Freeride 2 Review

What is the Freeride 2?

The Freeride is my favorite glider ever. Not just in Ozone’s lineup, but in the world. So yes, I may be a bit biased, but the Freeride is the glider I have the most hours on so I know it really well. It is a purpose built slalom glider, made for going around pylons really fast. This is something that is more popular in Europe and we don’t see a lot of here in the US. Although it is tuned for competitions, the Freeride makes an excellent “freestyle” glider. It is not a glider that you will ever get bored of or advanced past. It is at the top of the food chain in terms of performance. The Freeride has been my everyday glider since 2017.

Who is the Freeride 2 for?

The Freeride is really designed for slalom pilots. The speed, trim setup, and roll rate are really optimized for this environment. But, if you are a competitive slalom pilot, you probably don’t need to read this review to know how awesome the glider is. Just take a look at the podium.

Outside of competition, the Freeride is for an advanced level pilot that wants something energetic and high performance. This glider is really really fun. It excels at wing overs, barrel rolls, swooping, and of course, slalom. Although it has a massive speed range and is relatively efficient, it is not tuned for XC. You obviously can do XC on the Freeride, as I flew one 1,200 miles on the Icarus race, but the Viper XC or Viper 6 are more specialized in that field. The Freeride specializes in fun.

Price, Colors, Options, and Sizing

The Freeride costs $4,500 (worth every penny.) It is available in three color options. All of which use the new Ozone scheme, two of which have colored bottom skins. Custom colors can be added for $250.

The Freeride comes with two different options: standard and competition. The standard version has “half PK risers” and sheathed lines. These risers have the PK system built in permanently. This means that the speed bar is linked to the trimmers throughout the riser pulley system. In flight, the maximum speed can be achieved while pressing full speed bar, but with the trims still in the neutral position. This is mainly a feature that is beneficial in slalom racing because you cannot be messing with your trims as you race around a tight course. The sheathed lines are more durable and less likely to tangle. I would recommend this option for the majority of pilots who are not competing. This option is available for all sizes.

The competition version comes with a more radical PK system as well as unsheathed lines. To me, it feels like the speed bar has more overall input which leads to a faster top speed. The unsheathed lines help reduce drag which leads to more efficiency and a faster top speed. I would mainly recommend this version to pilots who are looking to compete or just want the maximum performance. Personally, I ordered my 14m as the competition version because I wanted the most extreme setup possible. However, when I inevitably order another 16m in the future, I will probably go with the standard version. The competition version is only available for sizes 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. 

To my understanding, the 13m is only sold to top level pilots. I’m not sure what this entails as I’ve never tried ordering one. But that tells you how extreme this glider is.

When it comes to loading the Freeride, there is a much larger range when compared to other gliders. How heavily you load the glider will greatly influence how dynamic it is. As an example, my all up weight is about 110kg. For me, the 16m (130kg max) is reasonable for daily flying, the 15m (120kg max) is extreme, and the 14m (115kg max) is straight up ballistic. It’s funny, Ozone has the normal suggested weight range for each size as they always do, but on the Freeride, they have a special extra number that is about 5-15kg higher that is only suggested for expert pilots and slalom competitions. 

My advice is to stay away from the top of the weight range if you want it to be a reasonable daily glider. If you want to experience this glider at the max rating, I suggest having it as a second glider that you only fly in the right conditions. Although it is the most fun ever, flying at the max weight range sucks a lot of fuel which can be impractical. It also becomes more hazardous to land such a small and fast glider if you were to have an engine failure. Furthermore, collapses become more dynamic at higher loadings.

Risers, Lines, and Cells

The Freeride uses a 4 liner system with Ozone’s most aggressive reflex profile. 2D steering comes standard with a bungee on the main brake. I personally don’t like the bungee and always switch it to the included smaller pulley. Doing this gives you better separation between the two brake lines. The brakes feel a little long from the factory but are totally usable. While Ozone doesn’t recommend modifying the brakes, I typically shorten both the tip and main brake. You have to use extreme caution to not shorten the main brake too much as it can engage the brakes while at full speed. This would lead to a violent collapse.

The trimmers on both versions are relatively short but very effective. I love that you can pull the main brake while fully trimmed out. This makes for extremely fun swoop landings. If you add speed bar while trimmed out or use speed bar in general, you are not allowed to pull the main brake. 

The lines are either sheathed or unsheathed depending on which version you choose. The cells use the shark nose profile, mini ribs, and 3D panel shaping to minimize wrinkles and drag.

