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Rods: The difference ?


DeafThunder
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Yeah, there's no specification for uprights vs leading edge - supposed to be universal.

Many of the pros I know are hoarding the non-GL rods, there is no comparison between new GL and old non-GL, huge difference in strength, flex and recoil.

Might have to change my second set of black race out of my sons kite and give him a 2 frame then...

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7 hours ago, John Barresi said:

Many of the pros I know are hoarding the non-GL rods

Not just the spars ... I'm not parting with any (pro) sails either until I am happy there is consistency and availability to assemble a suitable platform.

Sadly, I don't have confidence in anything coming out that factory right now. It kills me to say that because Rev products have done much for me and allowed me to go on a very cool journey. I think the people flying the product have progressed further than the products available from the company that gave birth to them.

That, however, is a whole different discussion.... one that I wish never existed

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On 6/20/2016 at 7:52 PM, John Barresi said:

Many of the pros I know are hoarding the non-GL rods, there is no comparison between new GL and old non-GL, huge difference in strength, flex and recoil.

Eventually even the hoarded older rods will need replacing. Is there something that we can do as consumers to work around Revolution's unwillingness to acknowledge and correct the problem? Is there another rod manufacturer for that could start making them to the older specifications? Skyshark or someone else?

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Going to come from enough demand. So far, Rev has had the rod market for their kites pretty well cornered. No real competition for their products. SkyShark had the dualie market pretty much. So unless there is a financial impact on Rev's bottom line - no reason to try duplicating their products. Plus as this whole quad thing sorts itself out, a lot of other companies will stay out of the fray, afraid to rock the boat.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I received the GT frames on my two Trifinity kites.. Love the kites but not a fan of the frames.. They seem weaker to me than even a regular 2wrap..

 

I asked Lolly about the Green Trimmed rods at the Rogallo Festive.. She stated the design change was partly because "they" were copying the Rev rod designs too..

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Aye, heard the green trim is Kevlar and is being used as a kind of authenticity mark since "China can't get Kevlar"... Not sure how true that last bit is though?

"DuPont also has research and development facilities and customer applications centers for Kevlar® in Shanghai, China; Hyderabad, India; Paulina, Brazil; Meyrin, Switzerland; Richmond, Va. and Wilmington, Del."

http://www.dupont.com/products-and-services/fabrics-fibers-nonwovens/fibers/press-releases/kevlar-is-not-just-about-yellow.html

http://m.chinasuppliers.globalsources.com/china-suppliers/Kevlar.htm

I dunno...

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  • 3 weeks later...

Very interesting. I bought a Rev B from ITW not too long ago and of course it came with the newer GT frames in both 2- and 3-wrap varieties. The kite took a hard landing at the beginning of my session this weekend after I tried out some of the extra-long custom leaders and after close inspection I noticed two tiny longitudinal hairlines at the end of one of my 3-wrap edges where it meets the ferrule. Steve from BASKL recommended ZAP-RT rubber-toughened CA as the appropriate crack-filler/adhesive so I placed an order for that (it's not on most shelves).

In the meantime I walked over to Highline Kites and asked Tom for another 3-wrap as a backup while I waited to repair the other one. It took him a while but he finally found some 3-wrap and it was NOS, ie. silver label. I was not yet aware that there were these new and old varieties. It fit on my GT center just fine and it didn't seem to feel very different but I did notice that the wrap was wider than the GT tubes. I didn't immediately notice the label and it wasn't until I got home that I looked here and sure enough here it is.

Now I guess I'm going to want to get at least one more of them from Tom, if only for my mild OCD, but it sounds like maybe I should buy him out! Do we wanna crowdfund some NOS Rev tubing? He had a ton of 4-wrap which is what took him so long finding the 3-wrap. Kidding aside, I'm more than happy to give Tom my business but wow I had no idea the rabbit hole went this far!

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  • 1 year later...

Unfortunately, I bought a couple of frames during the time Rev was selling their Green Things.  Had a diamond frame set in my Ash but I've never really pushed it - until today it has only been flown in really low 0-3 MPH winds.  We went flying today and the wind was low but had a few gusts (probably 8-10mph).  I launched the Ash and before I made it into the wind window I heard snap-snap-snap.  One of the vertical spars broke in 3 places.  Before I could get the kite on the ground the center LE spar snapped on me.  I was really surprised by how fast this happened.

So, I'm sitting here wondering what I should order to replace the diamond frame?  It looks like the options are:

  1. New Diamond frame ver 2.0
  2. Sky Shark P-90's
  3. Sky Shark 2P's

What are most people flying in their Phoenix Ash's for low wind?

20180115_162341.jpg

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9 minutes ago, flexifoil21 said:

Unfortunately, I bought a couple of frames during the time Rev was selling their Green Things.  Had a diamond frame set in my Ash but I've never really pushed it - until today it has only been flown in really low 0-3 MPH winds.  We went flying today and the wind was low but had a few gusts (probably 8-10mph).  I launched the Ash and before I made it into the wind window I heard snap-snap-snap.  One of the vertical spars broke in 3 places.  Before I could get the kite on the ground the center LE spar snapped on me.  I was really surprised by how fast this happened.

So, I'm sitting here wondering what I should order to replace the diamond frame?  It looks like the options are:

  1. New Diamond frame ver 2.0
  2. Sky Shark P-90's
  3. Sky Shark 2P's

What are most people flying in their Phoenix Ash's for low wind?

20180115_162341.jpg

I've heard P100 recommended more than once.

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Actually it's not too far fetched.  In some areas (like cycling) they are finding woods like bamboo offer some interesting possibilities.  I think the vertical spar I broke today was because of compression forces - bamboo might have fared better.  Plus, I can fabricate my own wooden spars in the garage a whole lot cheaper than a $110 Diamond frame.

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I would only say, that's why certain kites are made for certain winds , and that's why experimenting within their families teaches you a lot about the different wind ranges, kite attitudes , or personalities, frame functions, wing and sail designs and precision , but remember.. each flyer is different, and each kite loves to make their own impact on that flyer... gotta love it!

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