Precision tied quad bridles

[Lon]

I see in the shop-accessories section of this web site a listing for " Precision tied quad bridles " and am wondering if there is an advantage to installing these or is it just for if something happens to the bridle already installed?

This may a real newbie question, but I'm curious.

 

Thanks!!

[riffclown]

Bridles over time tend to wear and break. They are also often removed when stacking kites and can be misplaced. 

The Bridles are replacements for worn, lost or discolored bridles..

 

[Lon]

Thanks for the info.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing an inexpensive upgrade.  I am brand new to quads and I will admit, I am having a hard time getting it off the ground.  I have watched John B's tutorial several times, but I'm doing something wrong.  Seems it should be a little easier.

Thanks again.

[makatakam]

On 10/14/2019 at 7:01 PM, Lon said:

Thanks for the info.  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing an inexpensive upgrade.  I am brand new to quads and I will admit, I am having a hard time getting it off the ground.  I have watched John B's tutorial several times, but I'm doing something wrong.  Seems it should be a little easier.

Thanks again.

Also available are replacement bridles for the Djinn, the quad that JB is making. The bridle for this model of quad has a design change from the original Rev bridle that improves some flight characteristics and makes certain tricks and maneuvers easier. It also fits the 1.5 size Revs just like the original. It may be worth a try to see how you like it.

As far as being a fix for beginner blues -- forget it. There's no such thing. You'll get better and have less issues each time you fly, so just hang in there. It will come. We all went through the same stages. Just smile and keep going. After all, you're just flying a kite. Relax. Have fun. Pretty soon you'll be flying well and you won't even know when it happened. Keep watching the tutorials. Rinse. Repeat. Repeat until you're sick of them. Every word you hear, every move you see is Gospel. Tried, tested and proven. You can acquire your own style once you're comfy with the kite.

[Lon]

Oh, I won't be giving up anytime soon.  I just need some wind so that I can get out and torture, I mean have some fun!! 

I will take a look at the Djinn bridle.  I'm curious if the one they sell here on KiteLife is the same as the one you are referring to.

Thanks for the heads up!!

[riffclown]

The one sold on Kitelife is a standard style bridle (7 attachment points) for 1.5 sized Revs and similar (aka Hadzicki wings).

The Djinn bridles are sold only at Kiteforge and are designed and engineered by @John Barresifor the Djinn. The Djinn (sync) bridles also have additional attachment points  and require modifying the kite slightly if you are going to attempt to put them on a non-Djinn Hadzikci wing. The Djinn (Sync) bridle has two additional attachment points along the leading edge which would require you to place a hole (and hopefully appropriate reinforcments) at those two points to be installed properly. As a self proclaimed newbie, I would not recommend this route unless you are comfortable with making these modifications..

The Third bridle option not mentioned here so far is the French bridle and that family of derivatives. For those, I'd recommend you contact Eliot at Flying Smiles Kites. The advantage here is better connection to the kite with no modification to the kite required. There are many who swear by the French bridle. I'm sure @Paul LaMasters will lend his wisdoms on this item.

Personal recommendation, if your kite has a bridle already on it, you should be fine. If it's worn frayed or stretched and you need to replace it go with a standard bridle from KiteLife or a French Bridle from Flying Smiles.

[John Barresi]

The Sync Bridle is tailored to the Djinn specifically and I wouldn’t vouch for transfer to another kite - there is just too much going on - even changing the length of one bridle leg by half an inch changes performance and sail pressure, the impact of different vertical spar location and kite proportions on the center portion of the bridle would be massive.

To this end, the complete Sync Bridle isn’t available for purchase except on a Djinn, though the bridle components that wear out are available - as mentioned above, both the French and 1.5 style bridles transfer pretty well from kite to kite.

[Paul LaMasters]

you could do a French bridle yourself, fifty feet of 100# hi-test bridle line and four hours of assembly (if you've done it before)

 

here's the dimensions from team Crazy Drivers in France, go slow and you can do it yourself.

the impact of such a bridle is most noticeably felt in a dead calm or very low wind conditions, when everything matters most, when you want a direct connection to the kite and no wiggle, when every action is one you placed there, nothing is free like overstreering, so you need a bigger action on the handles to MAKE it fly in the same manner as a stock bridle.  You are grabbing the kite outside of the frame with the flying lines, so the kite feels bigger in your grasp.  A little tiny steering wheel is never on a school bus.  

All of the responsiveness (if you like it) or twitchiness (if you don't!) is what all the fuss is about.  A stock bridle has two legs that attach to the center on the leading edge, the FB uses 6!  The stock one can be moved laterally( w/o the frame moving) inches at the leading edge!

The French Bridle has four legs that secure your bottom flying line attachment points (so you can fly w/one line tight and 3 slack,... like WAY out there on the edge!), You're still whole connected to the frame.  There's no Whump preloading necessary, that cocking action is built in.

Lately I have been installing an inch spacer (loop between the bridle and the kite frame itself) so that loop wears out instead of the bridle.  I buy my bridles from Eliot/Cath Shook at Flying smiles kites.  There's like forty bucks a piece and I have a whole bunch of Revs.  I can't afford to keep replacing them all, equals new suite of Bazzer or Eliot's kites.  Does this change the dynamics of flight? Sure but not enough to spend two grand extra!!!!

This is not a new bridle design and actually fits best on the old styled revs sails marked SLE 1.5 upon which it was based.  I use it on a Phoenix Ash, all of my B-Pros, all of my Shook Meshes and the zen (different size) as well as the b-2/Rev2 or Eliot's new mini shook mesh (75% only, again a different sized French bridle is available to fit this format)

When people consider this modification my advise is always put it on your oldest most beat up sail, see the difference compared to a brand spankin' new kite.  All that matters is if it feels better to you.

Enjoy if you decide to give it a go!

[Paul LaMasters]

one more thing, you have to tune the French bridle to fit your current preferred handle leader settings before enjoying that first maiden voyage.

The kite is tune correctly when it will back-up from inverted on the ground.  you may need to shorter either the tops or the bottoms of the bridle attachment legs to match your existing settings, this is done by feel, (install a little overhand knot behind or in front of the existing ones and test again, when you get it right "cut off the excess").

Now when you go from one kite to another comparing, there's no tuning considerations of leaders based upon which bridle is installed.

 

[Lon]

Thanks guys and as riffclown pointed out, I am very much a " self proclaimed newbie"!!  I will stick with what I currently have and learn to fly it and then decide what I want to do.  Djinn...................🤔

I think I likely misunderstood what makatakam wrote.  And thank-you Paul for the info on the french bridle.  That would take some time and patience!!

 

[makatakam]

Best to keep it simple until you get the hang of it. No point making changes if you can't tell the difference. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Lon]

You are absolutely correct!!  I just need to get out and learn what I have😉