F-One’s LINX Bar under the microscope from The Kiteboarder Mag

This year’s LINX bar is a huge upgrade for F-One’s 2018 line of kites. The team at F-One has taken all the feedback and requests from previous years, and combined this with their existing bar technology to create a safe, versatile and sleek control experience for their kite gear.

The LINX bar is our brand new updated control system for 2018! We’ve taken all the best bits of the Monolith Bar and added some great features to create the ultimate connection to your kite! The Kiteboarder Magazine has some nice feedback that is a must see for all kiteboarding enthusiasts written first hand by the TKB test team at our Global Distributor meeting in Dakhla, Morocco. Learn all the ins and outs of the F-One LINX BAR available in two sizes; 45/52 & 38/45.

TKB MEET F-ONE’S 2018 LINX BAR
NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Totally reworked for 2018, meet F-One’s new LINX bar. F-One has taken the best parts of their previous Monolith bar, included some serious updates and replaced it with the LINX. What’s new you ask? Nearly everything.

While the 2018 LINX comes in two sizes, each bar acts as a 2-in-1 and offers two size options: 52-45cm and 45-38cm. We’d recommend 52-45cm for larger kites, but if you’re mostly flying 10m kites or smaller and seriously into wave riding, Rafael, F-One’s founder, suggests the smaller size of 45-38cm for those who want more maneuverability and those who have experienced instances wave riding where they’ve caught the bar on their knees while carving on the face of a wave.

Switching bar lengths to extend or reduce the length of the bar is as easy as pulling out the inserts at each bar end, flipping them around, and then reinserting it into the bottom ends of the bar in order to size your bar up or down appropriately. When pulling out the insert, you’ll see that it’s connected to a rear line with multiple knots for the purpose of tuning the bar for equal line lengths, if indeed a line does stretch.

The integrated floats which house the bar length change inserts, fold down nice and easy for an effortless bar wrap-up and also add more rigidity to the bar and ensure that your lines don’t get wrapped around the bar end even in the worst wipe-outs.

Moving away from their previous double front line safety system and moving in the same direction with the majority of brands in the industry, new for 2018, the LINX bar features a one line flag out safety system which is a new standard for all F-One kites. A high-quality corrosion proof Inox steel hub on the front lines allows one line to slide, while there is a stopper present to prevent the bar from traveling too far away from you when the safety is engaged.

Also new for 2018 is the manual swivel. Located above the chicken loop, the stainless steel ball bearing swivel rotates easily and allows you to untwist your front lines after rotational tricks — freestylers, this one’s for you! At After three weeks of daily abuse by distributors and dealers at F-One’s dealer meeting in Morocco, the swivel’s smooth action was alive and working well on the bars we tested. The added swivel on the lifeline safety connection ensures that twists do not affect the release of the kite when engaging your safety.

In order to make this bar as versatile as possible for all of their kites, F-One added a steel ring on the front lines which allows you to change the front lines from a high-V to a low-V. Run the lines inside the ring and the Bandit, Breeze and Trust will fly better with the high V, or run the lines on the outside of the ring for the low V, the way the Furtive performs best. For those that insist upon a bar system that accommodates advanced self-landing techniques, this is a huge optional improvement.

This year’s LINX bar is a huge upgrade for F-One’s 2018 line of kites. The team at F-One has taken all the feedback and requests from previous years, and combined this with their existing bar technology to create a safe, versatile and sleek control experience for their kite gear.

*It is important to note that F-One also offers the LINX bar FREESTYLE in 42-35cm which is a 5 line bar and only compatible with their brand new freestyle oriented WTF! C-kite.

Resources
2018 F-One Kiteoarding Catalog