Just saw the rrp for DLAB juice 13..... brings a tear to my eye.... $4000 aud without bar lines or pump.
I had a fly of a year old 14.5 meter ocean rodeo allula flight today, and noted some big interesting differences to the roam.
It flew much more like a conventional higher aspect ratio c kite, that is much ..much slower turning. Power delivery is more constant than the 12 roam, and flying through the window the roam was significantly faster and lighter to turn than the 14.5 flight.
Regarding the turning, I was able to effortlessly loop my 12 with 27 meter lines and 39cm tiny bar, compared to the 22 meter lines and wide bar on the 14.5, the roam was about 2 or 3 times more responsive in the stated configurations even with tiny bar and long lines.
Also worth noting the wind was super , super light, like around the 4-6 kt mark. Getting up in these conditions was a challenge , definitely foil only, and once up, both upwind and downwind was limited on the 12, and visibly less so for the other super big kites ( 18 meter sonic for example ).
The other thing I noticed was the allula yellow colouring had started rubbing off the leading edge ( or maybe flaking off is a better description ) , leaving a white cloth looking material. The guy has been riding it all the time for over a year in all conditions, and aside from the cosmetic looks the yellow missing didn't seem to cause a problem. Again I dont know if that is a feature of allula, or a feature of what ocean rodeo asked for in the paint factory... or maybe early batches... or the hot weather exposure.... time will tell.
Another light session yesterday, but slightly stronger than before, maybe 8 - 10 kts, mostly 17 and 15 meter kites everywhere,
What can I say about the Allula roam, the comments about it being underpowered on the low end I think are unjustified.
The smallest kite out was a lady riding a 12 meter with a large board... we are talking around 160cm front door.
I got up and riding on the 140, albeit going slightly downwind on my board. Fairly confident if I was riding the ladies board I would have had no problems.... or with the 140 I think to be Fully powered I would need 16m+,
I think it's fair to say the following as a wrap up.
The bottom end of this kite is low or as low as you'll get for a 12 meter.
The foiling bottom end is lower than the other light weight 12 meters ( single strutt ).
The relaunch is considerably lower than all other non allula LEI's
The top depower and top end feels as good as you'll get with other 12 meters, and is considerably better than single strutt light weight kites.
The manoeuvrability of this kite in light wind, and for a 12 meter, is like most 9 meters, even with a small bar, and even in light wind and 27 meter lines I can almost pivot kiteloop the kite. ( It doesn't pivot loop though, it just turn very tight and is very fast across the window ).
For travelling, this thing packs up small and is probably one of the lightest 12 meters on the market under 2.4 kg.
the looping is easy and the drift is also good for wave/surfing or charging towards the kite.
Cons-
Because of the low drag, high speed fast turning nature, it's not that suitable for the average joe to be trying Big Lofty jumps, because that is not what you get. It's a bit like being attached to a deflating balloon that wants to go everywhere, and if you don't direct / steer it then you don't get much lift. The Dlab Juice looks to be the opposite of this, more conventional and slower turning, more lofty and with more float if you want a more conventional super light wind kite. I think the drawback for that design is going to be a lower top end, but remains to be seen.
As I said one of the other allula kites had the yellow paint delaminate on the leading edge allula tube after a year of heavy use.....will this happen to all of them - no idea, It didn't appear to affect the kite other than cosmetics for now, and I guess maybe the ability of the leading edge to absorb water... maybe. On the plus side his kite is now even lighter :)
Another ride in very light conditions today, 41 degrees and 50% humidity.... not much power in the wind. Myself, another on an 18 meter sonic who was going much better than me in the lulls and for directions and an 17 meter Airrush ultra on a big front foil, about 20% bigger than mine. I was surprised I could get up at all. When it was around 9kts I could start to crank upwind, but in the 6 kts lulls, it was really in those conditions the limit. The extra square meters of the kites really come into play. Everything except massive 1 strutt or foil kites would have been falling out the sky ( hence only 3 guys riding )
I can confirm there are no "bladderless", they all have bladders, and are lighter weight than the normal bladders. Maybe why the Duotone alula kites are so much heavier thatn OR is because duotone are using heavier bladders?
