Kite Buggying

Does anyone kite buggy on here and know of any good kite buggy forums?

I’m keen to get into the sport and need lots of advice, especially about the kit!

Thanks

Try Flexifoil. Pretty good forum.
http://community.flexifoil.com/

Thank you!

racekites.com

i used to fly regularly but there is little wind and not enough fields where i am now.

used to use a board though. buggies are such a large investment and a pain to cart about. never got on with buggying. found it a bit boring zooming up and down. the tricks i find are too risky and generally look shit with buggies.

find a kite without too much lift if just starting. you need lots of lateral pull when buggying.

I buggy a lot when i can get down to Cornwall or find somewhere big enough in North West London. Best thing to do is get very proficient at flying a large kite – i fly a Nasa Wing of approx 7m2. Im large and it will still pull me straight of the ground in the right conditions. My brother and I say your are ready to fly a kite and buggy when you can fly a figure of 8 with a power kite with your eyes closed while standing up. Once that is done – get a buggy – my brother built his one, i bought mine on ebay – for a first buggy you dont need anything swish – just a £100 / £150 will get a good second hand buggy – they are £300 new at least. Also consider buying a good set of lines (if you dont already have them), good quality handles (i have 2 sets of flexifoil lines and handles – prob the best for value and quality), a helmet (bike helmet will do but not the best on the beach – consider kayaking helmet) and some kite killers – these stop the kite quickly in the event you let go! for the more advanced, consider a harness (like a windsurfing harness) and a faster buggy.

Forums – flexifoil is the only one i have ever really looked at – kiting is not complicated once you get into it (like most sports) but the best thing to do is find a friend to teach you and learn from – courses seem to be very expensive…!

You get quite a few bumps early on – however once you get used to it you can have great fun – in May, my brother and i spent several days down on a beach in North Cornwall flying up and down for several hours – getting up to 25 / 35 mph is quite easy in a good wind. Be aware – there is nothing quite like it for tiring the arms!!!

Hope this helps!

Dis

Elsa

If you want to borrow my buggy and kite then drop me a line or get my number off Dilley or Brother Prest.

Pete

Cheers Pete!

Didnt know you kite buggied? We’re moving up north soon to Preston and Kite Buggying seems like it might be a good sport to take up seeing as we’re not far from the beach. Me and steve are both keen to get into it. He used to do a bit but I’m a total newbie.

I want to get him a second hand buggie for his bday but I have to get the “right one”.

Any info you can give would be great!

Love my toys just like Mr P!

Best bet is Flexifoil for a buggy. Easiest to get hold of and to get spares for to be honest. Get one with a back support board. My one is first geeneration and so just had the seat. 30 mins of using that and your stomach muscles know about it!

I steer clear of Flexifoil 4 line power kites as I always found that they are more prone to loosing air in their tips and causing them to turn in on themselves.

I use a Predator 3.8m. Its not as big as some kites but is extremely stable and predicatable. Although I am not exactly a small chap (weight wise!) its fine for me in anything over a steady Force 2/3 and got me up to 35mph at Blackrock sands a while back (which when you are all of 3″ above the ground feels fast enough!).

You are more than welcome to borrow it if you like though. Off at the PDS from tomorrow but I can put it out and you can pick it up from mine as Rach will be home looking after the brats whilst I am away!

Drop me a line if you like.

Pete

OK Cheers!

We’re moving house this weekend so I’ll probably get in touch when you’re back from PDS (I’m so jealous!!!!). Thanks for the offer.

I’d say that buying a small trainer kite is always a good idea. That way you get to learn just how powerful these beasts can be.

I’m not sure about buggying, but it’s generally considered good form to have insurance for kite surfing.

powerkite shop[/url]

All of the north wests coasts are a bit prickly about buggying and require insurance and often club membership in order to be allowed on there. [after that daft drunk woman walked across a land yacht course and got her legs severed at teh ankles and died etc] and kite-buggying is classed as a class 5? land yacht IIRC?

As mentioned above, buggying seems fairly tame and limited to me, I used to use a board but found the crashes were too painful on sand and rapidly hit the water – kitesurfing is the way forward (Though nearly equally restricted by insurance and bylaws etc in the northwest). I’m glad I no longer live in the northwest for this reason, too many letigious people about, too much sucking-air-through-teeth, too many clubs thinking that they own the beach (and I used to be involved in running one!). The good thing is that MOST of the kite community is very friendly and helpful, but take advice when experienced people offer it – it’s usually learned through personal mistakes and pain that they want you to avoid 🙂

thanks for the info!

elsa try http://www.tractionkiting.co.uk its local to St Andrews but they have a very knowledgable and friendly forum. Owain and Judith run it.

Enjoy.

for third party insurance, the British Buggy Club do good cover inclusive in the membership – £15 iirc

as for getting into the sport, get a kite first, a smallish four-line kite would be best, and fly it all you can.

different wind conditions (starting light!), different sites, etc. get used to the kite, how it behaves, how to launch and land, what wind conditions work, when to be brave and when to leave the kite in its bag even though others might be flying.

can can sort all this without too much outside help so long as you use common sense, although a mate will be able to show you the ropes quickly then leave you to learn!

then try buggying! you’ll be much safer and happier, and the transition to zoooooming along will be easy. buggying (and surfing, although to a lesser extent) are straightforward so long as you can handle the kite well, ideally without needing to look at it all the time!

get a small kite first – you’ll always need it for fresh days, and for lending to your mates when they want a go without their arms getting ripped off!

happy buggying, fly safe!

I have a home made kite buggy you can have for free ! paul@knott3.fsnet.co.uk

Flexifoil Forum[/url]

Have a chat on the forum, go and meet with a club. Most of the club members will be happy to let you try different equipment (as long as you can fly a 4 line kite).

When you want to buy something, much the same as on here, look to there forums first.

Try the other smaller clubs. SWATK[/url] was the site and club I used to use all the time until I did my back in and came back to Mountainbikes.