Date: Wed, 15 Mar 1995 01:28:11 -1000 From: yankee@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Rogers) Message-Id: <3k6j0b$cnu@epsilon.qmw.ac.uk> Organization: Queen Mary & Westfield College, London, UK Subject: Ultraflex Hi folks, Just wondering what people think of the Ultraflex spars for Flexifoils. I went to my local kite shop and they sold the 8' spar for over sixty pounds sterling (around 100 US dollars.) Personally I feel that this is pretty steep, considering that this is 2/3 of the price of a new 8' flexi. So, is it worth buying and does anyone have a second hand 8' ultraflex spar that they might like to sell? Thanks, Andy = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Fri, 17 Mar 1995 21:06:05 -1000 From: amirault@max.tiac.net (Richard Amirault) Message-Id: Organization: The Internet Access Company Subject: Re: Ultraflex yankee@dcs.qmw.ac.uk (Rogers) writes: >Just wondering what people think of the Ultraflex spars for Flexifoils. >I went to my local kite shop and they sold the 8' spar for over >sixty pounds sterling (around 100 US dollars.) >Personally I feel that this is pretty steep, considering that this is >2/3 of the price of a new 8' flexi. >So, is it worth buying and does anyone have a second hand 8' ultraflex >spar that they might like to sell? Do you want to fly the 8' flexi in low wind? If you do, then it's worth it. If you don't, then it's not. I have a 4', 6' and 8' The 6 and 8' have low wind spars in addition to stock spars. The 8' ultraflex is pricy, BUT IT WORKS! Richard amirault@tiac.net = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Date: Sat, 18 Mar 1995 20:21:45 -1000 From: jburka@Glue.umd.edu (Jeffrey C. Burka) Message-Id: <3kgihp$jto@geog20.umd.edu> Organization: Project Glue, University of Maryland, College Park Subject: Re: Ultraflex In article <3k6j0b$cnu@epsilon.qmw.ac.uk>, Rogers wrote: >Just wondering what people think of the Ultraflex spars for Flexifoils. >I went to my local kite shop and they sold the 8' spar for over >sixty pounds sterling (around 100 US dollars.) > >Personally I feel that this is pretty steep, considering that this is >2/3 of the price of a new 8' flexi. Admittedly, the only economical ultraflex is the 6' (which in the US is about 1/5 the cost of the kite!), but even with the high price, if you want to widen the spread of the kite's flyable range dramatically, this is the way to go. It's a common idea that there's no single kite that can cover every windspeed you're likely to throw at it. This may be true if we're talking about one kite with one frame. But when you've got a stock flexi and an ultraflex, you come pretty close to covering any possible wind. I've got an old, beat up 6' flexi which can be fun in winds of 2-3mph with an ultraflex spar. The same kite, with the stock spar, has been flown in winds over 50mph. One kite, two sticks, and a variety of line, and you can virtually always fly. I keep one of my flexis in my lightwind bag with the ultraflex. It's stock spar stays with my other flexis in my highwind bag. Works out great. A UL flexi is extremely different from one with a stock spar. It's a finesse kite, capable of all sorts of interesting stuff like slides, axels, and tip stands (many of these tricks are possible with the stock spar, but a hell of a lot harder). My feeling is that it's worth the money...unless you're saving your money toward one of the indoor-class SUL deltas... Jeff -- |Jeffrey C. Burka | Pithy, insightful quote to be inserted | | | when one occurs to me. *If* one occurs | |jeffy@glue.umd.edu | to me. | = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =