18 replies to this topic

[Watty]

I little while ago, I recieved some new Rev Indoor rods from Lolly. There has been a change! *insert gasp here*

The new rods are 1/4 " ID. The sticker on them is silver and has the Race Rod flaming design. Although, the sticker only says "Revolution" and not "Revolution Race". They feel great, very light, and much stronger.

This is all I know on the subject, but I'm sure Mr. Ben will add more to this.

[RevWizard]

I little while ago, I recieved some new Rev Indoor rods from Lolly. There has been a change! *insert gasp here*

The new rods are 1/4 " ID. The sticker on them is silver and has the Race Rod flaming design. Although, the sticker only says "Revolution" and not "Revolution Race". They feel great, very light, and much stronger.

This is all I know on the subject, but I'm sure Mr. Ben will add more to this.

Are these really for the REV Indoor(No wind) or the REV 1.5 SUL to be flown indoor?

[antman]

a 1/4 rod set fpr the indoor would be great

[Watty]

These rods are meant for the Rev Indoor. They are a longer length to fit the Indoor. They also came with some bigger endcaps to fit in the 1/4" ID.

[PsychoJon]

Are these really for the REV Indoor(No wind) or the REV 1.5 SUL to be flown indoor?

Ben mentioned about advancements in the Indoor rod about the same time he showed us the prototype race rods when the few of us went to the the Silver Laske Disaster Event for father's day

[REVflyer]

I converted one of my indoor revs to a street-kiter rig. Maybe these new rods would be another benefit?

I replaced the end caps with more durable, appropriate products and added a bridle, so the flight dynamics could be tamed somewhat. The bridle is an "acre long" though to prevent frame distortion. I'll do some more testing and then try to share the dimensions with those interested.

Eventually I'll add the training wheels (to stiffen the frame & distribute the stress over a greater surface area)

I prefer the more traditional shaped 1.5 sail personally, it's much more neutral in my hands than the indoor.
I may just bang-out another no-sew 1.6 with greater surface area so my club can do side-by-side comparisons between the two.

[awindofchange]

We've had these new Indoor rods for a while now and have retro-fitted several indoor kites with them. They are indeed 1/4" rods specially made for the Indoor rev. The weight is said to be the same as the skinny indoor rods but with the larger diameter. They are made from the same high-tech new style carbon that is used with the Race Rods. The sticker is the same silver flame sticker as the Race Rods but only says "Revolution" on it.

The rods also need to have a larger insert to be retro-fitted to your indoor. If you are wanting to change your indoor frame to this new rod you will need to get the new inserts as well. They may fit with the existing inserts but may pop out or be a little sloppy in the kite. The new rods do feel a little stronger than the older indoor rods but are still delicate.

As far as I know, the new style rods are going to be the only rods available from Rev. The older skinny rod is no longer being produced. (Correct me here Ben if I am wrong).

[Watty]

I think I may just replace my end cap insert things with the 1.5 type end-caps.

[Kitelife]

I also switched to the plastic end caps (WAY better)... But I don't like the 1/4" indoor spars, they're too stiff to manipulate the kite quickly (1/4 clockwork).

I'll be staying with the skinny spars, for sure.

[RevWizard]

I also switched to the plastic end caps (WAY better)... But I don't like the 1/4" indoor spars, they're too stiff to manipulate the kite quickly (1/4 clockwork).

I'll be staying with the skinny spars, for sure.

I have not tried the new indoor rods and I found that the present one are a bit too flexible.
Would you think that a rod stiffness about half way between the two could possibly be better?

[Kitelife]

Not for me, the skinny rods are perfect for what I do.

[Watty]

I guess it just sort of depends on your style.

[Kitelife]

Absolutely... I tend to like a lot of snap and precision in my kites, and the ability to turn on the center axis is very important to me.

The skinny rods help that quite a bit, since the Indoor sail design is not precise by nature... A flexible frame allows me to tweak the kite through space, distorting it enough to pull some fast precision and clock work out of it... I also find that it tracks better (controlled line), as opposed to shooting off to one side (I experience this with both the stiffer Indoor spars, and SLEs in the 1.5 outdoors).

For the sake of discussion and others who might read this topic, anyone care to list their pros and cons, stiff vs flexible frame on an Indoor Rev?

[Watty]

I do a lot of fast zipping around, and many 3D stuff in my flying, like ground pancakes, floats, toss and catch, and anything else I can possibly think of. I prefer to have a stiffer frame for my indoor, because I don't like the feel of the skinny spars when I do fast bursts, and It seems easier to flip the kite and such with the stiffer rods.

[Baloo]

The force is strong in this one John.

[Watty]

Now I am the master!!!!

[antman]

to me the skinny ones are better for indoor use where the 1/4 would work better outdoors

[Watty]

I just got a new LE in the mail today. I have good and bad things to say about this.

Good:
1.They seem the same as the race rod ones, but the lable has changed. Now instead of the flames, it is a feather. The words have changed too. Now it actually says Revolution Indoor. The lable is still shiny silver too. (I was unable to get a picture because my camera sucks.)
2. All the benifits of the RR ones seem to be incorperated here as well.

Bad: Saddly I have more in this section .
1. I did not recieve bigger end caps for the 1/4 ID rods, so I put on some old rev 1.5 end caps. ( I know that people at rev don't have perfect memory, but it would have been nice if they would have included them.)
2. While sliding my new LE into the kite, I had one of the end rods up against the wall. When I was almost done sliding the LE in, the rod on the end snapped. (Keep in mind that I was not applying pressure against the wall. It was just there because I was in my small bedroom. AND these rods were streight out of the box and foam protecting stuff) So I had to use one of my RR-like rods to replace it, and used 2 old skinny rods as downspars. What a pain in the arse.
3. All the downsides of the RR ones seem to b incorperated here as well.



I hate writing bad things about my favorite company, but It is something that has to be said. I called to fix the problem, but I learned that Rev is closed for Christmas untli January second. I'm sure all will be fine.

[antman]

well i found a rev 1 frame to work in this kite really well however i had better light winds responce with the skinnies.. so ill say that the 2 wrap rev 1 frame is good to put in the indoor at ar 3 to 5 mph anything under that 0 to 1 i like the skinny advantage rods better