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| It seems as if the Peter Lynn Competition buggy has been around for many years and indeed it has. In the early 90's the only buggies widely available in the UK were the Peter Lynn "Competition", the Flexifoil "Original" and the Spider "Spiderkart". With little or no knowledge of the Lynn and Spider buggies at the time I opted for the Flexifoil Original. There should be a few who remember its deep bucket style seat and the high (and somewhat painful) rear axle. Plenty of thick pipe insulation from the local DIY store and an aftermarket backrest sorted out the obvious "problems". However the majority of people bought a Lynn Competition buggy that was and still is an ideal "starter" buggy. Those with a bent towards racing preferred the superb "Spiderkart". Although similar to the others, the design and construction was vastly superior hence the higher price tag. |  |
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Today the choice has expanded. The Lynn Competition survives in two guises the "basic" and the "2002" and whilst the Flexifoil Original was dropped, the Freestyle has taken its place. They say that racing improves the breed and the dominance of long, wide and heavy buggies has seen a huge rise in the popularity of buggies such as the Libre V-Max (and Full Race), and the Chameleon Pagona and (Iguana Full Race). The smaller Libre Special is often overlooked so we chose to concentrate on three similarly priced "entry level" buggies, the Peter Lynn Basic Competition, Flexifoil Freestyle and the Libre Special. How do they compare in terms of construction, performance, suitability for beginners and value for money? |
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The Peter Lynn Competition has remained largely unaltered for many years. The buggy arrives in a box proudly stating "This box contains an original stainless steel kite buggy designed by Peter Lynn" after all we owe much of the development of kite propelled vehicles (on both land and water) to the man himself ! The wheels are delivered (deflated) in a separate box. The components of the (stainless steel) frame look and feel a little "underengineered". The side frames for example simply slot into sleeves on the rear axle and a single bolt secures them to the downtube. Saying that all the necessary nuts and bolts are included and assembly time is very quick - often only a few minutes using the supplied leaflet & adjustable spanner. The seat looks well made and can be easily adjusted. Incidently the "deluxe" seat is a fairly recent enhancement to the buggy. The previous seat was made from webbing and didn't suit...how do we say this....people with ample posteriors !! Its worthwhile noting that the seat webbing / straps actually hold the side frames into the rear axle since there are no other fixing bolts. Once assembled the Competition still looks purposeful but experience suggests that it attracts plenty of comments such as "could have made one of those myself mate" but it would still take a fair amount of time and skill to build one given access to stainless tubing and a welder. |
| The Flexifoil Freestyle (including wheels) arrives in a larger box. Once opened everything is well packed and a plastic bag contains the nuts and bolts, two different sized adjustable spanners and a superb owners manual with very clear and well documented assembly instructions. The most obvious differences between the Freestyle and the Lynn Competition are the increased weight and the polished frame. Even inside the box, the Freestyle oozes quality. The welds are very neat and the frame components look and feel much more substantial. As we expected, the assembly time out of the box is longer however on closer examination there are many nice touches. The side frames slide into plastic bushes in the rear axle and are secured with bolts. There are two M10 bolts holding the side frames onto the downtube and similarly the curved footpegs are fixed with bolts unlike the Lynn buggy's spring clips. The Freestyle's seat is largely non-adjustable and initially looked a little wide but it has a built in (if rather low) backrest. So, what else - oh the tyres are treaded and look as if they'd tackle any surface with ease! |
  We
now turn our attention to the Libre Special. The box is somewhat anonymous,
lacking Flexifoil's flare for smart packaging or Lynn's enthusiastic "kitebuggy"
statements !! The Special is supplied with padding on the two side frames
as standard. The front fork is almost identical to the V-Max fork and
needs only the addition of footpegs and the supplied footstraps. The two
rear wheels have their large bearings and 20mm diameter bolts fitted (they
are identical to standard V-Max wheels). There are no instructions or
tools with the Libre buggy so be prepared to buy a large adjustable or
fixed spanner (with 30mm capacity) and a second smaller adjustable for
the other bolts. The side frames attach to the 110cm rear axle with two
pairs of bolts / plates that are simple but very robust. The downtube
is adjustable over a large range using two fixing bolts. The seat is deep,
looks to be well made and can be easily adjusted (I'm not sure if the
violet colour is to everyone's taste but it looks OK !). There are immediate
and obvious differences between the Special and the other two buggies.
