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Premature wear of my Roam Aluula kite

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Regis-de-giens
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Premature wear of my Roam Aluula kite

Postby Regis-de-giens » Wed Feb 08, 2023 4:59 pm

For Aluula user, and specially Ocean Rodeo Roam:

I have noticed on my Aluula Roam 12m 2021 a premature wear on the canopy, along the central strut, leading to a local change in color and some tiny holes appearing , while my kite did not suffer any abnormal friction on agressive soil and only has 10 hours of use; After deep look at it, the root cause is the main stitch of the central strutt which is permanently pressing on the canopy , so this hard and thin Allula seam is pressing and "cutting " the tensioned canopy .
IMG-20220820-WA0022.jpg
I asked Ocean Rodeo if this contact was only on my kite or also on other or all Roams, but despite our long discussion and "misunderstanding" on how to solve this matter, I still have no clear answer if this seam should be systematically pressing ont he canopy ; I suppose the case is rare, but I would like to alert you and ask you a favor to look to your Roam if any "agressive stitch" is pressing on the center of the canopy once inflated ; either visually (but you need to reduce the pressure to be able to separate the strutt from the canopy ) or by a change of color of the dark blue color of the canopy into lighter blue.

Thanks of your help and hope I can get a more clear view if all room is exposed to this conception default or if my case is isolated.


Regis
Last edited by Regis-de-giens on Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

grigorib
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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby grigorib » Wed Feb 08, 2023 5:08 pm

It’s enough to inflate or pack kite on concrete once to get these type of canopy holes. Just add a patch on the inner side.

How much was that kite?

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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby Aleza » Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:38 pm

Leading edge (or strut) seam pressing on the canopy can generate micro holes (or more, as in picture) just by keeping the kite at C ones in a sandy river beach with gusty wind. It Depends on the design.. I normally add a strip of tape over the canopy if I see the LE seam pressing the canopy in a region where abrasion can occur

Regis-de-giens
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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby Regis-de-giens » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:15 pm

I can just tell that it did not stayed on the beach with sand on it, nor friction on concrete during inflation.
For a kite costing that much, i do not consider as normal since used with (special) care. I indeed protected with a remplaçable light pad to limit the consequences and i think Ocean Rodeo should have put it by design...

The seams is more protuberant and "stiff" due to aluula stiffness. It is about 2mm high and 1 mm large, pushing locally the canopy. Lot of roam user not reported wear issues, and also one friend which roam 10m has not the stitch pressing on the canopy like mine. I suspect a fabrication tolerance problem.

Who could check on his own roam ?

Regis-de-giens
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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby Regis-de-giens » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:18 pm

I can just tell that it did not stayed on the beach with sand on it, nor friction on concrete during inflation.
For a kite costing that much, i do not consider as normal since used with (special) care, only 7 sessions ....

I indeed protected with a remplaçable light pad to limit the consequences but i think Ocean Rodeo should have put it by design from start if this seams is pressing by design ...

The seams is far more protuberant and "stiff" due to aluula stiffness, users could confirm. It is about 2mm high and 1 mm thin, pushing very locally the canopy at very high tension since at least 8 psi. Lot of roam user have not reported wear issues, and also one friend which roam 10m has not the stitch pressing on the canopy like mine. So I suspect a fabrication tolerance problem.

Who could check on his own roam ?

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Slappysan
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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby Slappysan » Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:24 pm

I'd be pretty pissed if this happened to a $3,000 kite.
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Regis-de-giens (Wed Feb 08, 2023 7:46 pm)
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rnelias
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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby rnelias » Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:35 pm

let me confess something...

I've recently got a Crave HL. It's not fully Aluula but got me surprised how light the kite is. Just 2.2kg for a 3-struct kite makes it ligther than other 1-struct kites I've already had, however, after paying close attention, I think its weight is mostly due to the canopy than the parts with Aluula. Crave HL uses a light D2 technoforce rip stop. In other words, the canopy seems fragile and I'm sure this kite will start to present pin holes soon. It's visibly more fragile than the rip stop used by Naish on Boxers.

As I've cited in the D-Lab Evo thread, these companies should start to train repair shops for canopy remanufacturing, because, after paying a kidney for a kite made with Aluula, the structure will last more than the canopy and nobody will be happy, in throwing away an Aluula frame, just because the canopy is worn out :(

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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby Peter_Frank » Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:12 pm

One practical question, maybe you in this thread will know:

Some has said repairs need extra attention or even a dedicated repair shop knowing Aluula?

Is this a myth or a fact???

I dont know, have heard and read this, but it can be a hoax, as well as true.

Would be interesting to know before we buy an Aluula wing or kite :wink:

They work AWESOME, stiff and light, no doubt :thumb:

8) Peter

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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby Aleza » Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:18 pm

rnelias wrote:
Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:35 pm
let me confess something...

I've recently got a Crave HL. It's not fully Aluula but got me surprised how light the kite is. Just 2.2kg for a 3-struct kite makes it ligther than other 1-struct kites I've already had, however, after paying close attention, I think its weight is mostly due to the canopy than the parts with Aluula. Crave HL uses a light D2 technoforce rip stop. In other words, the canopy seems fragile and I'm sure this kite will start to present pin holes soon. It's visibly more fragile than the rip stop used by Naish on Boxers.

As I've cited in the D-Lab Evo thread, these companies should start to train repair shops for canopy remanufacturing, because, after paying a kidney for a kite made with Aluula, the structure will last more than the canopy and nobody will be happy, in throwing away an Aluula frame, just because the canopy is worn out :(
Let’s me confess something as well then 😂: my example of a kite getting pin holes/ abrasion / cut by keeping once the kite at C to start, refers to the pivots (after 2022) with the “strong” quad-tex. Design flaw: they reduced the extension of the dacron on the canopy-LE attachment and they did not realise that the LE seam pushing on the canopy would cut the quad-tex if the ground is not a soft sandy beach….

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Re: Premature wear of my Allula kite

Postby GregK » Wed Feb 08, 2023 9:31 pm

Regis-d-g :
sorry that you're having this premature canopy wear with your 12m Aluula Roam. I have quite a few 2020 A-Roams ( 10, 9, 8, 6, 5, & 4m currently ), most have years of use, and many have LE repairs. A few years back I was working with Ocean Rodeo to develop Aluula repair techniques and had to keep samples to closely evaluate repair methods - tough job, eh ?.

I have visually inspected all of my A-Roams ( uninflated, both top and undersides ) and none have any canopy wear in the area of your problem. I've inflated two of them to about 3 - 4 psi and in the forward 15 - 20% of the centre strut that is not zig-zag stitched to the canopy ( unattached section allows water sitting between LE and canopy after a nose-first splash-crash to run down the LE as one side of the kite is lifted off the water during re-launch ) to check where the fold-over closure seam on the underside of the centre strut contacts the canopy. On both kites, that strut closure seam contacts the canopy on the white strip of marker cloth ( thin Dacron sailtape ) reinforcing this area ( on the canopy's top-side ), which is I'm sure design-intent.

So to me, yours looks like a one-off. For the strut closure seam to be in contact with the ripstop fabric beside the white marker tape, there would have to be pretty severe LE or strut distortion, possibly from a bad bladder twist that would also affect its flight handling.

Hope you can get it sorted out soon - cheers !


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