For perspective the 17 meter OR flight, weighs less than the 13 meter duotone dlab.
I am aware of a 12m roam, and 14.5m flite that have had bladders blow. Both were inflated using the same electric pump.
Is this because the electric pump inflates the kite rapidly and the bladder does not settle gently into its correct position? (Pinches and pops)
Is the electric pump faulty? (Needs calibrating and cleaning)
Could these bladder failures have avoided by carefully laying the kite out flat and inflating slowly with a hand pump?
Hello Seabreeze members!
Chiming in from the design office of Ocean Rodeo.
Bladders....
The majority of bladder failures we see are related to embolisms, ( a small pinched or folded section of bladder that inflates incorrectly or is torn under stress....caught in a valve etc. ) Strut ends, and valve connections are the most sensitive areas.
Bladder twists...this can happen at the factory, no one is 100% perfect, however we do inflate each and every kite/wing for 24 hrs before packing.
Twisted bladders can also develop by inflating your kite while it is still folded. Kites should be unrolled before inflation...this really helps keep your bladders nested.
On wings...we see customers holding the wing LE/flag out handle while they are using the pump...so the wing is moving up and down with each pump stroke, shaking the strut bladder down.
We have now added two support lines to the strut bladder front end to help hold it in place, however the wing should be pumped laying flat.
Best to lay your wing flat and clip the pump leash to leash line loop on the wing LE.
For the last 8 years we have been using US made medical grade PU film (with UV inhibitors).
We are also continually refining our bladder designs, air frame build and inflation system to improve our kites and wings in both performance and reliability.
We do monitor the forums for any issues and take them seriously,..so thanks for the open discussion,...we are listening....
The primary reason for the outer facing gold layer is indeed to bolster UV resistance and protect the ALUULA core. The central core weave is the back bone and main technology of the composite providing the very light weight to strength ratio...as with any kite, its worth looking after and trying to avoid unnecessary exposure to UV if at all possible. (for example leaving a kite or wing pumped up all day in direct sun day after day,...)
Been using Aluula roams 6,8,10,12 m in waves and bay waves in Melbourne and waves East / West coast we have a lot of different conditions here with wind direction/ density ,Cross / Cross off / on shore I have started to dial in the different characteristics of this kite and enjoying them a lot and hopefully can use them this year at Indo
Note I am not sponsored rider All of my kites have had no issues with bladder, aluula material Note I do unfold before pumping up and fold up end of kite also try to where possible rig / de rig on grass
Re sizing I kite smaller or same as others most of the time And bigger also But I did the same with Reos which I have kited for years all models except V6 There are too many variables for kite size Re density of wind / board volume too riders weight on and on
One big thing I love being able to go out at Gunnamatta surf beach in Cross off with gusts up to 25 and lulls to 5 knot where I am able fly my kite and stay on the board where others are on the beach or swimming in
In conditions I have kited I do not find the kite to stall or being confused But I do fly these kites lower than I would with the Reo's Need to demo / demo your self too see if it's the kite for you
Its hard to believe this... but just done a back to back vmg2 15 meter in light winds( I know - its a race kite with race lines ) , 15 meter lines vs 24 meter lines allula roam. Could not get out of the water with the vmg2. No problems with the roam though. Absolute beast of a kite in light winds !
Did you use the lightwind race kite water start technique? You don't loop race kites to start in light winds like you might an LEI, you backstall them deep into the power zone and use the power surge as it flies forwards again to waterstart.
The difference was also, once i was up on the 15, I couldn't accelerate either, was trying to point upwind, but going so slow about to fall off the foil, and the kite was just not making enough power sitting there to accelerate me. With the Roam, I could back loop it, forward loop it, and manoeuvre likt crazy to get up to a higher speed and then point higher. Each loop with the roam, was twice the pull I was getting from the 15 surging forward.