Which gong wings

[Matthijs94]

Hi, i am interested to buy the gong 'allvator 100cm carbon freeride' package. The package comes with the curve wing. Does anyone has experience with this set up?
Also interested in the fluid / veloce and kite wing experiences.
Kind regards, Matthijs

[Flyboy]

Hi, i am interested to buy the gong 'allvator 100cm carbon freeride' package. The package comes with the curve wing. Does anyone has experience with this set up?
Also interested in the fluid / veloce and kite wing experiences.
Kind regards, Matthijs

It's currently in stock, 15% discount? As I understand it, this is the older 100cm carbon mast. I actually have the newer 85cm mast which is significantly wider & (presumably) siffer.
How much difference this makes is hard to say without a direct, back-to-back comparison. I think the thicker masts are designed more with bigger wings used for winging in mind. I have the Curve M wing with the 210 cm Kite stab that comes with the 100cm free ride package. Also had the older Curve stab. I prefer the smaller Kite stab as it is noticeably faster & less draggy in a straight line & still stable through the turns. At my weight (82 kg) it gets on foil at a comfortably slow speed.

I can't comment on the Veloce/Fluid wings as I haven't tried them. Personally, I find the Curve wing with the Kite stab quite fast & great in the turns. If you are more interested in straight line speed I would go for the Veloce.

[Matthijs94]

Thanks for the advice. I will only use it for kite foiling. My weight is 75kg so I won't go any bigger than the M wing preferably. With that in mind, I don't think it will matter the extra stiffness which the new masts have compared to the older mast. From time to time i really enjoy doing some speed sessions. Perhaps better to buy an extra front wing which is more race/speed dedicated and use the Curve M for regular sessions.

[Flyboy]

Yes - it's hard to know what the difference between these wings is without actually trying them back-to-back. However, the Curve M is definitely not a slow wing - more like the Moses 679 than the Moses 333.

[azoele]

Hi, i am interested to buy the gong 'allvator 100cm carbon freeride' package. The package comes with the curve wing. Does anyone has experience with this set up?
Also interested in the fluid / veloce and kite wing experiences.
Kind regards, Matthijs

You sure you mean the Freeride, and not the FreeSURF?
The FreeRide version of the carbon mast (only the 100cm), has the front part of the fuselage shortened: it can only fit freeride wings (60 and 65cm AllVator, thin, quite fast).
The FreeSURF version can fit all the wings in the lineup, with exception of the old Allvator 60/65cm.

That said: I owned it in the CurveL+Fast 40 version.
Very nice.

Huge lift at start up, weird stalling behaviour: first to stall is the stabilizer, which makes the foil point upwards. So you gain height when stalling, then the front stalls and you fall down with a splat! of the board

If you fit a Rise 45 stabilizer you will have an exceedingly stable foil, excellent to learn.
With the standard Fast 40 stabilizer, the board is much less stable... and much more entertaining once your level is up to it.

Smaller front wings stall more abruptly: the Curve M-T stalls a bit abruptly.
The Veloce M stalls very abruptly, is not really stable, goes fast... and is lots of fun if you can master it.

So, the choice depends first on your level, then on your weight and the speed at which you wish your foil to stall, third on your program.

M sizes are quick, fun, stall abruptly.
M-T are a bit more tame, but still stall quickly.
L sizes are more sedated, with better stall. Of course, they lose the "fun factor".
I am 100+Kg, and love the Veloce L + Veloce 39 stab: so much so that I sold everything else (3 wings and 4 stabilizers).

Also: if you do not need a Carbon mast (the V.1 of the package you indicated is the older, more flexible one. The new V.2 is much stiffer, you feel it under your feet), why not go for the cheaper Aluminium offers?

You can get a FreeWave kit: Curve M-T, new Wave stabilizer, and V.2 ultrarigid aluminium mast, for 570€.
1030€ if you buy a pack with also a carbon board: that is not ridiculous, that is impossible pricing for the amount of quality you get .
If you want to save more, in the Great Deals section, they are selling the older FreeWave aluminum foil for 375€. The stabilizer is the Fast 40, and the mast is the older Aluminum V.1, not very rigid, but not too bad.

P.S.
if your level is high, of course you may want to forego larger wings, and enjoy the M sizes just for the added fun.
At that point, drop the Curve line, and go straight to the Veloce or Fluid, which is like a curve on steroids.
I am awaiting delivery (saturday hopefully?!) of a Fluid L + Fluid 40 stabilizer.
If you are not an expert, or beginning: may I suggest you look at the X-Over?
That is a great setup, with an ultrarigid mast and easy wings, for 430€. This too is beyond ridiculous pricing...

