Winter 2021

[Turbo Doo 6,753]

3 minutes ago, 02Sled said:

I've never had studs and never needed them anywhere I've ridden. Sure they give you a bit more get up and go but I don't need it. 

I agree. I rode my 2015 Renny X 1200 for 3 seasons and 10,000kms, no studs,  no ice ripper.  All conditions from pure glare ice, to deep fluff. No issues,  you just need to remember you have just a track..

Edited February 28 by Turbo Doo

[ArcticCrusher 698]

56 minutes ago, Turbo Doo said:

I can almost guarantee you will like the ice ripper.  On my 4th sled currently with the 1 1/4" ice ripper,  and ordered both mine and Mrs. Turbo Doos new 2022 sleds with the same. 

I didn't like mine and had Wild Bill change it out for a regular track and studs. 

[Turbo Doo 6,753]

1 minute ago, ArcticCrusher said:

I didn't like mine and had Wild Bill change it out for a regular track and studs. 

To each their own. I'll never stud again. 

[Turbo Doo 6,753]

Alot of guys i talked to this season that have the new 1.5" Ice Ripper,  have liked that track also. 

[stoney 833]

20 minutes ago, ArcticCrusher said:

I didn't like mine and had Wild Bill change it out for a regular track and studs. 

A friend had the IR on his 2020, decided that he wanted to go back to regular track and studs on 2021......he said it is slightly better than the IR, but not as much as he thought it would be.

Comes down to personal preference for sure given what you give up with each, and where you ride plays a much bigger part.

 

My brother hopped on my sled last year riding in conditions that were no icy at all, groomed/packed trails, first thing he says when he gets off, you need studs.....I laughed and said, no thanks, not for me, the skate in the corners is part of the thrill of riding.

 

I think the IR will be the perfect track for me given my preference.....very few situations where I say to myself as I ride, studs would be nice here/now. IR will give me that bite on the very few situations that this thought pops into my mind.

 

Edit: Friend above that went from IR to standard track/studs, also went from an 850 to a 900T....if that matters in the grand scheme.

Edited February 28 by stoney

[Turbo Doo 6,753]

5 minutes ago, stoney said:

A friend had the IR on his 2020, decided that he wanted to go back to regular track and studs on 2021......he said it is slightly better than the IR, but not as much as he thought it would be.

Comes down to personal preference for sure given what you give up with each, and where you ride plays a much bigger part.

 

My brother hopped on my sled last year riding in conditions that were no icy at all, groomed/packed trails, first thing he says when he gets off, you need studs.....I laughed and said, no thanks, not for me, the skate in the corners is part of the thrill of riding.

 

I think the IR will be the perfect track for me given my preference.....very few situations where I say to myself as I ride, studs would be nice here/now. IR will give me that bite on the very few situations that this thought pops into my mind.

 

Edit: Friend above that went from IR to standard track/studs, also went from an 850 to a 900T....if that matters in the grand scheme.

I agree. It all depends on personal preference.  I have rode with all types of riders, who have both studded and or the ice ripper. It was never the track that was the problem,  only the person behind the flipper...

[Turbo Doo 6,753]

7 minutes ago, stoney said:

A friend had the IR on his 2020, decided that he wanted to go back to regular track and studs on 2021......he said it is slightly better than the IR, but not as much as he thought it would be.

Comes down to personal preference for sure given what you give up with each, and where you ride plays a much bigger part.

 

My brother hopped on my sled last year riding in conditions that were no icy at all, groomed/packed trails, first thing he says when he gets off, you need studs.....I laughed and said, no thanks, not for me, the skate in the corners is part of the thrill of riding.

 

I think the IR will be the perfect track for me given my preference.....very few situations where I say to myself as I ride, studs would be nice here/now. IR will give me that bite on the very few situations that this thought pops into my mind.

 

Edit: Friend above that went from IR to standard track/studs, also went from an 850 to a 900T....if that matters in the grand scheme.

Also, i am like you, i enjoy a bit of movement, and have no need for total traction all the time. I love the skate in the corners feel, pulling hard out of a corner,  especially with the Turbo, and the feel of the skating etc. 

[stoney 833]

2 minutes ago, Turbo Doo said:

Also, i am like you, i enjoy a bit of movement, and have no need for total traction all the time. I love the skate in the corners feel, pulling hard out of a corner,  especially with the Turbo, and the feel of the skating etc. 

