Replacing lines?

Ineedwind27 · Since 10 Aug 2010 4 Posts Kook

Hey, I'm not experienced with line maintenance or replacement at all, so forgive me if my question seems intuitive to you.

I recently got my hands on an 07 North 5th element bar along with a couple of 07 Rebels. The lines are hairy, and when I walked them out for the first time it didn't inspire my confidence in them at all, I doubt they've been replaced at all in the past three years. So I've decided to get replacements, which is where my question comes in.

It seems that my back lines are a few meters longer than the front lines because of the depower line that goes up to where it splits into the two front lines and the center line, I've heard it called an A-split. So the front lines literally start where that A-split is, several meters away from the where the back lines start (the bar). I didn't measure, but it seems that the length of the front line is just under half the length of the back lines, meaning that from the depower line to the A-split is just over half the length of the back lines. I feel like there should be a replacement set for the whole set up, and I've wasted a couple of hours trying to find one online somewhere, but all I seem to be able to find are sets of 4 lines that are all of equal length.

My kitesurfing experience is limited to about 9 months about three years ago. I flew on '06 Vegas' with an '06 5th element bar, but my lines never needed any maintenance in that time. I left for college in Portland, and just this summer I got back out on the water again when I went home for a month. I'm dying to get out in on the Gorge before the season is over, and I've got everything I need except the lines on my bar need replacing. Am I missing something obvious? Please help, I need to get out there again, I'm itching and burning in restlessness, and I don't know what to do about it. I'm planning on heading down to Gorge performance tomorrow to see what they have to say, but I thought I'd ask the forums.

Help me out please. I want 20m lines, does that mean that I should buy two back lines at 20m, buy a new depower line thats 10m, and two front lines that are 10m, with a 20m 5th line? Or is there a North package available somewhere that is already measured out for me? Feelin kinda lame never having dealt with this stuff before, but it's time to learn.

Nak · Wed Aug 18, 10 7:07 pm

If you can't get a OEM set, you can make a whole new line set, or you can buy an equal length set & make a pair of extensions.

http://www.nwkite.com/forums/t-11649.html

Pete · Since 29 Oct 2007 843 Posts Opinionated

Head down to your nearest North dealer, and you should be able to pick up a set of new lines for around $150. I can't remember which shop I talked to last week, might have been Big Winds, and they had them in stock.