ALIBI the latest freeride kite by Australian based www.newkiteboarding.com
5 line hybrid/C kite
(will fly as a 4 line kite)
Suits -
Freeriders wanting to mix up wakestyle and old school riding.
Smaller 8m size is tuned fast and more wave orientated.
Sizes -
8m$1529, 11m$1629, 13m$1729 home delivered.
This brief quote is taken from my notes after riding the completed ALIBI proto in January 2009-
"ALIBI first impressions.
This kite is definitely more grunty, as fast with far superior stability compared to the O.S.
Found the kite to have more hang time for old school tricks and great redirection after transitions.
Good for unhooked, fly’s well out of the harness and gives more pull to the apex of the unhooked trick.
Kite glides better when the line tension is gone. Profiles remain stable and kite sticks to the sky well.
Kite drift is good for waveriding. No problems for waves. 8m is the best kite of all the sizes for this."
NOW
"These kites are my personal choices for riding. Great all round kites.
I use the 13m for learning tricks in lighter wind conditions. Makes good hang time for transitions and floaty old school tricks. Makes plenty of pull for big floaty mobes and other stuff. The kite produces apparent wind well and heads upwind far better than most other production kites.
The 11 is great all round. Works 16 to almost 30 knots on a twin tip. Predictable kite with good bar feedback. Im heavy and I feel confident getting flamboyant in stronger winds with this size. Its quick and explosive enough to generate good apparent wind, proves to be pretty good in light conditions on a surfboard.
8m is mind blowing fun from 20 to 40 knots, this small kite is spontaneous and predictable. The 2 front line options do a great job turning the kite from a mind bending lifting tool to a depowerable wave riding toy."
The kite turns quick! - but pivots around the turning line.
The ALIBI gives the correct feedback to do rotations at maximum altitude.
It truely has the great old school feel.
The classic feel where you can ride fast launch big and try what ever pops into your mind at the time.
Just like the good old days with wider wind range!
Hey Nate,
Can you give a more technical comparison to the OS kite such as AR, etc. What were your design goals etc. If you had to go four line could you relaunch like a bridled kite.
Looks very cool, looks like a higher aspect ratio than the OS. If you had to compare either against the 9m OS and/or the 7m OS and this kite for wave riding on a surfboard. I do realize the size diff in the 7 and 9m but the alibi 8 sits in the middle.
You mention the gliding factor on loose lines, is this the diff on the above.
Cheers
Rich
Hi Rich,
The kite relaunches like any other kite you have tried. Just pull on the turning line and it will eventually relaunch.
If you want incredible fast relaunch and you're willing to learn something new - Try putting alittle tension on the 5th line while pulling the turning line and you will find the kite insane quick off the water. Great technique to have mastered especially if you ditch the kite between set waves.
The 8m is a 1 kite quiver for surfboard riders. It does the trick.
If you want results on your surfboard in impossibly light conditions go the 11m.
The 7m and 9m O.S. are very good wave kites. These are still current models.
The ALIBI 8m is a slightly higher aspect ratio and tuned slower. It also has slightly heavier turning than the 9m. The turning pressure is probably 2 times lighter than a bow/delta shaped kite in the same size.
Does this answer your questions?
Here are 2 short clips on how to relaunch a kite.
I'm using the ALIBI.
These short instructional videos will give you a pretty good idea how versatile the ALIBI is.
BASIC 5th LINE, Number 1
great looking kite, good to see a relaunch vid which actually shows what happens in real life ie, waves hitting kite in light wind
great job!
The wind range graphic is pretty random. Normal Western Australian seabreeze is SW 18-30
Also, there is no real argument about it.
5 lines will help with awesome fast relaunches and
helps "auto"self land your kite.
That last reply I wrote was a bit harsh, I wasnt having a go at you.
I read alot of posts on this forum that are obviously shop pimps or dumbasses that believe them and they all go on about the latest rip off bridal kites.
If you recon you can launch a 4 line fast, all good.
It looks like you can rig the Alibi with just 4 lines too 
Here is a kite I make with Bridles.
Its the best flying trainer kite in a 2m size and around $175 shipped to your door.