It is an awesome feeling!

 

That was one of things that I have always liked about my old F7, with the 13.5 track, it always seemed to skate more than any other sled that I have owned.

[ArcticCrusher 698]

12 minutes ago, stoney said:

A friend had the IR on his 2020, decided that he wanted to go back to regular track and studs on 2021......he said it is slightly better than the IR, but not as much as he thought it would be.

Comes down to personal preference for sure given what you give up with each, and where you ride plays a much bigger part.

 

My brother hopped on my sled last year riding in conditions that were no icy at all, groomed/packed trails, first thing he says when he gets off, you need studs.....I laughed and said, no thanks, not for me, the skate in the corners is part of the thrill of riding.

 

I think the IR will be the perfect track for me given my preference.....very few situations where I say to myself as I ride, studs would be nice here/now. IR will give me that bite on the very few situations that this thought pops into my mind.

 

Edit: Friend above that went from IR to standard track/studs, also went from an 850 to a 900T....if that matters in the grand scheme.

With other sleds I liked that setup better.

Will do the same with new sled.

[Sledguy74 616]

I'd like to try an IR on my nest sled, installed one on a friends Warrior and you could feel the weight savings between it and the old studded track we removed I also feel there is a added safety factor when braking having the IR or studs

[Turbo Doo 6,753]

10 minutes ago, stoney said:

It is an awesome feeling!

 

That was one of things that I have always liked about my old F7, with the 13.5 track, it always seemed to skate more than any other sled that I have owned.

I agree.  Goes back to the street racing days..

[zoso 1,794]

Today on the E105

[Turbo Doo 6,753]

2 minutes ago, zoso said:

Today on the E105

Trails look decent..

[slomo 2,499]

3 hours ago, Sledguy74 said:

 I also feel there is a added safety factor when braking having the IR or studs

There have been two extreme downward hills I have been on - surface was a combination of snow, ice, bare rock, gravel in ice, medium to large rocks....let myself down in two foot increments on brake only. Sure glad I had the studded track.

[UsedtoSkidoo 489]

9 hours ago, Blackstar said:

 

 

I have had studs in every sled n my garage for the last 20 years. Never lost a stud once. I got a bad batch of backers for the wife's sled when Studboy made their first run of Pink Plastic backers. I talked to them at the Toronto Sled show and they admitted they had a problem and sent me replacements.

 

I think its the nuts in this case that are too soft. I went through the track and probably 50% of them are loose. In all cases the nuts are shorter than the tight ones. When this sled was in a shop 1.5 years ago, they told me that they tightened a whole bunch of studs. I thought that I hadn't got the studs tight enough on install but I found some tight studs with shorter nuts.

 

I need to install better products.

 

Regardless, the track still looks good so far. I have a bunch that are seized and I'll have to cut those out. Then its off to Royal for some Gold Diggers and new backers.

 

I'm interested in trying an Ice Ripper in the future. If I get an Enduro for the wife then I'll have one around to try. But she is used to regular studs, I'm not sure I want to go backwards in traction for her.

 

 

 

 

 

The ice ripper has nowhere near the same traction as a regular track with studs. I wouldn't let my daughter have a sled with the IR.  

[WinderFab 208]

In over 20 years of riding last year was my first sled with studs, I called the factory rep and he recommended me not to use the ice attack or ice ripper on a sidewinder 

[tricky 599]

Two incidents early in my sledding experience convinced me of the need for studs for what and how I ride. The first was getting three quarters of the way up a long icy hill south of Huntsville without studs, when the sled stopped then slid backwards into the studded machine behind me. That machine saved my bacon. The next was the experience of getting blown completely sideways on Lake Simcoe, catching a patch of snow and high siding at cruising speed. No such issues in the past 25 years with studs or ice ripper, but I almost got accidentally sideways a few times with the ice ripper, so I am back to studs. Safety, not acceleration, is why I stud. Don't like the idea of sliding to the outside of every icy corner in Muskoka in the spring.

Edited March 1 by tricky
spell

[Spiderman 409]

Over 30 years riding - only sled without studs was our 1988 Polaris Sprint

Every sled after has been studded - and will always be studded.

Zero interest in pre-studded- enjoy doing it myself and my kids will not be riding without them under my roof for nothing more than control/safety concerns.

