Mirage test drive experience

I currently have four kayaks and thought after seeing the Hobie Mirage Kayaks I had the hots to get one. I found a dealer that did demos and with a friend we tried it out. My Revo was not the kayak for me and I would like to get some opinions to see what I am doing wrong.

The acceleration of the kayak seem very poor.

I was in a marina with a slight wind, before I could get any speed the kayak would blow to the side and the rudder could not over come the wind, I had to paddle out of it. Another problem was the peddles seem to run to the ends of the travel with a clicking noise. Do the peddles adjust for the leg length on these kayaks? I appears that the peddles are too close to me and need to be further away. I could not get any speed out of the kayak and could paddle it faster, I have seen videos where people are moving at speed on these but it went almost nowhere.

My friend was in a Adventure and it was faster, he got it going and ran into the side of a parked power boat when he tried to turn with the rudder. No I did not try the Adventure. I had enough of the Mirage drive by that time.

I am not ready to give up on these yet any suggestions? Yes, I ride bicycles.

I'm amazed the dealer didn't explain the pedal adjustment or rudder lock down by the sounds of it!
It's very important that you are correctly setup in the kayak and understand all the controls. It would be like riding a bike with the seat set way too low! That dealer is negligent.
Correct setup is very much like a bike. You need to be to be able to extend your leg so it is just bent at the end of the stroke. The pedals have a large range of adjustment and the seatback is adjustable. A lean back position much like a recumbent bike is very comfortable.
Check this post from Roadrunner and then revisit your dealer or find another.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=28305
The Hobie Mirage kayaks excel when the wind comes up. I swapped from paddle SIK's and am confident that my Adventure can handle strong winds better than any other kayak on the market. A 30 knot headwind or crosswind is no problem.

I bought an outback without test driving and was somewhat dissapointed in the speed until I switch the stock fins to turbo. Also, I found that slowing down my cadance yielded the same speed. Don't pedal it like you're on a bike. Pedal slower.

Have to agree with Stringy. Absolutely it was an incorrect set up and the dealer folks weren't on top of their game. Probably don't know the kayak themselves. I've pulled kayaks back to the dock because of wind. You got a bum deal trial run all the way around.

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Yakkingaway
Portsmouth, VA

Wow, The dealer really missed an opportunity on that one! The seat has two spots where it can be placed, the backrest is highly adjustable, the pedals each be placed in one of 7 different spots, and even the fins can be tuned (if you have turbo fins) There are SO many things that you can do to get comfortable, and create speed. These boats don't have this many fans for no reason. I hope you get another opportunity to try them out with a fully trained sales staff. These boats aren't for everybody, but I almost never see anyone walking away saying that these boats are less then they expected them to be.

Most kayakers that I run into still prefer their paddle boats, but when they see the thought that has been put into every detail of the mirage drive boats, they always leave extremely impressed.

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OK, thanks for all the help. I read all the links for information, and set-up. Found another dealer that was very knowledgeable. Went for another test drive today. Set-up the seat, and the peddles, checked everything out. Took along my wife and daughter in their kayaks.

The Revo worked very well!! It flew, it turned, and I had to fight my eight year old for the Revo, she loved it!

They were on sale and I bought two of them. Thanks for the help.

Congratulations on a great choice Davis.
You have added another benefit of the Miragedrive -its ease of use by children. Most kids struggle with a paddle but can pedal straight off.

Another great example of Hobie owners helping sell a Hobie for the company..... I love it... Keep up the great work.

davis53,

Congrats on your new purchases. The Hobie Mirage Kayaks do tend to sell themselves and are great in so many ways.

I kayak with a local kayaking group and have found as stringy said wind is no issue in the revolution. I have been called names (in jest of course) from others in paddle kayaks huffin and puffin against the wind and I am barely pedaling. I was being razzed about the pedals and was told "something wasn't right about that" so I told them whats not right is this .. and proceeded to pedal faster (without a lot more effort) and left them in my wake. Granted the revolution will not keep up with a 16' sleek touring kayak on smooth water due to hull speed which just is not high enough, but is sure can move with Turbo fins against a wind. The revolution also PADDLES very well (drive out and cassette in place).

My last kayak excursion a friend rented a tandem paddle kayak. He and his daughter were battling the wind and his back was giving him problems and was losing the battle with the wind. I pulled alongside held his bow and towed him with NO additional effort through the headwind until we reached sheltered waters.

Revo

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I would rather be kayaking and think about work than to be at work thinking about kayaking.
A Thrill Ride is being dragged around in your kayak for 40 minutes by an extremely large fish.