are the same length before checking the outside (steering) lines.

[plummet]

Yep. It's counter intuitive bit true.

[Matteo V]

You might imagine that from a thermodynamic standpoint that heat assisted prestretch of the UHMWPE braid and fiber decreases the entropy in the line.

Some of that word salad looks good!

I do like to stretch lines at a temp of 18°C (65°F) to 32°C (90°F). Lower temps are ok if you only use the line in low temps. But if you take a line stretched (with my method) in low temps and utilize it at high temps, they seem to go out of tune more frequently.