-
Nyheter från NP från Gaastra konf….
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
NEILPRYDE TO RE-WORK & RE-LAUNCH FORMULA RACING PROGRAM
October 10th 2005 – NeilPryde today announces the temporary suspension of the production and sale of the company’s Formula Racing products (i.e X9 Racing Masts and RS5 sails in sizes of 10.7 and upwards).
Over the course of the past year we’ve enjoyed great success with our RS5 Speedseeker sails among speed and slalom enthusiasts. Unfortunately, over the same period, we’ve experienced unprecedented breakage rates of X9 racing masts among Formula sailors, and for this reason we’re temporarily suspending production & sales of NeilPryde Formula equipment.
As Formula racers continue to demand more powerful sails, it’s appears we’ve reached a performance threshold for masts built using current technology. Having made thorough examinations of broken equipment returned by our own Pro team riders as well as equipment from competing sailors, it’s clear that the increased compression loading on modern Formula sails are simply causing current rigs to collapse.
It’s important to recognise that this is not a problem restricted to our own brand – mast breakages are now becoming a common deciding factor in Formula Racing all around the world – it’s clear that mast breakages are now plaguing all the brands in the marketplace.
We’ve made numerous attempts to solve this problem using running changes in the production process, but the breakages have continued and we’re no closer to resolving the problem using current technology and construction methods. We would like to stress that the suspension of production is a temporary measure and not a full-scale withdrawal from Racing.
We are already hard at work with a team of technical partners of the highest calibre, and we’re very confident that we’ll re-emerge early in the new year with an all-new mast and sail that will once again become the benchmark for performance in both Formula and Slalom Racing.
We would also like to take this opportunity to voice our concerns that Formula Racing sails have now begun to exceed the practical size limits for the sport of windsurfing. The very high development costs required to create high performance rigs of over 10 sq/m are not really justified by their limited performance window nor by the tiny number of racers that use them.
These ‘exotic’ products are unaffordable for almost all regular sailors – and with only a handful of sponsored Pro-sailors able to access the equipment, it leads us to question the validity of taking equipment to these kind of extremes. We will be pressing the windsurfing regulatory bodies to urgently review size limits in Windsurfing races.
In order to continue our support for customers of our current (RS4 & RS5) racing sails we recommend sailors use the NeilPryde X6 masts (with extender where necessary) which continue to perform well with all RS Racing sails. In addition we have put in place an X9 Mast Exchange Programme for customers who have broken their X9 Racing Masts – these will now be replaced free-of-charge with an X6 masts and a credit voucher for 300 Euro* exchangeable against any NeilPryde product.
Summarising the situation, NeilPryde Windsurfing Division Manager, Jonathan Squires made the following comments: “Over the past twenty years NeilPryde has established a reputation as the number one performance brand on the water. As a company we’re committed to providing our customers with exceptional products that they can rely on with absolute confidence. With breakages among formula sailors running at the rates we’ve seen this season, we have no choice but to suspend production while we make the necessary technical changes to our Formula Racing programme. We can assure our racing customers that development and production of the RS-6 “Speedseeker” sails, up to and including size 9.8m, is right on schedule for release in January 2006 in conjunction with an appropriate range of mast and booms.”
Detailed product information will be made available in the very near future at NeilPryde.com.Neil Pryde Windsurfing
George
Member posted 13 October 2005 04:23 AM
Kevin Ozee from the Neil Pryde Forum:
Aloha,Yes, absolutely true. Although I’m not 100% clear on why it ended up there instead of here first. Oh well, now everyone knows…
Is this really that shocking?
Formula participation is decreasing. The cost is high, as it’s become a gear race again. Theoretically, you can buy 3 sets of RS-X equipment for the cost of one season’s Formula equipment. Is that really the best thing for the sport?
Add on to that the fact that NP is having mast issues. We could point fingers at manufacturers, designers, racers, consumers…whoever…the fact is the technology that exists today simply does not meet the demands of the sport and sail design today. NP has taken the initiative to change that. What this press release says is NP will not produce a sub-standard product that endangers their consumers or takes the sport backwards. NP is committed to the progression of the sport. Including racing.
The simple fact of the matter is the technology needs to change to accommodate the stress of the sails we now have, specifically the 10+ meter size. Every manufacturer there is can claim their stuff is fine, but that simply isn’t true. Every supplier in the world is having durability issues with Formula gear, because we are all stuck in this mind-set that things need to be the way they are. NP is now electing to step back and re-think things “outside the box”. If NP is going to continue in the realm of Formula, it will be under a new standard.
