New Camoplast Ice Attack Track Ride Report

[lennstang]

Just got back from riding on the ice at Turkey Pond in Concord, NH with my 07 Apex RTX. Installed the Ice Attack track this fall and have been waiting for a chance to try it. It's based on the 1" Hacksaw. My brother Pete has the same sled but installed the Hacksaw with 144 Woody's instead. The ice was very smooth with about 1 inch of fresh fluff. Great conditions for testing studs. His sled had awesome traction. The Ice Attack on my sled was OK. Just doesn't penetrate the ice like his studs do. I had a lot of track spin out of the hole. His would just hook and go. Once moving, the track seemed to perform good. Still had good traction and had no issues with control. I could get the sled to slide sideways under power but was able to control it with the throttle. Pete was unable to slide at all. But he couldn't steer either. I had good balance between traction and steering. We both have Bergstroms but his need replacing. I think this will be a great trail track but won't hold a candle to a properly studded track on glare ice. We also noticed my sliders were not getting enough lube where his were fine after a few runs breaking them in. I couldn't get past 110 MPH where he was hitting 113 MPH after a few break in runs. He installed Heel Clickers on his primary and after some fine tuning was able to hit 116 MPH with a best of 118. I think because his studs penetrated better, they helped kick up more ice chips to help lube the sliders better. With more snow I think Pete would have had less of an advantage. I'm anxious to do some trail testing to see how this track will be overall. So if you're looking for great traction on ice, this is not the track for you.
I'll keep everyone posted.................Lenn

 

[Blue Dave]

Control on icy trails is exactly what this track is designed for and it works very well for the intended purpose.

I hope that you did not purchase it with the expectation that it would be good for ice drags since it was not designed for that purpose.

 

[KnappAttack]

Lenn, is this the old style dull stud, or the new sharp stud XT?

I run a sharp stud Iceripper XT and agree, it is not going to be a good pure ice track either way. Its designed for icy corners in the trail and down a packed roadway. The lake ice is just too hard for the small studs in the rubber tips.

Why did you go with a 1" conical Ice Attack and not the 1.25" Iceripper for better trail traction?

 

[SIMMER]

Lenn, is this the old style dull stud, or the new sharp stud XT?

I run a sharp stud Iceripper XT and agree, it is not going to be a good pure ice track either way. Its designed for icy corners in the trail and down a packed roadway. The lake ice is just too hard for the small studs in the rubber tips.

Why did you go with a 1" conical Ice Attack and not the 1.25" Iceripper for better trail traction?

I have the IceRipper (dull studs) on mine and so far was only able to take the sled down the road for a rip. It's nowhere near a studded track thats for sure. Its really more like running an unstudded track with a bit more traction. I'm sure it'll be fine for what I use it for but it wont hook up like a studded track. As long as it keep me out of the trees I'm ok with it but by the way it handled on the road....even icy corners might be dicey.

 

[blackattak]

I want control & safety for trails & we get a lot of freeze thaw cycles so often have glare ice sections on our trails. Which option do you recommend? Currently studded but had put a stud thru a rad on my 3rd year with my RX1 & now is my 3rd year with the attak. XT track is pricey ($880 here in Canada) but it is currently the way I am leaning. HOWEVER it needs to be SAFE in my conditions.

 

[KnappAttack]

I want control & safety for trails & we get a lot of freeze thaw cycles so often have glare ice sections on our trails. Which option do you recommend? Currently studded but had put a stud thru a rad on my 3rd year with my RX1 & now is my 3rd year with the attak. XT track is pricey ($880 here in Canada) but it is currently the way I am leaning. HOWEVER it needs to be SAFE in my conditions.

Don't get the dull stud track. The sharp stud XT is the track you want. I really like mine for trail use. Just don't expect drag race type traction.

 

[blackattak]

Don't want drag race simply control. I don't want the rear end to spin out & flip me if I hit an icy corner that I don't see in time. Good for that?

 

[KnappAttack]

The sharp stud XT is excellent for that!

 

[lennstang]

Control on icy trails is exactly what this track is designed for and it works very well for the intended purpose.

I hope that you did not purchase it with the expectation that it would be good for ice drags since it was not designed for that purpose.

I went with the Ice Attack because I wanted control on ice, not ski lifting traction. I knew it wouldn't hook up like my brother's sled does. But it does hook up OK and gives me the control I wanted. It hooks up better than I thought it would. Once I'm moving, it seems very planted. Also went with it because I wanted less maintenance and vibration.

 

[lennstang]

Lenn, is this the old style dull stud, or the new sharp stud XT?

I run a sharp stud Iceripper XT and agree, it is not going to be a good pure ice track either way. Its designed for icy corners in the trail and down a packed roadway. The lake ice is just too hard for the small studs in the rubber tips.

Why did you go with a 1" conical Ice Attack and not the 1.25" Iceripper for better trail traction?

The track has the newer shapened tips, not the dull ones. I went with the 1" because it works better on hard packed trails and has a 5 MPH advantage over the Ripsaw track. Pete confirmed this Sunday with his 118 MPH radar runs.

 

[lennstang]

I want control & safety for trails & we get a lot of freeze thaw cycles so often have glare ice sections on our trails. Which option do you recommend? Currently studded but had put a stud thru a rad on my 3rd year with my RX1 & now is my 3rd year with the attak. XT track is pricey ($880 here in Canada) but it is currently the way I am leaning. HOWEVER it needs to be SAFE in my conditions.

I got my track from a place out of NY state. Found them to be the cheapest. Paid $490 shipped to my house. Got a quote from my local dealer for $660. I think this place in NY must have pre-ordered a bunch of tracks to get a better deal from Camoplast. You will be happy with either the Ice Ripper or Ice Attack.

 

[blackattak]

Hope this track is what I have heard. Just ordered it & got it locally for $850 plus tax ( could have ordered it from Toronto for $785 plus $35 sipping) so for the few dollars decided to stay local. Get here next week so then all I NEED will be snow !!!