Any bar gurus out there

[supachip1]

I have some questions about bars n lines more specifically north ones.
I have north rebels & dynos and but not a huge fan of the 5th line so prefer to use 4 on the dynos,
Has anyone made a bars that can covert to either? I know the click bar can do this but I'm not going to fork out for one as I don't kite enogh to justify the price. Also means less to pack when going away.
I was wondering if I was able to switch the safety to either L/R centre line then have the 5th with the stopper ball just as a removable line. So i can add it when flying the rebels and remove it when flying the dynos.
It seems the stopper is what holds the line in place normally as the safety is always slightly slack.
Searching through the threads I see the splits differs between years too, I'm a bit confused by this as they say the split is there for a reason as it holds the shape of the kite yet you can fly most of them on either 4/5 line bars... so how does that work?
Seems simple enough in theory to convert a 5th element bar, but how would it affect the rebels flying by converting a quad bar with the much lower split..i am thinking this would be similar to the the click bar set up?
Cheers.

[McLovin]

Hey Supachip1,

So I have an idea for you. First the basics - the North / Duotone bar got a wonderful upgrade starting in 2018 which allows a super simple switch ability to go back and forth from 4 lines to 5 lines. This change is accomplished with adding a 2nd line to the metal O-ring when in 5th line mode the safety line runs straight up to the 5th line (think BLUE) pigtail.

Alternatively, by taking off the 2nd line from the metal O-ring the safety line then becomes the other front line (think RED) pigtail. So YES you can have both by either buying yourself a 2018 or newer TRUST BAR or by buying the line upgrade kit from Matz.

The benefit of buying a complete line upgrade circa 2013-2017 from Matz is you will have everything matching with nice and new SK99 lines - note this replacement line sets DO NOT contain the de-power (aka downhaul for ex-WS) line which you can get from Duotone for about $44 - a good idea to replace this for safety IMHO...

I got my North/Duotone line sets x 2 in just a couple weeks last month - I think he's upped his game on shipping so they come faster now - anyway hope that helps you get dialed in... If it's NOT clear you don't want to try amending and old 5th element line set as the connection points are NOT THE SAME and you could get in trouble fast. Spend a few bucks and get stoked with a new convertible line set or find a deal on a 2018, 2019 or 2020 bar but make sure anything you buy includes the 5th line upgrade which often is NOT a package.

My .02 you are better off buying from Matz or a new bar but if your bar is in decent shape - this line upgrade is a very cost effective way to get up to basically the latest tech which only came standard starting in 2021 with the new Roblines. I have used mine and they work like a charm. Another tip - he can make the lines to ANY custom length you choose - for example I got one set at standard 24m and another at 25.5m for my BIG KITE to have a bit more umph and just cause it's cool.

Hope this helps - Cheers!

Mc

Link to kiteboardinglines.com - https://kiteboardinglines.com/collectio ... 020-system

I have no connection to them FYI - just a customer but he's basically a one man shop over in Poland - but he makes some nice lines for a fair price.


PPS - regarding the height of the Y split - the 2018 forward version is a bit lower vs. the old 5th element set-up but it is still a MID height Y not a low V like Slingshot or several others
Mine works wonderfully on my 2017 quiver of 5th line Rebels and also seems to work just fine in 4 line mode on my Ocean Rodeo Flite 14.5m - there is a compatibility chart you can find on the forums about which kites go with which bar (ie/ low V vs. other line set ups...but for what you said this should be golden...

[supachip1]

Thanks for that, I am actually looking to do this myself to save buying anything, I have all the tools, lines and already make my own lengths up. I was wondering from a technical side if it was possible. My bars are 11, 14, 16, a friend had a 2018 bar so I will go n check it out.
I am keen to learn about the varying split heights though as I don't really undersatnd how they can change over the year but still work all the kites.