I think it’s pretty clear NP is as committed to racing as ever. Development of the RS-6 in slalom sizes is full steam ahead. And refinement of the RS-X continues (within the parameters allowed). With 120 new racers entering at an event like Cadiz, with a whole new energy, enthusiasm and all new names (anyone notice the PWA Formula entry list is not that different from 10 years ago?), why shouldn’t NP be excited about RS-X instead of Formula? NP’s not making decisions like this arbitrarily, it’s based on event entry lists and sales figures. RS-X is already blowing Formula out of the water! People are voting with their wallets.
Now, is every RS-5 owner going to be happy with the X-6 resolution of the X-9 warranty problem? No. But, NP probably should have designed the RS-5 around the X-6 in the first place, now that we can look in retrospect. And the sails are still competitive with the X-6, and a lot more affordable, too. Where is the down-side in that?
I can’t see anything but up-side to this whole decision. But, change is never easy, and change always takes a while to accept. Myself included. It’s only my opinion, but all I can see is a silver lining to the black cloud. NP is going to take a new direction, develop new products and lead the industry and sport again. I think the results will be exciting, and positive. Emphasis on one-design racing and emphasis on slalom always seemed great things for the sport in the past.
Sure, some people will say this is negative. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Most people resist change.
I know I have my own opinions on this, and everyone will have theirs. Put them out there, but look at constructing the future of our sport. I honestly believe that is what NP is doing with this decision. Do you?
Best regards, Kevin
-
17 Svar
-
Lite väl genomskinligt va? Att gränsen just går vid 10.0 kvadratmeter enligt NP som ju har fått monopol på OS-bräda med just 10.0 kvadratmeter segel. Vi kommer nog få se oerhört mågna beslut från NP som leder åt samma håll: Att vi ska tycka att den enda vettiga brädan att segla på är deras monopolklass!!
Sannolikt en enkel ekonomisk kalkyl som ligger bakom beslutet. Det blir lönsammare för NP om vi alla seglar deras os-klass än om vi seglar formula.
Hur gör vi nu då???
/Jesper B
-
Exakt min tanke oxå!
Som tur var så finns det ju fler leverantörer av segel även om det är tråkigt att en stor “spelare” tagit detta beslut.
Vi får hoppas att dom utnyttjar sin “brask lapp” och börjar kränga formula riggar igen!Att X9 masterna går av har nog de flesta hört men min uppfattning är att detta inte begränsar sig till formula masterna. Jag har däremot inte hört att andra leverantörer skulla ha hållbarhets problem, fast nu har jag NP riggar så jag kanske inte lyssnat så noga
SÅ hur stämmer deras uttalande att “alla” har problem med att få utrustningen att hålla?
-
Föresten!
Är inte detta det ultimata beviset för att entypsklass (= monopol) inte är bra för oss som som utvövar WS. Nu kommer NP att göra allt för att pusha för “sin” klass. De skulle ju älska om de kunde konkurera ut Formula klassen med RS-X prylar, vi snackar stora pengar här!
Fast jag tror inte de kommer att lyckas, om utvecklingen bara får fortsätta något år till så kommer den vara lika kul att åka på som mistral brädan. Det tråkiga är att WS seglare åter igen blir splittrade i olika läger och en riktigt duktig leverantör av segel tar bort delar av sina produkter för att föra fram en annan.
-
Glöm inte bort den nya raceboardklassen!!
Att segelgränsen sätts vid 10 kvm tycker jag vore kanon, fler skulle våga sig på racing och en 10a kan säkert göras lika kraftfull som en 12.5. Nån stop på prylhetsen måste det ju till om racingen ska växa.
-
Synd att NP har denna inställning (och viss är det lite patetisk att skylla på masterna..).
Förmodar att andra företag inte är lika inne på NP´s linje…Se kommentar från Phil MacGain. Maui Sails Forum:
I still believe you need a 12m or at least an 11.5 in light wind. 6-9 knots, starting in a fleet and going upwind and then heading downwind. You need sail area to generate power, no matter how good you make the sail.
We will continue to support big sails up to 12m, as long as we can sell them and racers want them.
phil.
