Does a 4 line kite work with any 4 line bar?

[RolandM]

Hi,
I'm about to replace my 12m kite. So far, whenever I bought a kite, I purchased 'its' bar as well. All of my kites are 4line kites. This time I would rather not buy another bar if the existing ones fit for the new kite. I wonder if the 2019 Cabrinha Switchblade will fly properly with my old Ozone Catalyst bar? Or with my 2013 F-One Bandit bar? At first I don't see any restriction but there may be something I miss.
Let me know your thoughts/experiences.
Also, I check the lines every time before I go for a ride. None of my lines have any problem. But I was thinking whether I should change them just because they are 7,6 and 5 years old? Do you change them just because they are old ( but apart from that there are no problems with your lines) ?
Thank in advance.

[tmcfarla]

Some older bars release to two lines instead of 1 center line. Kites that are not designed for this (most modern kites) cannot be safely released to two lines. I can't remember when F-one switched to single line release, but your 2013 bar might not have this, in which case, don't use with a modern kite unless you know it to be compatible with 2-line release.

That is the main problem, don't mix one- and two-line releases.

A couple other things that you can generally get away with but might be inconvenient:

some bars use a high Y (the center lines split half way up to the kite). This usually isn't super critical, but kites might fly a bit weird.

Some bars use different pigtails, but this is an easy fix.

[RolandM]

Some older bars release to two lines instead of 1 center line. Kites that are not designed for this (most modern kites) cannot be safely released to two lines. I can't remember when F-one switched to single line release, but your 2013 bar might not have this, in which case, don't use with a modern kite unless you know it to be compatible with 2-line release.

That is the main problem, don't mix one- and two-line releases.

A couple other things that you can generally get away with but might be inconvenient:

some bars use a high Y (the center lines split half way up to the kite). This usually isn't super critical, but kites might fly a bit weird.

Some bars use different pigtails, but this is an easy fix.

Hm... makes sense. Thanks a lot. I thought I can save 500USD which is the price of the bar.

[piper3]

You can you just didn't understand what he wrote.

Bars are like an idiot tax. If you are stupid you pay the $500+.

You can assemble new bars with lines for about $100.

[Da Yoda]

You can assemble new bars with lines for about $100.

I've been interested in making my own bar, but sourcing the parts seems a bit challenging to keep it in that price range. Maybe it's a US thing? Some of the suppliers only have parts that would put a bar over $100. Can you share your tips and/or add link to doing this?

[grigorib]

Sometimes you’d run into a post for old bar with perfectly preserved lines, yet dry rot chickenloop. Sometimes you’d find a complete beaten bar for $50 which needs $40 in parts to make it serve several more years.

A set of decent lines is $80. Top quality line set is $200.
Bar on its own $50. Parts $10-$70

My carbon foiling dream bar ran me $526 and I had it exactly to specs and enjoyed assembling it.

Most four line bars would fit most 4 line kites, just pay attention to above/below the bar depower, high-Y vs low-V, bar size, QR/flagging design, bar throw lenght, chickenloop size.
If you have specific kite:bar models in mind - folks will share their thoughts on them.

[RolandM]

[/quote]

Most four line bars would fit most 4 line kites, just pay attention to above/below the bar depower, high-Y vs low-V, bar size, QR/flagging design, bar throw lenght, chickenloop size.
If you have specific kite:bar models in mind - folks will share their thoughts on them.
[/quote]
I have an F-One Bandit 5 (it's been released in 2012 if I remember well), I have a 2013 Ozone Catalyst and a Gaastra Jekyll 6 (2012 or 2013....). I have no idea how the 2019 Switchblade depower/release is set (it's not shipped yet) so, at this point I don't know if my bars will work with Switchblade.

[Iridian]

Sometimes you’d run into a post for old bar with perfectly preserved lines, yet dry rot chickenloop. Sometimes you’d find a complete beaten bar for $50 which needs $40 in parts to make it serve several more years.

A set of decent lines is $80. Top quality line set is $200.
Bar on its own $50. Parts $10-$70

My carbon foiling dream bar ran me $526 and I had it exactly to specs and enjoyed assembling it.

Most four line bars would fit most 4 line kites, just pay attention to above/below the bar depower, high-Y vs low-V, bar size, QR/flagging design, bar throw lenght, chickenloop size.
If you have specific kite:bar models in mind - folks will share their thoughts on them.

Where can I find a $50 bar?

[Eduardo]

Some bars use different pigtails, but this is an easy fix.

yes watch for that. check before you go to the beach so you can get some adapters. Otherwise, should be interchangeable. so the answer to your question is almost always yes.

But 7 years might be pushing it for other things. Are you sure the QR is in top shape? etc.

[grigorib]

Where can I find a $50 bar?

https://kiteboarding.com/proddetail.asp ... ly&cat=384

$30 bar