[Blackstar 336]

They are a pain to remove. Spent a couple hours last night with a buddy. Still about 30 that we couldn’t remove because the Allen key in the back won’t hold a key. It will be a grinder and wheel for those.

 

No significant damage to the track at least.

 

 

[Zertrider 75]

Been riding for 30yrs myself, and have only had 1 sled that had studs. And that was because they were installed when I bought it. I have never encountered a situation  that would prompt me to spend the time and money to install them. Riding within the limits of what you have is key. And I ride hard.

[Spiderman 409]

13 minutes ago, Zertrider said:

Been riding for 30yrs myself, and have only had 1 sled that had studs. And that was because they were installed when I bought it. I have never encountered a situation  that would prompt me to spend the time and money to install them. Riding within the limits of what you have is key. And I ride hard.

I don't know where you ride - or what you ride - but it's undeniable that a studded track/sled not only handles better, but is safer in almost 100% of conditions. You either have never ridden one, or are lying to yourself in an effort to convince yourself to not spend the $500.00 bucks. 

 

Even back in the old days - when you wanted to get power to the track - that had lugs below 1" - I couldn't imagine ripping around on my XCR 800 or piped up triples with no studs and I can guarantee you that a studded sled vs a non studded would blow the doors off you, it's not up for debate, it's a fact. 

 

To each their own - I will never ride in Ontario without them and neither will my kids.

 

[Zertrider 75]

2 minutes ago, Spiderman said:

I don't know where you ride - or what you ride - but it's undeniable that a studded track/sled not only handles better, but is safer in almost 100% of conditions. You either have never ridden one, or are lying to yourself in an effort to convince yourself to not spend the $500.00 bucks. 

 

Even back in the old days - when you wanted to get power to the track - that had lugs below 1" - I couldn't imagine ripping around on my XCR 800 or piped up triples with no studs and I can guarantee you that a studded sled vs a non studded would blow the doors off you, it's not up for debate, it's a fact. 

 

To each their own - I will never ride in Ontario without them and neither will my kids.

 

Current ride is a 19 ZR8000. Have ridden everything from 470 SkiDoo to ZRT800x2.

Ride everywhere from southern Ontario (home) to the northern corridor.

And bullshit on the 100% of conditions. You trying to convince me that in fresh snow a 1/4 round pin sticking out of a track makes a difference? Not a chance. Either you haven't ridden a sled without studs in so long that you have forgot what it's like, or you are brainwashed.

 

Oh, and of the 12 guys I regularly ride with, 1 is studded.

 

[UsedtoSkidoo 489]

ice ripper works except on full ice.

[stoney 833]

4 minutes ago, Spiderman said:

I don't know where you ride - or what you ride - but it's undeniable that a studded track/sled not only handles better, but is safer in almost 100% of conditions. You either have never ridden one, or are lying to yourself in an effort to convince yourself to not spend the $500.00 bucks. 

 

Even back in the old days - when you wanted to get power to the track - that had lugs below 1" - I couldn't imagine ripping around on my XCR 800 or piped up triples with no studs and I can guarantee you that a studded sled vs a non studded would blow the doors off you, it's not up for debate, it's a fact. 

 

To each their own - I will never ride in Ontario without them and neither will my kids.

 

LOL....I believe we ride in the same areas some of the times and there is no lie, I have no issues 95% of the time riding with no studs in those same area's.

Granted, I have not ran anything less than a 1.5" track since I opted to stop using studs, other than the Doo rental I was on last year and I think it had the 1.25" track, but zero issues with that.

 

You need to adjust your riding knowing you do not have them when the situations present themselves.

 

 Wind blown lakes are not very common around these areas, but that is onw situation you need to be very careful of......one of reason I do not like Lake Simcoe, too much wind blown bare patches with less snow and more milder temps around here.

 

It is defiantly a personal preference......but I agree, kids and/or wife would have studs, one less thing that I want them having to think about until they feel the need to not want them and show they are able to ride safely without.

[stoney 833]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

They are a pain to remove. Spent a couple hours last night with a buddy. Still about 30 that we couldn’t remove because the Allen key in the back won’t hold a key. It will be a grinder and wheel for those.

 

No significant damage to the track at least.

 

 

Instead of grinder, grab tip of stud with vise grips and loosen nut with open ended wrench....another option to consider.

 

Is it me or does some of the holes in the double square backers look bigger than the others?