The Special is longer, slightly heavier and the seat is positioned much
more centrally and well forward of the rear axle. Whereas both the Competition
and Freestyle have stainless steel frames, the (standard) Special has
a black powder coated steel frame. Although it makes the Special look
"meaner" it does scuff up quickly and can chip however following several
years of V-Max ownership (with the same finish) I can confirm that it
does hold up well against corrosion. (Incidently despite the Lynn Competition's
stainless frame after a while there are telltale signs of some corrosion
around the welds). |
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| All
three buggies can be upgraded. The Lynn Competition has an excellent and
comprehensive catalogue of upgrade components ranging from a long downtube
for taller people to the impressive suspension rear axle. It is worthwhile
noting that the basic buggy uses 12mm stainless steel rear wheel bolts.
Peter Lynn also offer the "2002" buggy that is very similar but the frame
is stronger and the rear wheel bolts are 15mm therefore if you have a
basic buggy you need the 12mm suspension rear axle and if you have a 2002
buggy you need a 15mm suspension rear axle (confusing ???) The most common
upgrade for a Competition buggy is a wide rear axle with long side frames.
The rear axle can be a plain 140cm item or the suspension axle. The long
side frames place the seat more centrally but I have noticed that the
seat straps are not long enough to reach the axle (work that one out ?)
It is possible to upgrade a basic buggy to the Peter Lynn Race buggy spec
but at a cost. Nevertheless the possbilities are endless. Personally I
feel that once a basic buggy is lengthened it begins to look very "spindly"
and rather "flexible" !! "Kite Essentials" do a nice range of simple but effective add-ons including footstraps, bearing protection kits and splashguards. The addition of a wide rear axle (and long side frames) to the Competition improves its stability and high speed performance. Even moreso with the suspension rear axle apart from the loud rattling noises of the suspension linkages ! However the "deluxe" seat still lets it down. In direct comparison with Lynn's Race Buggy, the upgraded Competition is still a poor second (slower and more prone to sideslip). Now...don't get me onto the subject of wheels...Peter Lynn has a full range of buggy wheels but it gets complicated. The standard wheels can be upgraded to wide wheels but you need the wide front fork or you can go straight for bigfoots but this time you need the bigfoot fork (bigfoots are superb on softer sand). The Flexifoil Freestyle has a straightforward range of add-ons, currently limited to wide wheels, an extra wide rear axle, splashguard and a bearing protection kit. To complicate matters the Freestyle can be bought with wide wheels all round. Athough they're supposed to be better in softer conditions I'm yet to be totally convinced. Libre have a number of add-ons. The most popular of these are wide rear axles (125cm,135cm or 145cm) that improve stability and sideways slip under power and a range of wheels for example extra wide or bigfoots. If I've translated the details on the Libre web site correctly the Special could be supplied with different coloured seats and padding including a black option and there is a stainless steel version available. Again, I have to question the real value of add-ons for the Special since it would be far easier to sell it as standard and go for a V-Max that already has a wider rear axle and stronger downtube?. |
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| Even
with the downtube adjusted for maximum length and the seat pushed towards
the rear axle, the Lynn Competition feels cramped for anyone over about
5' 10" (but its good for smaller / younger riders). With knees in the
air, I've always found the Competition somewhat uncomfortable, even with
the pull of a kite as it makes the stomach muscles work overtime. In this
case the addition of a backrest be it homemade or bought transforms the
buggy and based on personal experience its an excellent and very worthwhile
upgrade. My particular backrest is a "springback" from Spider. I'm not
sure if its still available but its tall enough to provide good lower
back support to reduce fatigue. The "deluxe" Competition seat has some
padding around the rear but it doesn't help much. Glancing at the Flexifoil
Freestyle, the similarity in overall size compared to the Competition
led to similar thoughts of cramped legs, however in reality it was superb.
