My rr 129 pretty much can ride anywhere my buddies polaris 141 assaults go. Saying this you have to keep into the throttle as my last stuck I let off and burried it to the bars.

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For folks who have a performance trail sled, with a 129” track - what kind of off-trail riding is reasonable to push the sled through, without getting stuck or exceeding the limitations?

Whilst a longer track sled will perform better, I've found that rider ability plays a bigger role. I've seen guys with long tracks get stuck in the same area as a guy with a shortie that knew how to ride in powder. If you practice your technique then a 129" length track with a decent lug height can do wonders in all but the serious deep snow.

 

I have 2013 RR with 129 1.60 Cobra scratcher track with 1.75 studs.

as Suisse Sledder has said ”technique” from experience, momentum>momentum>momentum>>>>>>>>>>>

with room to move around and momentum all good in the deep, just like a plane no airspeed no fly!

we all get stuck!

good luck!

Cube
🐸

 

Wanted to come back and clarify something for you...

if you stop or get bogged up with no room to move in 4’ to 6’ of snow with a 129 and deep lugs you are most likely SUNK!!!

if you want to do whatever you want in the deep,deep... Stop, readjust angles/body position you need Track length with deep lugs within reason.

your 129 can play with the long boys but you can’t stop and chat with them in deep,deep soft area.

hope that helps give you a better understandin.

Cude
🐸

 

Wanted to come back and clarify something for you...

if you stop or get bogged up with no room to move in 4’ to 6’ of snow with a 129 and deep lugs you are most likely SUNK!!!

if you want to do whatever you want in the deep,deep... Stop, readjust angles/body position you need Track length with deep lugs within reason.

your 129 can play with the long boys but you can’t stop and chat with them in deep,deep soft area.

hope that helps give you a better understandin.

Cude
[emoji196]

Totally does. Really appreciate this!


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Length gets you flotation....lug height gets you traction.

A short track with deep lugs...1.75 or more....is a ton of fun in loose snow and off trail IF the rider has the skills to keep her afloat.

A deep lug track will allow you to generate and keep momentum in loose snow...but the floatation of a longer track cant be created....simple matter of surface area you dont have.

Flatland off trail can be done and fun with a short track ....deep lugs and a skid setup with lotsa transfer....wide skis help too. As soon as you need to climb and or ride slow in the deep the short track won't cut it.

Buy a 1.75 or 2in track and some wider aftermarket skis...loosen your limiter strap and back off your coupler blocks
Have fun!

 

Have to circle around and stop in your track. If really deep might take more than once

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there's more to deep snow ability than track length + lug height.

Rear skid / track approach angle has a lot to say on how the sled transfers power to the ground.
Shallow angle = sled climbs better on top of the snow and transfers the hp to forward motion.
Steep angle = sled digs away the snow before it gets on top.

Steep angle + very effective snowflap = stuckfest
On this trip, all my 137x1.75" track did was digging down. My edge 800 with 121 x 1.25" would probably have gone further , lol!

 

View attachment 2111951

WOW... in a very respectful way, your photo clearly shows one of the biggest equations we all didn’t include... but your pic clearly does… ADDED TUNNEL WEIGHT!!!

you can’t maintain float without very high speeds to carry that weight on the tunnel in the deep,deep.

Like others have said, rider ability and momentum become more important, but shorties are way more fun offtrail (as long you're not getting stuck). Definitely need at least a 1.6 though, preferably a 1.75. If you have the stock ripsaw, just stay on trail lol

 

Like others have said, rider ability and momentum become more important, but shorties are way more fun offtrail (as long you're not getting stuck). Definitely need at least a 1.6 though, preferably a 1.75. If you have the stock ripsaw, just stay on trail lol

 

Like others have said, rider ability and momentum become more important, but shorties are way more fun offtrail (as long you're not getting stuck). Definitely need at least a 1.6 though, preferably a 1.75. If you have the stock ripsaw, just stay on trail lol

Yeah I have the stock ripsaw on it at the moment. I was riding in some decent powder in Algonquin last season, and the sled ripped through it like nothing. Hence wondering if I just know what I’m doing intuitively from riding my entire life, or if a 129 with decent power will get the job done on the throttle lol.

