Hello Buggy gods,
Noob looking for some advice. I'm recently into snow kiting, but now need something for when there's no snow on the ground. Boarding on the water doesn't do it for me for a number of reasons, I could never skateboard worth a sh!t and they look painful, but buggies.... something very intriguing about them. But I've got lots of questions. I'm doing some research on my own, but figured I'd go straight to the horse's mouth

I've seen lots of vids and pics so far, and it looks like most of you are lucky enough to live on or near a beach. But what about us poor folks that don't. Is it unheard of to buggy in fields & rougher terrain? Anything particular about a buggy for field use vs beach use?

From what I've read so far it looks like the steering joint/knuckle is the weak point of buggy design. Is there anything else to really look out for? I'm considering a used buggy or building my own and need pointers.

What about the wheels, why does it seem like I don't see treads or knobbys on the wheels? Wouldn't it steer better or do you need that give?

Are you strapped to the buggy or just sitting?

What size kites do you normally use and their related wind speeds?

Any other tips or pointers for me? Thanks,

Ok, so after watching this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLt9nBDwi9o I see that you are strapped in and I see why you don't use treaded tires. I guess I just didn't realize how much air buggies can get and how much you can spin them 'round and go backwards and all. That... is....so... f'in cool!!

Hey Mr Strange

Aint it a GREAT game ... welcome to the early stages of the next thing you spend all you money on ...

The big thing about kiting is the wind ... (as you will well know snow kiting) ... good clean steady wind is the best, which is why we 'tend' to like to do it @ the beach. The wind is usually cleaner and more constant @ the beach than inland ....which will make your kiting more enjoyable.

Saying that though .... if yer inland yer inland ... and that's where you are ....

You will need lots of open space ... keep away from obstructions you may hit or that will interfere with your wind and cause turbulance.
Elevated areas will tend have cleaner wind.

Start with a very small kite ... even your old trainer if you still have it ... buggies have very little resistance (depending on surface) and will get rolling quiet easily ... the last thing you want on your first go is 40 mph + ! Once you get stopping ... sliding and turning the buggy sorted out you can begin throwing bigger kites up.

Strapping in .... pros and cons mate ... great if you wanna jump .... crap if you flip it (when you are dragged along upside down still strapped to your buggy is called a turtle)

Most people I know don't strap in





Buggies .... there are lot's of choices .... lots

Check out popeye's site .... he has the best collection of buggy photos/information/advice in the world
http://www.popeyethewelder.com


Sniff around the forums .... find a fellow buggy addict .... I am from Australia .... I regularly go to extremekites.com.au for info ... there's always sombody ready to give you their opinion

Enjoy the journey mate
But MOST important of all ....



Never tell your wife how fast you went

or how much you spent on your new kite! Oh yeah. Welcome to the forum

Ok, I've been reading and watching and was noticing a lot of folks in buggies use handles instead of bars, is this a personal preference thing are do handles have a distinct advantage of bars when you're in a buggy.

Do you wear/use a harness when you're in a buggy? It's very hard to tell from watching folks do it.

My wife, mehh... believe it or not I've got other hobbies that suck the $$$ out of me so I've kind of gotten her use to it. Boys & their toys you know.

Still not even sure this is a viable option for me. I am land locked in the summer time and I may have trouble finding a spot to ride that has clean wind. But I do have a small trainer kite to start w/ so I'm dying to try this.

Does anyone buggy in the New England area? Drop me a line so I can come watch some time. Thanks,

Well there are some options to consider. Yes handles do look appealing and alot of buggiers are using them. Handles i've noticed do have new systems that can be incorporated into the handle basically the top lines are fixed to a special spreader bar leaving you to only have to steer and put the force back to your core. I've buggied with bars and its not a problem the real advantage i see too handles are the ergonomics of your body when buggying i notice lots of lean in the opposite direction of were the kites at so much that i'll have to hold on to the frame rail to really edge with the bar. The other thing is you can get a little more manipulation out of handles being that your steering lines aren't fixed on a certain length bar (your arm travel can be much more than a standard kitebar thus making the kite stall quicker and turn faster.) I've noticed alot of actual buggy specific kites are much much higher aspect ratio and fly even more faster then a regular kite for kiteboarding. If you look close at the design it looks flatter and thinner much like a knife rather than a large mass soaring. This gets the record speeds along with the nearly no resistance of the buggy. I've buggied on the foils and the inflatables i guess in buggying the lift is just not necessary unless your a seatbelt wearing dare devil (which is pretty amazing considering your a$$ is hanging about 3 inches off the ground impacting from even 10 feet could possibly break your vertabrae)
The foils are slower and sit still a little better then the inflatables but if you're landlocked a foil is great for just about anything. I guess you need to ask yourself do you just want to buggy nothing else? Grab a handle kite, maybe the system I talked about above so you don't fatigue quickly, harness, buggy and your set for about 1500$-2000$
If you wanna landboard, buggy, and water kite Inflatable is must have.
hope this helps a little.

You may have seen these befor ... but if not ... they give you a good indication of how it is to buggy with a bar.
This was filmed in gusty wind 15 - 25 knots
Using a 5m Waroo surf kite




This one, 8 - 10 knots .... using a 7m Waroo surf kite




Hope that helps ....
(Any excuse to post me videos)

I just had to post again to say


YAY .... I got the videos imbedded ...

(Saw ya sticky craz z )