Kite Buggy Weights

Over the last 18 months I have often looked at envy at other buggies, the Sysmic S2, the Libre Majestic and Dragster and of course the the Hobbs Carbon kite buggy, with a dream of owning a new shiny chunk of metal.

Hobbs Carbon Fibre

 But the one thing that comes up again and again (for me) is the weight of these buggies...

Sysmic S1 -  56kgs (big foots)
Sysmic S2 - 38kgs (basic)
Libre Majestic - 54kgs
Libre Dragster - 48.3kgs
Hobbs Carbon Fibre - 50kgs (approx)

(All weights from the manufacturers websites.)

Libre Majestic

And this puts me off as surely there must be some kind of power/weight thing going on? Stainless steel seems to be a heavy material to produce a performance kite buggy from.

F1 the ultimate example of power v weight

This maybe a completely stupid question, but I work in health and am not an engineer (though I did do technical drawing at school )-

But why aren't kite buggies designed and built to be as light as possible?

Surely a buggy could be built out of aluminium (like aircraft, some performance car chassis, mountain bikes) and be built/engineered to withstand the stresses, they wouldn't corrode and would potentially weigh less?

Libre Dragster

Sysmic S1

I am guessing the weight may help in up-wind performance(?) and holding that power, but can that be designed/engineered into a light weight buggy. How much lighter is aluminium at an equivalent strength to stainless steel? Is it a cost issue, is aluminium more expensive to manufacture and work? Is the weight limited by what we bolt onto the frame ie rims, tyres etc?

I don't know!

In the mean time I will keep on in my nice light weight Peter Lynn Comp XR+ (14.3kgs basic).

Video - Carbon Kite Buggy

"At Speed Week, we were lucky enough to have David Hobbs and his carbon kite buggy visit us - mainly to let Cris Italy loose in the buggy for a week and see how it went. Unfortunately, the winds were pretty uncooperative and the buggy (and the rest of us) didn't do nearly as many km's as we should have done. The buggy looks absolutely awesome and is a real credit to David's vision and skill as a designer and builder. Cris managed a few good runs in it and was pretty impressed overall with some modifications - mainly to the suspension - needed. We threw quite a few ideas and comments at David who was willing to listen and take our ideas away with him. I believe there will be a few changes made to the buggy and look forward to seeing it again soon."

Carbon fibre kite buggy - more pictures

"I did not set out to design a buggy similar to every other design but feel I have given pilots something a little different - progression can only be a good thing for the sport!!!! " David Hobbs

For more info or to buy one go to

http://www.carbonkitebuggy.com

The most advanced production buggy on the Planet

The Hobbs McConaghy Buggy

• Chassis – Hollow one piece carbon fibre the manufacturing technique is the same process used for aerospace / formula one etc
• Front Suspension – twin fully adjustable air shocks mounted to a solid carbon fibre swing arm, this removes shock and vibration to both foot pegs and chassis
• Rear Suspension – twin fully adjustable air shocks
• Quick Release Appendages – aerospace quick release pins allow for rear wheels – rear axles – front end assembly to be removed from the light weight chassis / seat assembly - assembly can be achieved in under 150 seconds without tools and dis-assembled in 90 seconds.
• Seat – Ergonomically shaped race car style bucket seat with formula one inspired fairings

The prototype buggy has taken over a year and a thousand hours of labour and would have been unbelievable without the support of McConaghy’s.Well this buggy will be manufactured by McConaghy Boats (China) a world leader in grand prix race yachts

Who is behind this project?

I am a English Ex Pat Dave Hobbs who now lives in Sydney Australia (not a mecca for kite buggying I know) but i’m a mad kite nut and engineering designer and builder who just happens to work for a world class yacht builder.
Our website will launch on the 1st November From the 3rd November the buggy will be at extreme kites speed week. www.carbonkitebuggy.com