I’d love to do some more off trail riding this winter, way more fun IMO. But don’t wanna be one of those suckers who get overconfident and ends up burying themselves in the middle of nowhere [emoji23]


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I hear ya... that is a lot of weight on board.

lots to consider being that loaded and being successful in the really deep stuff... different sleds do perform differently.

keeping the weight central/forward is best, for recreational sport deep riding, backpacks are most popular for mountain and deep snow riding.

Cargo carrying riding is a different animal needing different strategies and set ups, toboggan’s really help with heavy cargo, but even that has its limitations in soft and deep at slow speeds.

peace
Cube
🐸

 

Agree, but that sled didnt do much better without luggage either.
Another thing that hurt its performance in deep snow ; clutching. An 800 with more low-end torque and appropriate gearing and a clutching setup that does not hit too hard at low end will be much easier to get moving without breaking traction. Not enough low end grunt in the 600 to allow a low, smooth engagement.

We often carry toboggans on longer outback trips to carry gas , food & beer. My 850 sba with its smooth engagement works great for this.
Straying a bit off topic now from the OP's original question, hope he dont mind to much

not my sled but shows a typical setup for a weekend trip:

 

Agree, but that sled didnt do much better without luggage either.
Another thing that hurt its performance in deep snow ; clutching. An 800 with more low-end torque and appropriate gearing and a clutching setup that does not hit too hard at low end will be much easier to get moving without breaking traction. Not enough low end grunt in the 600 to allow a low, smooth engagement.

We often carry toboggans on longer outback trips to carry gas , food & beer. My 850 sba with its smooth engagement works great for this.
Straying a bit off topic now from the OP's original question, hope he dont mind to much

not my sled but shows a typical setup for a weekend trip:

View attachment 2112422

Nah not at all man. This is what the community is all about!


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You can go through a fair amount of snow with a short track if you keep your speeds up, are on flat ground, and aren't trying to do too much.
At some point in deep snow you'll realize when you NEED a longer track, lug height will have nothing to do with it. You can have a gnarly lug, and pick up the skis even, but the ass end will be dipping down as much as the skis are raising and you start slowing down, and then you get stuck. You'll be stuck in a nearly vertical position, the skis will often be completely in the air and you'll be stuck. I've done this many times and when it's happening you will know what is happening and why. And it sucks getting un stuck from that position. The only cure for that is a longer track out back so the track doesn't drop so much, and when it does drop it still has forward drive to move you forward instead of just dropping more.

Also, there's a big difference between being able to ride through deep snow, and riding through deep snow well. A trail sled is never going to be great when playing or manuevering in the deep. The front end is too wide and not set up for it, the track is too short, but the biggest difference I think is in the skid frame and how it transfers weight. If you're really thinking of getting into off trail riding, I wouldn't spend too much money trying to make your trail sled better, I would just get a dedicated off trail machine. It will be so much better and then you're not sacrificing the trail manners of your trail machine. And don't get a bs 50/50 crossover

Last year I got on my snopro for a little off trail rip when I was up north and I couldn't believe how bad it was compared to my dedicated off trail machine. I couldn't get off it fast enough. And I used to think it was good off trail before I had a real machine for it. I couldn't do anything

 

And don't get a bs 50/50 crossover

IMO, that would depend on the snow conditions. My 2011 SBA was a blast off trail for our conditions, while still ok for the trails.
While my 2015 pro-x while stlll labeled as a off trail/crossover, was more of a drift buster/ditch banger

 

Great read!

 

one thing nobody mentioned was rider weight! a guy weighing 150-170lbs. is going to go a lot farther in deep powder than a rider weighing 250-275lbs. if your a big boy you need a big sled!

 

Good info and now I'm wondering if 70% on trail and 30% off on a 129 (typically I try to get off trail whenever reasonable), curious if it's even worth going up from a 1.25 to 1.5 or 1.6 lug track?

This thing really gets around in the deeper, off trail, log / pole areas pretty well as is with just the addition of gripper skis. It definitely seems like a deeper lug is the direction to keep heading in but with the cost of the new track and install I'm having a tough time deciding. If it's a game changer then I'll end up doing it. I just don't know. And will there be a noticeable trade off with on trail performance? Seriously considering the ice storm 150 single ply pre studded 129" but proving to be a difficult decision for me.