Pros and cons of deeper 1 3/4" track OFF the powder

[bluesman]

Can anyone comment from experience how the deeper 1 3/4 treads perform compared to the 1 1/4" stock depth tracks. Obviously there is some improvement in deeper power, but I am wondering what are the down sides on Ice, hard pack and trail behavior and handling.

Without picks in the track with the longer treads what will it perform like??

This is in reference to the track on a Nitro XTX

 

[NFLD-Nytro]

I just installed a 1.75inch track on my XTX. Haven't ridden alot of trails since, and the trails here have lots of snow on them yet, so so far the 1.75 is great on teh trails.
I can tell you that just in my driveway I really miss the studs though. Given how much harder it is trying to get the sled moving on the ice in the driveway compared to usin the studded track, I can imagine that if conditions get really icy here, as they often do in late march, I might put back on the studded track.

My opinion is if you're doing most of your riding on hard-packed trails, you're much better off with a studded track.

 

[Furgwa]

I went to a 2" this year, and i definitely noticed a lot more slipping on the hard pack.... But a lot less slipping in the deep stuff! All depends what you want, for what i do, i would never go back!

 

[Straight_up_XTX]

I put the 1.75 inch Backcoutry track before christmas this season. On hardpacked trail I don't notice much difference between the BC and the stock ripsaw as far as performance. I would say the breaking is better with the BC on a hard packed trail. On ice both tracks suck... as well as in parking lots with the carbides I have.

I have worn through a set of sliders with the BC but the snow conditions this year are not the greatest, also the sliders had 2 full season on them before I changed to the BC track. I would suggest a fresh set of sliders at the beginning of each season to be safe.

I notice it is a bit tougher to slide the back end when there is a skif of snow o the trail as well with the BC... I also think this is balenced out by the increased bite you get when accelerating on the trail with a skif of snow.

Off trail... as you might expect is 200% better with the BC and for me this makes up for the slight disadvantge there is on the trail compared to a NON-STUDDED stock ripsaw track.

 

[loudelectronics]

Besides the top end loss, I hardly notice a difference on the hard pack trails vs the ripsaw. Hook up might be a tad less on really hard trails but handling was not affected. I can drive it as fast on the trail as I did with my ripsaw.

 

[1049triple]

With the BackCountry:
-No vibrations, very comfortable on trails
-Less grip on very hard pack
-Max top speed of approx. 160km/h
-If you want you can now have the front of the sled always in the air.
-Bulletproof track. Like new after 3000km.
-I really like it but what i hate the most, it the top speed loss. But you buy that track if you want more off-trails versatility, and the loss in speed is what we have to pay for.

 

[NFLD-Nytro]

With the BackCountry:
-No vibrations, very comfortable on trails
-Less grip on very hard pack
-Max top speed of approx. 160km/h
-If you want you can now have the front of the sled always in the air.
-Bulletproof track. Like new after 3000km.
-I really like it but what i hate the most, it the top speed loss. But you buy that track if you want more off-trails versatility, and the loss in speed is what we have to pay for.

On the bold, that's true for sure, and very addictive.

As for the lower top speed, I couldn't care less about that. I've only seen speeds above 140km/h 2 or 3 times this winter.

There's no doubt they'll be days that I miss studs, but the improvements off trail are well worth it. And I've still got the option of putting the ripsaw back on if conditions get really icy.