Bar and Line Maintenance

[RomeUtah]

2 Part for all the peeps who like to refurb their bars instead of buying new ones:
I have 3 2015 Best RP bars, still love the bars and the systems (they do have quirky chicken loops and like to release on their own sometimes) the grip is peeling off on one bar, the most heavily used bar that has seen fresh and salt water and lots of snow. Is contact glue the best way to reglue the grip?

All the steering lines are a bit stretched and have anywhere from a cm to 5 cm difference in them, I may have stretched the shorter lines to match the longer steering lines as close as I could. I found that Best in tarifa has replacement lines in stock for the 2015 run bars, and they are a descent deal. Do I need to worry about the replacement line degradation, being produced maybe 6 years ago? Reason I ask is from a rock climbing background where you retire ropes that are 5-7 years old almost regardless of use. I do love the best brand waxy stiff lines and would love to use them on the RP bars, and maybe make a custom bar for a foil kite

[Windigo1]

Yes contact cement will work for re-gluing the grip. I have 2 of those bars as well and I like them too. I would not worry about the older unused lines. Many people use kites from 2007 and even older with the original bars and lines and they don't break just because they are 5 years old or more. The lines on these bars were great super stiff they don't get tangled easily.

[merl]

Best RP bars, still love the bars and the systems (they do have quirky chicken loops and like to release on their own sometimes)

Wow. Some folk are easy to please

I'll try to add something useful to my post: No, I don't think there is any reason to worry about the age of unused dyneema, assuming it has not been sitting in the sun/extreme heat.

[RomeUtah]

Best RP bars, still love the bars and the systems (they do have quirky chicken loops and like to release on their own sometimes)

Wow. Some folk are easy to please

Yeah, Its the simple things in life to keep Kitesurfing spicy. I just hate throwing old kite gear away, and now I have 1 bar per every kite. Unfortunately, a lot of the gear is not recyclable. Also follow up, does anyone recycle old kite lines or does it all go into the landfills?

[merl]

Yeah, Its the simple things in life to keep Kitesurfing spicy. I just hate throwing old kite gear away, and now I have 1 bar per every kite. Unfortunately, a lot of the gear is not recyclable. Also follow up, does anyone recycle old kite lines or does it all go into the landfills?

I'm all for reuse. I fix up old bars and make new ones all the time. I just would not put up with a bar that accidentally releases once in a while! Good point about old lines. I have a load of fuzzy dyneema sitting in a box waiting to work out what to do with them. I saw someone asking for them on a local forum - they were using them to make bracelets which was cool...

[sarc]

I just regripped my bar with "rain type bycicle handlebar tape". The brand I got is Vivimax. They are silicon strips you roll over the bar and you fix both ends with a bit of Tear-Aid or regular electrical tape. Red tape on left, blue tape on right, it looks great.
I was surprised how quick and easy it was. The strip is super comfortable, I'm very happy with it.

[Hugh2]

Check the shipping costs, they were prohibitive when I last checked for Best parts for my old bars.

[knot_moving]

Unfortunately, a lot of the gear is not recyclable. Also follow up, does anyone recycle old kite lines or does it all go into the landfills?

I have over 100' of old kite line that I use bits for anything "string related" I'm using it for staking a few trees we planted & I'm getting ready to string a bunch of to act as the guy line for hanging some outside patio lights. Looking into it, Dyneema is very UV resistant so I am hoping it will last for a long time!

[RomeUtah]

Re: Bar and Line Maintenance
Post by Hugh2 » Thu Nov 12, 2020 1:57 pm

Check the shipping costs, they were prohibitive when I last checked for Best parts for my old bars.

Oh wow I just realized its 50 bucks for shipping i guess i will see other routes, does anyone know who makes their lines

[McLovin]

FYI - for North / Duotone bars...

Found a niche provider off the grid in Poland. Check them out at www.kiteboardinglines.com

Matz is a great small biz owner making top quality SK99 line sets for North/Duo bars - very low tech and a small leap of faith doing business internationally, but what better way to share the stoke and bring the world together than to trust a fellow kiter...you will be stoked - reasonable prices IMHO - shipping takes a bit but mine came in just about 2 weeks and built to order - hard to beat vs. buying a brand new kit for over $500 for some.

Here is what you get and a quick before and after:

Mc