G'day guys, Firstly i don't intend this to be an attack on newbies. But after a few recent experiences it has occurred to me that many new kiters are incapable of maintaining their own gear either because they are too lazy to do it or they have just never been shown how.
So my question is too all the kiters with less than about 2 years experience.
How well do you know your own gear and if something was to go wrong could you fix/replace it yourself?.
Line replacements?
Bladder replacements/repairs especially one pump.?
Bar tuning?
small canopy tare?
HOW DID YOU LEARN? for others sake. Would a Brand by brand instructional maintenance DVD be useful or just ignored?.
Been kiting for more than 2 years, but I reply here as a an ignorant "gear maintenance kook".
Replacing the chicken loop rope was already a pain in the bum - after an hour of fiddling around and cutting my hand in the process, I finally attached the rope to my car, pulled on the chicken loop unit strongman-style, and after the 10th attempt and the chassis rocking around all over the place, the stupid line finally went through.
After 10 more sessions, I already look forward to repeating the procedure.
Next I have the pleasure to replace all bladders on my (one-pump) kite..
The idea alone bores me to death, so I might even give someone else a few bucks to do it.
The benefits of outsourcing shouldn't be ignored!
Hi Lex123,
Just wondering what you mean by your question- have you been being grabbed for lots of repairs for newbies?
I have less than 2 years exp and havent yet (x) had to repair anything, but i guess common sense would be that i would learn as i go. I understand that it's important to be able to do your own repairs and know your equipment, but i would be hesitant to be completely independent in case i miss something or wreck something.
And why not ask an expert opinion when you first start out? I'd rather swallow my pride and ask for help than end up hurting myself or someone else...
How did you learn?
^^^ RPM did you just copy and paste a general reply from any of the newbie issue threads? None of that has anything to do what im on about. I don't Dislike Newbies, I'm just curious why kiters aren't learning these skills. How can you call yourself a kiteboarder if you don't know how your gear works and how to fix it when it fails.
Not sure where you are headed with this topic because it's more of a personal decision than anything, though you probably would get a better response with a less inflamatory title, in any case I fit into the category that you are aimed at.
I've had professional repairs for torn fabric only, most other stuff no worries. I have repaired leaky/failed valves and bladder (u-stick and follow the instructions with some common sense thrown in), replaced lines (North Manual from the web was most helpful, checked by an experienced kiter before use and would recommend regardless of experience that work is checkked by an experienced person in anycase - we all make mistakes 
). Not sure about other kite brands but the North manuals available from the web show some useful techniques that can be applied regardless of brand.
Information on how to do this stuff is always useful but bottom line I think is that it's more down to the personality than skills necessarily, personally I'm inclined to be a DIY'er anyway but there are plenty out there who are not this way inclined and in this case then sometimes it's not a bad plan to have someone else take on the task.
Hi Guys,
Probably the reason most newbies don't know these things is that no one teaches it and mostly newbies don't even think about it until faced with a problem, then, in confusion as to how to go about it, they visit a shop and pay them to fix it for them. This is quite normal and reasonable.
Shops are generally experts in repair and can carry out many simple repairs in minutes with little efort, where a newbie after spending a huge amount of time trying to figure it out can exacerbate the original problem.
Funny enough, we are running a DIY repair night at my shop in Scarborough this Thursday night coming. We will be tackling removal and replacement of struts and leading edges, finding leaks and repair of blowouts. Canopy repairs and general repair and maintenance of bar and lines and kites. It's a free night and to the best of my knowledge, the first of it's kind in Australia.
Making good his "Pay-it-Forward" pledge, Ben is going to be showing us how to splice Spectra Cord. Sweet! SHould be an informative night, might even save you a days ride or a few dollars, or both.
www.seabreeze.com.au/Members/Events/Event.aspx?id=4671052
If we get too much interest, we'll run an additional night.
Cheers,
DM
This is not just a kiting thing, has been happening slowly in alot of other sports and I have been seeing it happen in sailing.
10 years ago when kiting was just getting going there were far more people with the time and willingness to DYI, now people want everything now and usually their exuse is that they are time poor. They get so used to buying everything off the shelf (cause that's the way they were bought up) so when something breaks they don't even know where to start to even think about fixing it!!
