Why isn't sliding rope bar more prevalent?

[knotwindy]

Also has the much shorter rope in the center which gets you most of the benefits without as much ‘slop’. Might be worth a try.

[adamj2281]

well the mystic thing is not really anything new just a sliding rope ...

I believe this self tightens similar to how the ION C Bar does. When you close the lever it tightens so you don't have to keep loosening and tightening the straps.

I have not seen it except for this picture so I am just guessing but that is how it looks to me.

Has anyone tried the new C-Bar with the sliding rope? I have the older version (2016) that doesn't lock. The initial design was extremely poor, basically a single rope looped through two eyelets which shredded the rope in 5 sessions. I swapped it with two individual ropes with knots on both ends which has worked very well, but the spreader bar itself it a bit large when partnered with a small size harness. That and the straps/buckles are starting to give way after 2 years.

[Da Yoda]

What's the word on some of the more ridged alternatives like NP's S1 Tracker EZ s-bar or Ion's C-Bar Metal Slider s-bar? Seems like both of these could be a good "middle ground" alternative.

I'm still waiting to hear more about Ion's new Metal Slider s-bar. Anyone hear anything yet?
https://www.ion-products.com/water/men/ ... al-slider/

[Kamikuza]

I've watching this for a while. I have a lot of experience kiting and have tried many different things over the years. My role allows me to tinker with the gear enough to see if I like a new concept or not. 10 years ago, I used a grinder to cut off the hook on my spreader bar. I made a larks head with a piece of webbing that had a ring on the end and looped it onto the spreader so that it could slide freely back and forth. I ruined possibly the best conditions I have seen on a downwinder in Miami with that system. The slamming to one side or the other was a deal breaker for me. 15 miles later, I limped off the water, disconnected the spreader bar, and threw it away.

A decade later, many people use a slider rope system. I like to use what people in the market use so I can understand the desire. That's part of the job. I thought maybe something has changed in 10 years and my system was slightly different. So I rigged up a simple slider system and made a slick connection out of a deconstructed Fireball lower bit and hit the water. What I can say is that nothing has changed in 10 years. The pull point is unstable and wants to naturally sit to one end of the spreader or the other. I will say that for a few of the moments where I was frontside, I freed up my hips a bit more which was nice. I had a regular Fireball bit with me thankfully, changed out mid-session, and went about 75% of the session on stock Fireball system. To me, I was much more comfortable with a fixed pull and found that for the 5% of the time that the slider was slightly better, the other 95% of time was misery. For me it's not worth it. I do ride Fireball and it's a big improvement over a hook and loop, so there might be something to that as well. My team members aren't big rope slider fans either.

However, I can see that a lot of people like the rope slider and that's okay too. Different strokes for different folks.

My first session on a Dynabar was on a directional and instantly I knew it was better. I could swap feet effortlessly, too. When I eventually got in the TT with the Dynabar, I had a few minutes of weirdness with the sliding from side to side, but got used to it and came to prefer it. You can actually control the angle with your hips, rotating them instead of letting it do it itself.

Then I got a frictionless ring and really noticed how fast it whips from side to side without the elastic damper of the Dynabar got used to that too, but the issue for me is the CL kept jumping off when I slacked the lines... Which I apparently do a lot on the foil.

I'm interested in the Fireball, but with all the bars I've had break on me, I'm a bit wary of that little plastic knob...

[iriejohn]

My first session on a Dynabar was on a directional and instantly I knew it was better. I could swap feet effortlessly, too. When I eventually got in the TT with the Dynabar, I had a few minutes of weirdness with the sliding from side to side, but got used to it and came to prefer it. You can actually control the angle with your hips, rotating them instead of letting it do it itself.

Then I got a frictionless ring and really noticed how fast it whips from side to side without the elastic damper of the Dynabar got used to that too, but the issue for me is the CL kept jumping off when I slacked the lines... Which I apparently do a lot on the foil.

I'm interested in the Fireball, but with all the bars I've had break on me, I'm a bit wary of that little plastic knob...

A little bit of friction combined with a not completely taut piece of rope prevents 'pinging' from side to side and also means that by consciously moving my hips I can select and keep exactly the hip angle that I want. The 5mm dyneema I use works best when the coating has worn off after a few sessions. I use a custom roller which is shown in the "Bye Bye chicken loop" thread.

[AndersP]

Just like Iriejohn says, you need a bit of slack in the rope to get a more stable connection.

[jumptheshark]

That's been said a few times already in this thread. It's a pretty key point tho considering many people tinker with this stuff on their own and there are only a couple OEM systems out there so far.

I get that sliders are not right for most kiters. Even amongst the foilers, there is a trade off between comfort of rotation at the hips and sheeting accuracy at the bar. You can't have play at one without having to deal with it at the other. To me reducing torque at the hips wins out, but it wasn't without going back and forth a few times to really figure out which one I value most.

I generally foil and surf strapless and underpowered, often only feathering the power of the kite. I value mobility over consistent power. I get that others do it differently and will value having that consistency at the bar over mobility at the hips.

Anyway. It's all out there. Hook, pivot, and slider. Just make sure you give a slider the proper set up before you judge for yourself what is right for your riding.

[elguapo]

Why not more used ? I do not know but I think it will developp . Enata just developped one beautiful and expensive system :

i've used ride engine's sliding rope for years....but i recently purchased enata's spreaderbar(along with the kitebar)
while primarily i wanted something more lightweight for travel...i've been very impressed with the clean design and build quality.
coming from a rope i worried about "sounds" from the metal rings (but i have not noticed anything)
i used the speaderbar with a seat harness....the quick release is simple and (almost) idiot proof.
the cost for a carbon kitebar/racing lines/carbonspreader bar including shipping to USA was ~ $500

at least from my limited cold water use...i'd buy again.

[tomtom]

Ok. So little update about topic. Im now on Fuerteventura. I had hard fall from foil and have ribs cracked or crushed. Im unable to use my waist slider so i rent seat from center. I made quick and dirty slider on seat. Slider through full lenght of spreader. Now im understand what you all saying about woble and unstable connection. My original waist harness has much shorter spreader bar and connection point for rope are inside bar so actual slider is about 2/3 spreader lenght. This work much better than long travel, witg no perceivable pull point movement. It work in way you did not notice slider at all. You have just more freedom in hips. So there is a slider and the slider...

[iriejohn]

Ok. So little update about topic. Im now on Fuerteventura. I had hard fall from foil and have ribs cracked or crushed. Im unable to use my waist slider so i rent seat from center. I made quick and dirty slider on seat. Slider through full lenght of spreader. Now im understand what you all saying about woble and unstable connection. My original waist harness has much shorter spreader bar and connection point for rope are inside bar so actual slider is about 2/3 spreader lenght. This work much better than long travel, witg no perceivable pull point movement. It work in way you did not notice slider at all. You have just more freedom in hips. So there is a slider and the slider...

My rope is 8"/20cm long between connection points.