How check and trim your kite bar and lines – SurferToday


Have you ever felt that your old kite is not behaving as it used to? Maybe your kite bar and lines need an adjustment.

With time, lines tend to stretch, and when you pull your bar, the kite tends to back stall. Why? Because small particles of sand and dust will get into your lines, making them thicker and, overall, slightly shorter.

So, nothing like a smart kite hack to bring the old feel back to your favorite wing.

A good practice is to check your lines regularly and see if they’re optimized and well trimmed, even when you think your kite is flying great.

Having your lines correctly set up will improve the kite’s performance dramatically.

Time to check your lines’ condition. To do so, fly your kite at 12 o’clock with your trimmer bar set at full power.

Now, pull your bar. If the kite doesn’t look and feel good, it is probably due to shorter steering lines.

There are two ways of fixing the problem:

Kites: take your time to trim your favorite wing | Photo: Shutterstock

1. The Quick Fix

The fastest, yet least effective option, is to depower the kite and ride it as it is.

It’s a temporary solution that will, however, not allow you to use the full range of your trimmer.

But there is a better option to solve the problem.

2. The Ideal Solution

Find a comfortable and unobstructed area and unroll your bar.

Make sure all your lines are untangled and find a place where you can attach them.

Ask someone to hold the lines.

Open your trimmer and check the bar. You will notice that your bar is not trimmed correctly and the steering lines are slightly shorter.

Different kite manufacturers offer different solutions to this problem. But in many cases, you can find extra knots under the floater, move the knots and make the steering lines longer.

If you don’t have this option, add extensions to your steering lines with extra pigtails.

The extensions will not be of the exact size needed, but you can always add an extra knot to fit your needs.

If you don’t have extensions, another option is to shorten your power lines by adding a knot for one or two centimeters.

If you need more, you can add a knot where you attach your power lines.

Finally, go back to your bar and check if all your lines have the same length.