The Freeride has a flat aspect ratio of 5.5 and a cell count of 56. For a glider of this caliper, that is a relatively low aspect ratio. Other comparable gliders tend to be around 5.8. I believe this makes the glider more forgiving.

Inflation and Launch

The inflation of the Freeride is phenomenal. This glider wants to pop right above your head quickly. In stronger winds, you should be prepared to catch the surge and prevent it from overflying. I love that the inflation is so quick. Once you learn its behavior, you will rarely ever blow a launch. I’m not going to name names, but I have tried other gliders in this class that struggle to come up or stay above your head. No matter how great a glider flies, I could never sacrifice good launch behavior for in flight performance. The Freeride spoils you in this regard.

Launching the Freeride, especially while heavily loaded, is going to be pretty quick in zero wind. You would be surprised at how manageable it is though. I was when I first flew the 14m. The key is knowing how deep you can get into the brakes to take off at the slowest speed possible.

In Flight Handling

This is where the Freeride shines. In flight handling is phenomenal. The best way I would describe it is the perfect balance. There are certainly gliders that roll faster, are more efficient, dive more or less, etc but the Freeride captures a great balance between all of these characteristics. The weight shift and tip steering is extremely effective on this glider. Slalom turns and barrel rolls feel absolutely natural and easy. The Freeride likes to dive. When doing a wing over, it will kill more altitude than comparable gliders. I enjoy this characteristic while doing low carving because you can really build energy. It also makes swoop landings the best thing ever. When you trim out the Freeride, you gain a significant amount of speed but it also makes the glider dive even harder. Swooping in with the trims let out is one of my favorite things to do.

When flying at or below the 80% mark, the Freeride is efficient. I always average 4l/h while flying casually on my 16m. When you approach the max weight range, you lose a lot of that efficiency. I have burned upwards of 7l/h on my 14m. You definitely should account for this while choosing your size.

Although the Freeride isn’t made for XC, it has the speed and efficiency to cover a lot of ground. The only thing that makes XC not so perfect is the presence of oscillations. Because the glider is so roll happy, it will start to wander when you fly in turbulence. For me, this is never an issue on a casual XC flight. I simply use weight shift to keep my course. While flying a big XC, like the Icarus, this can become taxing. This is where something with winglets, like the Viper XC would be more ideal.

The speed range on the Freeride is insane. You can get very deep into the brakes to match speeds and tip touch with a Mojo. Then you can press full speed bar and exceed 50mph.

Safety and Collapses

In turbulence, the Freeride will move around quite a bit. Some pilots get nervous when they fly it for the first time. I have come to know its limitations really well and don’t mind flying it in some pretty gnarly conditions. The aggressive reflex profile feels like it creates a virtual wall that the glider will not surge past unless the conditions are really really bad. In the majority of turbulence, it feels like the Freeride surges within this limited zone and will not go any further. When the conditions get worse, I always trim to neutral and actively pilot.

This is an unrated slalom glider so you have to respect it. Collapses can be violent and you should for sure avoid getting into a situation where you may take a collapse. That being said, I’ve seen a lot of real world collapses happen, and so long as the pilot is giving the right inputs, they seem to recover impressively well.

Landing

Landing the Freeride is a blast. Even at the neutral trim setting, it flattens out and maintains energy forever. The glider likes you to build some energy into the landing with either a surge or a turn. Trimming out just makes everything more extreme. The brake range is so solid, you can get super deep to dissipate all of that speed.

Trike Use

You can for sure fly the Freeride on a trike, as long as you respect the weight limits. It is a squirrely glider to fly on a trike, but it is a lot of fun.

Free Flight Use

Similar to other gliders, Ozone says you can thermal and soar the Freeride, but I wouldn’t really recommend it. I have used it for smooth soaring sessions and sled runs. In this environment, it can be a lot of fun. Even without the weight of the motor, my 14m performs like a speed wing allowing you to carve and hug the terrain. I would prefer not to fly the Freeride into thermals.

Advanced Skills

Flying the Freeride is an advanced skill. If you are on this glider, you should have mastered all of the advanced skills by now.

Cons

The biggest con that people would argue is the oscillations. Personally, I think they are just whining. You can’t ask your glider to roll really fast but not allow it to roll you back. Be a man and use some weight shift to keep it flying straight.

Conclusion

While the Freeride is tuned for the competitive slalom circuit, it strikes a balance in performance that also makes it an incredibly fun freestyle glider for the advanced pilot. From proximity flying, barrel rolls, and swoop landings, the Freeride will continue to be my go to glider.

Original Freeride Impressions

Second Freeride Impressions

Freeride 2 Impressions

Freeride 2 Review