Marcus
-
Jag tror inte RS-X kommer att konkurera ut formula heller. Frågan är kanske om fler märken kommer hänga på. Då kanske man får ändra max storleken på segel i formula. Vore det en katastrof? Nu har inte jag någon 12,5a men jag tycker jag läst många inlägg här på konfen att många valt mindre storlek som största segel. 10 kanske är i minsta laget men en putsning av klassreglerna kanske inte hade varit bara av ondo.
Man blir ju lite tvehågsen hur man skall göra framöver. Hade tänkt införskaffa en begagnad 12,5a. Antingen blir de billiga framöver eller så kommer folk hålla stenhårt i dem. (så länge masterna håller…)
-
Det är ju alltid kul med intriger! Blir intressant att följa detta ämne och se vart det tar vägen. För mig som inte har tävlingsambitioner är det ju inte dumt alls med snabb utveckling som gör att många vill byta till det senaste i utrustningsväg ofta. Då kan jag ju köpa det “näst senaste” eller “nästnäst senaste” till en överkomlig peng och freerida med utrustning som var top of the line för 2-3 år sedan och det duger gott åt mig! Sedan tror jag inte att en entypsklass som RSX kommer att göra att det totala antalet windsurfare kommer att öka. Visst, kanske utrustningen är billigare än ett nytt formulakit men begagnade entypsprylar kommer att vara dyrare än begagnade “fria” prylar. Om man istället hade haft en öppen klass på RSX koncepetet (Fast inte så tung bräda!) så hade det ju öppnat för både pris och prestandakonkurrens mellan olika tillverkare, vilket brukar anses som nyttigt i allaandra sammanhang. Det kanske skulle kunna leda till billiga prylar som kan locka semestersurfarna igen som det gjorde på 80-talet. Och DÅ blir vi fler, och det vore ju kul!
-
Fakta rättelse av Jesper_B:s inlägg om RSX segelstorlek: RSX segel är på 9,5 för herrar och 8,5 för dam (juniormodell blir troligen 7.5 eller 8,5)(Enligt uppgift)Dvs ej 10 kvm (Kanske en löjlig petites?)/Såttan
-
men är det inte så att den nya klassen Slalom 42 har 10 kvm som maxgräns? När jag snackade med Dunkerbeck i Juni om utvecklingen av North Warp är han enbart involverad i utvecklingen av Warp upp till 10 kvm. Kanske inget mysko med det men jag fick känslan av att North gärna slipper utveckla Formulaseglen inom några år.
North kommer för övrigt med ett helt nytt mast och bomprogram. När det gäller race-masterna har de inte gett all info än men det lutar genrellt åt att de kör med mjukare master, dvs 460 el. 490 + Carbon Xtender.
/Gustav
-
Har just haft kontakt med windwing/gulftech som tänker fortsätta satsa helhjärtat på stora riggar med mycket spänning. De har förövrigt inte brutit en enda mast av de som levererades i år. Den enda 580 de känner till som gått av är min tre år gamla som jag i tre års tid alltid lämnat i solen med fullt nedhal! Dessutom berättar devon att även de kortare NP X9 masterna gått av mycket oftare än andra märken…
/Jesper
-
Ahhh då hade jag inte så fel alltså!
-
Nån nämnde Mauisails forum här i tråden och där finns en del att hämta. Visserligen skriver Barry Spanier rakt ut att han är bitter på IOK för att de valde RS-X, eller snarare att de ställde krav som i princip bara NP hade resrser att realisera, men det är ändå intressant. Flera av skribenterna påstår att det är en hel del problem med “exploderande” RS-X-riggar, att såväl master som förlängare regelbundet går sönder.
Sen tror jag nån nämnde att även entypsklasser kan bli dyra, till exempel om eliten seglar så stenhårt att prylarna bara är konkurrenskraftiga i några månader. Då har man stor fördel om man har råd att köpa fem nya kit om året, även om alla är identiska. Vissa jollar har t.ex. skrov som mjuknar väldigt fort eftersom IOK anser att kolfiberskrov skulle göra båtarna för dyra.
-
Fick just detta nyhetsbrev från North:
Dear Distribution-Partners,
promising news from our main competitor Neilpryde, please see mail below!Since we have not experienced mast breakage problems, we will be able to deliver the next benchmark in FORMULA racing from mid of January with the new „WARP FORMULA F2006“.
Signs for next season are looking better and better every day – take this in mind, especially for the WARP F2006 order cycle!
