plastic tubes on depower/safety lines - are they a good thing?

[deniska]

More and more bars come with plastic coating around the center lines, close to the bar.
Main reason is to prolong life of underlying lines and protect them from bar movements.
However, there are some side effects:
- no easy way to assess the condition of underlying line that carries the load. You literally don't know when it's going to snap on you.
since the plastic does not carry the load, the underlying line can shrink or stretch letting the sand in.. The sand will quietly work on breaking that line w/o any visual cues.
- more parts (which is almost never a good thing)
- more cumbersome setup (try it in cold when plastic gets stiff)
- some additional safety concerns due to extra stiffness (but they are more design flops of a specific model rather than general trend.. here is one example: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2402072)

Just curious what people think about it..
Is "no plastic" design safer?
Should they at least use clear PU tubes?
Would some special coating on the lines be better than using a tube?

[Jwoo]

I don't have any evidence about wear, but I sure don't miss getting my fingers pinched/burned by the lines. I used to wax the line, and that helped a bit, but I like the tube so much better I won't go back. I ride with my hand right up against the line most of the time. Currently I have the new Ocean Rodeo Control bar. There's enough space in the tube to flush it out with a garden hose nozzle. I flush it out every session, I would bet the line lasts way longer than without the tubing. True though, downside is you can't visualize it. Clear tube would be nice.

[Faxie]

- Clear PU can fog up over time, so you still won't see wear underneath.
- PU makes the bar stick more during agressive movements. That's my main issue with it.
- When there's a small damage on PU, it can rip open withing a few sessions.

It's nicer to your fingers though, and that's primarily the reason I use it now. Looks more clean too, but that shouldn't be a reason to choose it really.

I think on average it does last longer though.

Sand shouldn't be that much of a problem when the line is really tight inside the PU.

[edt]

I really liked the PU tube on my ozone control bar (now at the bottom of the sea), but it's not a deal breaker or deal maker. Right now I have no PU tubes. The three most important things about a control bar are a reliable QR, below the bar center line untwist (if you care about untwisting) and above the bar trim everything else is just icing on the cake.

[evan]

PU should have a tight fit, then the PU wears down leaving the line inside free of sand and in new condition until it gets exposed.

The main problem is from brands that cheap out on production as it is easier to leave a gap between the PU hose and Dyneema line instead of forcing a line inside a tube with a tight fit. Apart from sand finding it's way inside, the two then also rub against each other making the Dyneema line wear down before the outer tube instead of the other way around.

[deniska]

I don't have any evidence about wear, but I sure don't miss getting my fingers pinched/burned by the lines.

I have evidence... snapped a couple of lines over last year (maybe a bit more than a year).. I can post photos, but don't want it to turn in to brand bashing...
As I said, in my cases there was nothing to hint that the line is ready to snap..

[iriejohn]

The prime safety concern is to avoid lines breaking and the only way to ensure that does not happen is by visual inspection.

Visual inspection is not possible with tube covering the lines, clear or otherwise.

[windrider1]

I personally like PU tubes , they make the lines last longer and just look cleaner . I think you need to move on to another brand considering the amount of gear failures you have .I mean in all honesty you do kite alot more than the average kiter but Its obvious your favorite brand dosent give a damm about addressing any issues u bring up. Core is a decent brand but I tried their kites once and didnt find anything ground breaking about it compared to other top brands.

[deniska]

I personally like PU tubes , they make the lines last longer and just look cleaner . I think you need to move on to another brand considering the amount of gear failures you have .I mean in all honesty you do kite alot more than the average kiter but Its obvious your favorite brand dosent give a damm about addressing any issues u bring up. Core is a decent brand but I tried their kites once and didnt find anything ground breaking about it compared to other top brands.

I don't want to steer it towards specific brand discussion..
Definitely not just a CORE thing..
A friend with Cabrinha had similar issue - line snapped with zero warning in medium wind..

[knotwindy]

Any equipment with moving parts will have abrasion problems. Those parts are weak points and should be easily inspected and replaced. If you want to get fancy you can try using lubricants to extend life but they will still wear out and need to be inspected/replaced. Not sure covering them up to extend life is a help? Is it better to have it last longer and have surprising catastrophic failure? Not to me. Replacing parts is cheap and easy. Just my opinion, there will others who disagree, but it is a safety issue, not about convenience.