rectifier
Posts: 265
Registered: 4-21-2012
Location: Saskatchewan
Member Is Offline
Mood: Shredding
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Winter buggying on patchy snow/slush/ice
Hi guys. I usually kiteski or snowboard, I don't own a buggy, but the last winter was awful for snow and this one is shaping up to be the same. I've
got to do something because my kites are getting bored and static flying just makes me want to get on something that moves.
Our fields right now are covered with odd patches of snow, either rock hard or slushy, but are mostly bare. Also there are big patches of lumpy rough
ice. All of my frozen sloughs are ruined too, with drifts that melted into big hard dangerous lumps, and they are not going away until spring.
I'm thinking of getting a wheeled buggy so I can actually get out and kite in the fields, but I'm wondering if there are any issues with these
conditions, like losing traction and getting dragged downwind, or plowing into a soft slushy mess and getting pulled out of the buggy etc.
Any recommendations of an appropriate buggy would be appreciated too, thanks
Homebuilt: 1m NPW9b, 2.6m NPW21, 7m NPW21 UDS
HQ: 3.2m Crossfire, 5m + 7m Apex 3
6m Ozone Explore v2
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Brant
Posts: 59
Registered: 8-18-2014
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Member Is Offline
Mood: Missing the snow
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Brant
Posts: 59
Registered: 8-18-2014
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Member Is Offline
Mood: Missing the snow
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I know how you feel
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Brant
Posts: 59
Registered: 8-18-2014
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada
Member Is Offline
Mood: Missing the snow
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Try this again
I would like to apologize for the lack of snow in Saskatchewan, I think it must be my fault, as we have had crappy snow conditions ever since I bought
my power kites, so the two must be related.
That being said I have no idea about how well a buggy would work, although the same thought has crossed my mind more than once. I did however find a
used dirtsurfer to try out in the summer, but I can not tell you how well it works on our bumpy fields as I have yet to find enough guts (or
desperation) to try it out with the kites. I keep telling myself that at some point we are going to have enough snow to get some practice in with
something softer to land on than dirt and rocks. I will definitely be trying it out next summer though as only getting one ride in per winter just is
not cutting the mustard. If you do find something that works though feel free to share the information!
P.S. I had to type this out 3 times on my iPad. Apparently apostrophe is a bad word, or at least a bad punctuation mark. The really annoying thing is
I forgot to copy it the second time before I hit post... fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.
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abkayak
Posts: 2271
Registered: 1-7-2012
Location: a.b. NY
Member Is Offline
Mood: loving life and becoming wise in simplicity
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apostrophe ...top 10 album hands down
you def need a bug...loosing traction and hitting a soft spot and getting launched is part of the progression
im partial to a flexi type set up w/midis if your under 6ft...deep seat helps you stay in..and belly pan for the bumps
not a big investment and if you have 100 nice yards your all set
this will scratch that itch
US-31...Cquad set/ 2.5 Bullet/ 2.6 Viper/ 2.9m Reactor/ 2- 3.5m Bullet/ 3.6 Beamer/ 4m Buster/ 4m Toxic/ 4m Ikon dp/ 4.5 Bullet/ 4.9m Blade/ 5.6
Twister/ 6.6m Blade/ 7.5 Apex/ 9m Fuel/ Phantom I 9,12,15,18/ 2 Flexibugs/ PL Big Foot/ landboards
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Bladerunner
Posts: 9679
Registered: 10-17-2006
Location: Vancouver
Member Is Offline
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Canuck installed screws to a set of wheels in Calgary. I think he only uses this set up on lakes?
From my little experience a belly pan is great advice. I would avoid PL XR buggy. Uncomfortable and prone to cracked welds.
Kites: 2.5m Profoil , Quadrifoil XL kitesurfer, NPW 5 Danger.
Flexifoil: 1.7m Sting, 4.9m Blade 3, 9m Blade 2.
Flysurfer : 19m Speed 2 SA, 7m Pulse
Peter Lynn :18m Phantom, 15m Synergy, 10m Synergy, 1200 Farc, 460 Sarc, 130 Tarc, 5m Peel, 4.2m , 6.4, 8.5 C-Quads, 3.5 LS2 single skin.
Rides: Flexi / P.L. Frankin'Buggy , Shaped + straight skiis, sand skis, Coyote blades. Core 95 ATB. RKB R2 ATB .
Ken (K2)
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rectifier
Posts: 265
Registered: 4-21-2012
Location: Saskatchewan
Member Is Offline
Mood: Shredding
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Yeah, thanks a lot Brant for ruining the snow with your kite purchase... the worst is that it seems it's usually a big dump of snow, -20 plus
windchill, and then it gets above zero and all melts before I can ride!? I don't dare try something like a dirtsurfer since I'm not as bouncy as I
once was. There's lots of nicely picked and rolled lentil fields around my place so I don't have to worry about rocks that much... except the big
ones!
abkayak and bladerunner, thanks for the tips. I'm 5'7" so I don't need a huge ride. The belly pan really sounds like a good idea, now to try to find a
buggy somewhere that shipping won't end up costing as much as the buggy. Couple for sale on PKF here right now but I'm not going to dare to ship
something large like that across the border, and you said to stay away from the XR anyways.
For a guy that's new to buggies what are "midis"? Looking around the internet they sound like the medium sized tire between bigfoots and "barrows",
which are the smallest tire? Are they specific to the buggy or can they be swapped around at will?
I kind of miss living in Calgary since there was actually a bit of a kite scene there, here a guy usually has to ride by himself. Though I do have a
lot more terrain available to me, if I could just get out on it!
Homebuilt: 1m NPW9b, 2.6m NPW21, 7m NPW21 UDS
HQ: 3.2m Crossfire, 5m + 7m Apex 3
6m Ozone Explore v2
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Wind_dog
Posts: 233
Registered: 3-15-2016
Location: Oregon
Member Is Offline
Mood: Itchin' for the beach
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A midi tire is size 16X6.50-8
IMHO, ribbed is preferred like
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Martin-Wheel-K401H-Rib-Tread-16X...
You can find 4-ply too, but my riding does not need it.
I run them on my flexi with long, wide axle (if you don't have one, get one).
They are nice for everything but softest dry sand.
BTW, I ran my flexi with a PL-XR seat which was an affordable improvement but my
new buggy bag seat is a dimension beyond.
The belly pan/skid plate should be my next add-on. Been lucky with driftwood and rocks so far.
Eric made a lexan pan for his, who else has ideas plus or minus??
Pictures are worth a thousand words.
Always on the steep part of the learning curve.
Gin Shaman2 6m, 12m
Flysurfer Peak1 6m, Peak2 9m,Peak4, 3m
Misc. other kites, never getting out of their bags.
Riding a Libre Fullrace with an AQR on the beach
Riding a Blokart inland when gust factor > 4
And a couple Manta Singles for friends to ride.
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eric67m
Posts: 543
Registered: 9-11-2015
Location: Monroe, Washington
Member Is Offline
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I made mine out of 0.1" (measured) 24"x32" clear poly carb sheet from Lowe's hardware. Made a paper-cardboard template first. Transferred it to the
poly carb and bent where necessary in a finger brake at my work. It also keeps the bottom of the seat drier.
Flying A mixed quiver of Flysurfer Peak kites.
Rollin in the Popeye The Welder Playa buggy.
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