LEAD DON´T FOLLOW and have a nice weekend
Your NORTH TEAM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – NEILPRYDE TO RE-WORK & RE-LAUNCH FORMULA RACING PROGRAMOctober 10th 2005 – NeilPryde today announces the temporary suspension of the production and sale of the company’s Formula Racing products (i.e X9 Racing Masts and RS5 sails in sizes of 10.7 and upwards).
Over the course of the past year we’ve enjoyed great success with our RS5 Speedseeker sails among speed and slalom enthusiasts. Unfortunately, over the same period, we’ve experienced unprecedented breakage rates of X9 racing masts among Formula sailors, and for this reason we’re temporarily suspending production & sales of NeilPryde Formula equipment.
As Formula racers continue to demand more powerful sails, it’s appears we’ve reached a performance threshold for masts built using current technology. Having made thorough examinations of broken equipment returned by our own Pro team riders as well as equipment from competing sailors, it’s clear that the increased compression loading on modern Formula sails are simply causing current rigs to collapse.
It’s important to recognise that this is not a problem restricted to our own brand – mast breakages are now becoming a common deciding factor in Formula Racing all around the world – it’s clear that mast breakages are now plaguing all the brands in the marketplace.
We’ve made numerous attempts to solve this problem using running changes in the production process, but the breakages have continued and we’re no closer to resolving the problem using current technology and construction methods. We would like to stress that the suspension of production is a temporary measure and not a full-scale withdrawal from Racing.
We are already hard at work with a team of technical partners of the highest calibre, and we’re very confident that we’ll re-emerge early in the new year with an all-new mast and sail that will once again become the benchmark for performance in both Formula and Slalom Racing.
We would also like to take this opportunity to voice our concerns that Formula Racing sails have now begun to exceed the practical size limits for the sport of windsurfing. The very high development costs required to create high performance rigs of over 10 sq/m are not really justified by their limited performance window nor by the tiny number of racers that use them.
These ‘exotic’ products are unaffordable for almost all regular sailors – and with only a handful of sponsored Pro-sailors able to access the equipment, it leads us to question the validity of taking equipment to these kind of extremes. We will be pressing the windsurfing regulatory bodies to urgently review size limits in Windsurfing races.
In order to continue our support for customers of our current (RS4 & RS5) racing sails we recommend sailors use the NeilPryde X6 masts (with extender where necessary) which continue to perform well with all RS Racing sails. In addition we have put in place an X9 Mast Exchange Programme for customers who have broken their X9 Racing Masts – these will now be replaced free-of-charge with an X6 masts and a credit voucher for 300 Euro* exchangeable against any NeilPryde product.
Summarising the situation, NeilPryde Windsurfing Division Manager, Jonathan Squires made the following comments: “Over the past twenty years NeilPryde has established a reputation as the number one performance brand on the water. As a company we’re committed to providing our customers with exceptional products that they can rely on with absolute confidence. With breakages among formula sailors running at the rates we’ve seen this season, we have no choice but to suspend production while we make the necessary technical changes to our Formula Racing programme. We can assure our racing customers that development and production of the RS-6 “Speedseeker” sails, up to and including size 9.8m, is right on schedule for release in January 2006 in conjunction with an appropriate range of mast and booms.”
Detailed product information will be made available in the very near future at NeilPryde.com.Neil Pryde Windsurfing
-
Tilläggas kan att vi just fått mer info om Warp 2006 med orderdeadline den 31/10 -05 för leverans i Mars i Sverige.
Är ni intresserade så kontakta mig för mer info.
Mvh,
Gustav Enocksson
031-7043900 -
En NP 580 X9 har jag lyckats haft sönder sen jag började med NP 2002, skarven mellan topp och bas gav sig, så den var ju aldrig ens av, men visst seglet stod inte bra på den.
Mång vet redan detta men det skadar väl inte att säga det igen.
Tar man hand om masten och ALDRIG lämnar seglet riggat i solen så håller de länge! Jag riggar dessutom alltid min underdel åt samma håll för att undvika onödig utmattning. Masten blir inte förböjd av det, det är värmen som den blir det av, räcker med ca 40-50 grader för att den skall bli böjd eller helt gå av, och det är lätt att komma upp i den temperaturen i mastfickan en solig dag på stranden…PS. Jesper, mycket tyder på att Gulftech är snäppet bättre, men en viktig detalj är helvita mastfickor.
//JIMMY
Logga in för att svara.