[Matthijs94]

Hi Azoele, thanks for your advice. Its stated on their website as the 'GONG KITE FOIL ALLVATOR FREEWAVE FULL CARBON'. It comes with the Curve M frontwing and the 40cm kite stab.
Asked gong some questions throug mail, they said this monobloc is suited for all wings: RISE CURVE X-OVER FLUID VELOCE.
I consider myself an intermediate kite foiler, feeling very comfortable and can do most basic tricks 10 out of 10. With my weight, +-75kg, Gong said it is stiff enough for kite foiling and the extra stifness is mostly noticable for heavier riders.

Made my own carbon board last winter, 2.1kg, rides like a dream to me. I ordered this package with the Curve M, will add a more race/speed wing to it later, or try to make my own!
I'll place a review in this topic once the set is in with my first experience.

[SolarSet]

offtopic, people mentioned Gong foil being heavy comparing to traditional brands like Mosses but this wing is 3.63kg vs Onda is 3.2kg. This isn't that noticeable difference isn't?
Price difference is huge 900 euros vs 1490 euros for Onda

[azoele]

Hi Matthijs,

I owned both versions of the carbon mast.
The V.2 is perceivably stiffer: it gives me the sensation that my board is "stiffer".
The V.1 was incredibly comfortable to ride, because it would have tiny flex that would make it gentler on ankles and knees.

My level is medium (foiling tacks), and while I like the newer mast, I miss the old one as it was less fatiguing to me

The M Curve you bought, with the Fast 40 stab, was Gong's answer to the Moses 633: different behaviour (the wing is thicker and more elongated than the 633), but made to carve in the waves exactly like the Italian foil.
I have never ridden it, but loved the Curve L: much bigger wave, great stalling resistance.

In the future, if you feel you want a more "surfy" and faster wing, you can go either Fluid M or Veloce M.
I owned the Veloce M, and it was very nice to ride, but it took quite a bit of effort for me, as it was quick but with little in terms of stability, especially with the Fast stab (especially yaw control at speed was complex). This has apparently been solved with the new Veloce 39 stab. with downwards pointed "ears" to keep yaw under control.
I now use this stabilizer with the Veloce L, and just love the combo for its great glide.

So: you have just entered the world of Gong, where even only for your level, you have at least 5 other wings to try (Curve M-T, Veloce M & M-T, Fluid M & L-S).

Beware: to go really "faster" you should use the old Alvator 60/65cm wings, which are small and ultra thin.
Point is, they do not fit on your mast.
They are "FreeRide" wings, while your mast is a "FreeSurf" one.

Freeride = short fuselage, only AllVator 60/60, and all the stabs
Freesurf = long fuselage, every wing BUT Allvator 60/65, all the stabs.

The AllVator wings and the Freeride 100cm mast are "legacy".

Have fun!

Hi Azoele, thanks for your advice. Its stated on their website as the 'GONG KITE FOIL ALLVATOR FREEWAVE FULL CARBON'. It comes with the Curve M frontwing and the 40cm kite stab.
Asked gong some questions throug mail, they said this monobloc is suited for all wings: RISE CURVE X-OVER FLUID VELOCE.
I consider myself an intermediate kite foiler, feeling very comfortable and can do most basic tricks 10 out of 10. With my weight, +-75kg, Gong said it is stiff enough for kite foiling and the extra stifness is mostly noticable for heavier riders.

Made my own carbon board last winter, 2.1kg, rides like a dream to me. I ordered this package with the Curve M, will add a more race/speed wing to it later, or try to make my own!
I'll place a review in this topic once the set is in with my first experience.

[Matthijs94]

Hi Azoele,

Many thanks for your reply, appreciate it. Expecting the package this week. Perfect foiling conditions in the forecast!

[Flyboy]

offtopic, people mentioned Gong foil being heavy comparing to traditional brands like Mosses but this wing is 3.63kg vs Onda is 3.2kg. This isn't that noticeable difference isn't?
Price difference is huge 900 euros vs 1490 euros for Onda

I would say that the difference between 3.63 kg & 3.2 kg is pretty significant. My 85 cm Gong carbon mast with M Curve Pro wing & 210 kite stabilizer weighs in at around 3.63 Kg ... but bear in mind that the 85 cm Gong mast is considerably wider/thicker/stiffer than the Onda 91 cm mast. Moses has a new wider/thicker/stiffer 82 cm mast which would be much closer to the Gong mast - but I don't know what the weight is of this new mast.

In any case, the question is how much difference does the .4 kg difference make on the water? The old Onda floats on it's side, while my Gong foil only stays on it's side for about 15 seconds. While actually riding, I'm not sure the weight difference will be noticeable. Equally, hard to say what effect the greater flex of the older Onda foil has while riding. In my experience, you can feel a flexier mast - it's not necessarily a bad thing though - more significant if you're a heavier rider, or using a bigger wing.