For Whom?
You must have a sufficient skill level:
- Either you have a background in windsurfing, it helps a lot to handle the wing.
- Or you know how to control a foil well.
- Or you have a significant number of hours of wing flying.
With bigger volumes it is easy, but if you take a volume adapted to your weight, kneeling in the chop will not be easy. So, you also need to be in good physical shape to be reactive.
This is clearly the Board for anyone who wants to go for the maximum potential of the wing.
For What?
The Lemon is a pure waveriding board, with just the right amount of comfort.
All the useful material of the board is between your feet and above the foil. It is hyper reactive and playful. It’s a great feeling to have everything right at your fingertips. The control at high speed and in the curves is fantastic.
Ideal for surfing, tricks, and perfect in jumps, it’s 100% high performance.
What Size?
The Lemon is the ultimate Wing board. But by playing on the volumes, we can adapt it to our needs:
Confort:
You can take enough volume to float, in the order of your weight + 10 = volume.
Example: I weigh 80kg + 10 = 90L to float. This means that with 90L and more I will be easy, as long as I have a good wing level.
Sport:
You can also sub-liter it because the Kube is wide enough to be stable. So if you have a great level and want maximum responsiveness, you can switch to negative volumes.
Up to your weight – 10 = volume you can go on your knees while leaning the wing on the water.
Example: I weigh 80kg + 10 = 90L to float. This means that with 70L my board will sink slightly and I should make it precise and sporty at each start.
Sinking:
Under your weight – 10 = volume, at – 30 for example, you will have to do waterstarts by sinking the board: it’s technical, very physical, and you lose part of the low wind range. The gain in performance is questionable depending on your level, but the gain in feeling and reactivity is considerable.
Example: I weigh 80kg + 10 = 90L to float. This means that with 50L and less, my board will totally sink and I should do a real wakeboard type waterstart. In this case, less volume often makes things easier because we sink the board without worrying to put it under our feet and get on top of it. A small board will have less buoyancy, so it will be easier to put on and slower to take off. Its qualities of stability on the surface remain the same underwater.
Understanding the GONG range?
We can sum up very simply the concepts of each board in our range:
- Hipe: the inflatable with 95% of the stiffness. Ideal for beginners and much more!
- Mob 2taste: three sports in one board: SUP, SUPfoil and Wing.
- Zuma: the easy rigid board in SUPfoil and Wing, and with good performances.
- Lance: the compact Zuma, very stable sideways, ideal for Wing.
- Flint: high performances in SUPfoil, top in Wing because it is simple and efficient in light wind.
- Kube: pure Wing freestyle board. Minimum length for maximum rotation.
- Mint: compact without the difficulty with its round nose, but excellent performances.
- Lemon: maximum reactivity and liveliness, while maintaining lateral stability.
- Lethal: Absolute radicality among volume boards.
Some will go for even more extreme low volume boards like:
- Catch Foil: it works as well in Kite as in Wing with a bigger Wing to have power.
- Lethal Surf Foil: asymmetrical straps and minimum width to dare everything.
Which quiver?
The Lemon is self-sufficient in Wing. There is no need to complete it with another board.
If you are greedy, a possible addition in Wing is to have another board for the strong wind. In this case, you can have a Lemon in your size, for comfort. And another board two volumes below. For example, a Lemon in your size and a Lethal two sizes smaller. This is the quiver waverider par excellence.
Another option is to have a Lemon on a “sport” board for strong wind and a board that that has lift for light wind, that takes off early like a Flint or a Mint. Or a freestyle board like the Kube.
But this is ultra luxury…
The Lemon is made for a very advanced wing practice, and will match perfectly with the kitefoil to perform under 10 knots. The wing is not at its best under 10 knots. A Catch with a 10m2 Strutless and a set of smaller foil wings and go: the ultimate quiver for almost nothing to strong wind.
And when there is really nothing, your quiver will suffer from the absence of a surfboard or two. Whether classic or SUP surfing, you’ll need to continue your adventures in windless waves.
And don’t forget the surf foil. It’s the magic combo with the wing. When one doesn’t work, the other is great. Because even on super flat you can practice dock starts. You’ll be in crazy physical shape! The wings are the same, you will need a shorter mast.
Which foil wings?
In general, we recommend the same assembly as for surf foil.
For the experienced:
In the Curve range: high performance wings and 5 knots faster than the Rise:
- M for the 50kg -> 75kg and wind over 15 knots.
- MT for 50kg -> 75kg and wind over 12 knots.
- L for 65kg -> 75kg and wind over 10 knots.
- LT for 65kg -> 85kg and wind over 15 knots.
- XL for 75kg -> 100kg and all wind forces, or for light riders in light wind.
- XLT for 100kg -> 120kg and wind less than 15 knots.
For the Pros:
In the Curve or Veloce range: high performance wings and 5 knots faster than the Rise:
- M for the 50kg -> 75kg and wind over 15 knots.
- MT for the 50kg -> 75kg and wind over 12 knots.
- L for 65kg -> 75kg and wind over 10 knots.
- LT for 65kg -> 85kg and wind over 15 knots.
- XL for 75kg -> 100kg and all wind forces, or for light riders in light wind.
- XLT for 100kg -> 120kg and wind less than 15 knots.
The size of the front wing conditions the speed/lift ratio. The smaller the front wing, the faster you will go but the more uncomfortable you will be at low speed.
The stabs play a major role. They determine the stability of the foil and help the lift, but at the expense of the maximum speed of the foil.
Surf stabs are slower than Veloce or Kite stabs but are much more buoyant and therefore effective at low speeds.
Which foil mast?
Contrary to kitefoil, in Wing, you don’t have much opposition to the wing because it pulls gently. So, you don’t put a lot of upwind angle to the mast. So, mastering a big mast in Wing is not a problem.
And as the boards used are much bigger than in kitesurfing, the inertia is more important. So, your foil is less wacky. Everything is calmer. So, don’t be afraid of a long mast.
In other words, everything will be played out between 85cm and 100cm. You can find all our advice on choosing between these two lengths by clicking here.
Positioning of the foil?
For GONG foils, place the plate between the rear third and the centre of the US rails.
The more you move it forward, the more it will lift the board. The more you move it backwards, the more the nose of the board pearls.
Be careful not to move it too far forward. We often tend not to let their back foot work, especially when we come from Kitefoil. However, moving the foil back a little, forces more weight on the back foot and gives a more harmonious attitude and reduces effort.
Which leash?
Take a 6′ of 7mm minimum diameter.
Check its condition before each session and change it every year. It is your lifejacket and the life insurance of the people in front of you.
Strap or Strapless?
Riding strapless is sexy because it makes you feel free. But quite honestly, it’s not the best for performance…
So, it’s up to you to see if sensation prevails over performance. On a Lemon, we’re clearly going to miss 90% of its potential without the straps.
With straps, you’ll have much more control and much less risk of getting the Foil flipping under your feet. In the waves, it’s obvious, you gain a lot with straps. You can recuperate from crazy situations just by pulling up on your feet.
Put your straps in a central position (3rd hole) for the front, and the same goes for the back strap if you still ride with the back.
If you want to be able to get the back foot out for transitions and surfing, put the back strap on the first hole.
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