The non-adjustable seat is very supportive and the built-in backrest provides
some support at to the lower back. Interestingly, the riding position
is excellent and the downtube can be adjusted to get a sensible reach
to the footpegs. Stepping into the Special is wonderful. The seat, whilst not being as deep as the V-max or Full Race seat is comfortable and the padded side frames give an almost "armchair" feel to the buggy. Downtube adjustment can be set with absolutely no feeling of cramped legs so this definitely a buggy for taller pilots. |
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| So, comfort at a standstill varies considerably between the three buggies but what about on the move under real conditions ? Comparisons are virtually the same. With no backrest the Competition still feels cramped and with my creaking back its too much ! (The use of a long downtube is recommended for taller riders and makes the riding position much better) The Freestyle feels great. The built-in backrest provides just enough support and the flatter leg position takes the strain away !! Personally I'd prefer a slightly taller backrest. Looking closely at the buggy's design and shape, the backrest is supported from the side frames at the point where they bend down towards the rear axle. If the frames maintained their height the backrest could have been taller however there's a compromise here. The Freestyle as its name suggests is designed for radical buggying and a taller backrest may limit the rider's ability to stretch rearwards during 360s and backwards running? Neither buggy has padded sideframes and although they can be coaxed onto two wheels with ease, the bare frames can cause light bruising on a rough surface (easliy sorted with thick pipe lagging - would be a nice touch as standard though?) The Freestyle's curved footpegs look trick and actually work, offering more leverage in tight turns and of course when performing a wheelie the buggy can rise to a very steep angle without them dragging in the sand. The seating position on the the Libre Special feels low compared to the other buggies and gives a good feeling of security although it does make tricks harder. |
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Since the Special is not as popular in the UK than the Lynn or Flexifoil it was interesting to see how it performs. The lower centre of gravity and body hugging side frames allow slightly more power to be held without sideslip. Partnered with a good race kite such as Ozone's Razor, the Special felt solid. Even with less power the Special was effortless and the prospect of a long safari around the beach was very appealing. Armed with similar awesome power the other buggies struggled although it has to be said that the treaded tyres of the Freestyle offered very high levels of grip compared to the Competition that spent most of its time scrubbing off speed sideways ! With more realistic power, the smaller buggies performed well enough, the Freestyle always having a distinct edge. The Freestyle had a very solid feel, helped no doubt by the superbly engineered frame and bolt fixings throughout. The Competition has a tendancy to twitch and creak, particularly from the rear where the side frames are only a loose sliding fit into the rear axle sleeves. The thinner tubes also give the characteristic "flexible" / "spindly" feel to the Competiton. At higher speeds, the differences between the three buggies are exaggerated. At 40mph+ both the Competition and Freestyle feel "loose" if somewhat scary but they're both easy to throw into a sideways slide to scrub off too much speed and obviously the turning circles are small. The special is stable and can take much more speed without feeling out of control. You'd expect a longer buggy to be a handful in the turns but in fact its beautifully balanced and with some experience can be thrown into a turn as quickly as the smaller buggies. One of my favorite moves is to speed along, let the kite rise up then suddenly turn it down and under in the opposite direction whilst turning the buggy. This not only develops huge power but get the timing right and the buggy swings round with loads of opposite lock. Both kite and buggy can change direction with impressive speed and clouds of sand !! |
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| Perhaps
the most common question but so difficult to answer. Its easy to consider
how much these buggies cost and buy on budget alone. The Competition
buggy @ £255.00 rrp is significantly less expensive than the £329.95
rrp Flexifoil Freestyle or the £350.00 rrp Libre Special. Decision made?
Well yes and no really. The Competition is undoubtedly very good for
beginners. Despite its less robust construction the Competition is likely
to give many years of service as long as its not jumped or thrashed
too much and the range of add-ons is both impressive and extensive but
dare we say tempting? The addition of a wide (non-suspension) rear axle
and long side frames adds a whopping £160.00 rrp that's puts the price
in reach of the larger and highly popular Libre V-Max , however the
upgraded Competition will never be as well engineered and "complete"
as a V-Max. In its basic form, the Competition represents good value for money and an excellent starter buggy that will command a reasonable resale price. The real value of the add-ons is debateable but we'd recommend it for a beginner on a tight budget. But what about the Freestyle? In many respects it represents equally good value for money. The build quality and engineering is vastly superior to the Lynn product, it does have a performance edge and will definitely last longer. This leaves the Libre Special. I haven't seen many around which is a shame. It's a very good buggy and for me, easily the most comfortable for general buggying. Being very critical it doesn't slide so easily and its not perhaps as good looking as the Flexifoil Freestyle. The finish can look "secondhand" quickly but overall an excellent, robust and durable buggy. |
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All
three buggies represent good value for money so it would be hard to
recommend one above the next. The Flexifoil is perhaps slightly more
unique since its built to withstand the punishment of a freestlye
rider and would also make an excellent second buggy if you already
had a racing buggy and wanted to show off some tricks occasionally.
We haven't tested the Peter Lynn 2002 Competition buggy here but its
price tag of £295.00 rrp puts it just shy of both the Freestyle and
the Special. It is stronger and more rugged than the Basic Buggy but
unfortunately with the same style seat and lack of a backrest its
not in the same league. My
personal choice....for sheer comfort and speed....the Libre Special
!
www.flexifoil.com |
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