I had a 18yo kid come into work on Saturday, one which I know has finished school and is not working, wanted us to build a new rudder box for his sailing dinghy. Now we are flat out and he wanted it within 2 weeks, not going to happen, but when I suggested building it himself he would have no bar of it. Would of taken $200 worth of materials, some tools (which I know his Dad has) and about 20 hours of his time. He then asked if we knew anyone else, we gave him two guys cards, which he rang straight away. He then bitched to us when the guy had quoted him $1200 to build a new rudder box!!!
Another example is guys coming to national champs here in Freo from NSW without as much as a screw driver, no tool kit at all!!!
It seems to be a latest batch are worse than the previous ones.
Not sure what we can do about it but it may be here to stay!!
I guess its good to try and improve things and find a way to educate, and thats a good thing for sure, but its probably a bit silly to put everyone in the same category- there are so many different kinds of people from all walks of life that are Kiters. And also why does it bother you!?
There's plenty of info and professionals out there who can help anyone looking to get to know their gear, and for those who dont want to, who cares! Its their ride on the water and their gear!!
And of course you can call yourself a kiter if you dont fix your own gear- you can be a car driver without being a mechanic - that's why people can make money fixing kite gear, because there is a big market for it- a lot of people get pro's to fix their stuff, regardless of experience!!
Maybe you are discovering a higher calling to become a kite fix it person or a coach 
Congratulation for doing all repairs yourself, this is a great achievement and it probably makes your time on the water more enjoyable?
Unfortunately the rule of thumb is that it takes usually about 20 times more time than someone who knows how to do it with great chances of actually worsening the damage.
So yep, I will happily hand it out to a shop and and let them deal with it.
I usually pick up my kite the next day with a big smile and head straight to the beach.
Dude .... if there isnt a youtube vid for everything you could ever need to fix/brake/steal/make by now , i'd be very surprised.
Some peeps like to dyi , some peeps like to pay someone.
Isnt diversity gr8
Handel tuning what you mean been kitting 4 years .
yes a dvd would be good .
Aksonline (DM) i would go to it but nothing like that is ever going to happen over here maybe you sould video it so we all can see it .
I would be happy to see some articles in magzines or even on the net for general kite maintenance. Even looking up something as simple as should a kite be washed ever gets you many varying answers across the net.
I have been kiting a very short time and have popped a bladder attempting to fix a pinhole leak.... leason learnt. I would like some advice though on what to do with my bridle pulleys. One seemed to derail on the weekend and snag the line beside it.
Another note, where can i find pigtails for a 5 line (i.e. yellow middle line pigtails).
if it aint broke.......then dont fix it! 
In which case, as a relative noob, why spend hours learning something when there is no immediate need. If your DYI inclined, then deal with it when a repair is required. If not, pass it over to an expert and hand over some of your hard earned green.
Personally, I have yet to have any issues with my Cabrinha (touch wood), perhaps they really are a quality kite contrary to others opinions
And if / when the time comes and I do have an issue, i'll assess or seek advice on the complexity of the repair, then decide whether to give it a crack myself or have it fixed professionally. Wife, kids, work, studying a degree part-time, time is valuable, particularly free time to kite, I most likely would be taking the most time efficient option.
I think you have a good point !! I have been kiting for less than six months .I did my first bladder repair the other day nozzle came unstuck form the bladder the kite shops have stick on nozzles very easy very quick fix for $24 and the satisfaction of doing it yourself out ways paying for a shop to do it . You can find out a lot about your gear on the net i spent alot of time researching kiting more than i have kited for reel you can download manuals for your kites ,bars,etc you just have to take the time to find it .
for example
www.cabrinhakites.com/user-manual-downloads
Has kite manuals back to 2003 if not earlier .
I don't think its just about being on the water i would rather find something wrong with my kite while I'm doing maintenance ,rather that something going wrong on the water in 20knot +
Ive learnt from being shown when something has gone wrong. Rather than just dropping it and running I have hung around and helped fix it.
Furthermore, don't threads like this send mixed signals? Kiting is higher risk than most activities apparently, if you add in gear maintained soley by a noob you are increasing risk. Some small maintenance tasks can be done by noobs but things like complete line replacements and bladder replacements should be done by someone with significantly more experience until a noob is better prepared to handle consequences of not getting it right and having a kite fail at the wrong time.
