No studs hurts

[jonesin]

i picked up a different sled this year with a new track and it doesnt have studs, i figured that i would just go without and see how i liked it
saturday i pulled off a road into a field that had glare ice under the snow and before i knew it i started spinning around and rolled my sled
now it hurts to breathe and a cough or sneeze about makes me cry my ribs hurt so bad
i'm better off than my bosses 13 yr old son, he lost control sat and went into the trees around kalkaska and was airlifted to grand rapids with 3 broken ribs, a broken hip, perforated liver and kidney damage... they expect him to be in intensive care for a week to 10 days and then rehab....

 

[indy_500]

Sorry to hear about your mishap and your bosses son's accident. Studs definatly make the ride completly different. I've never owned a sled with studs, just have to take a different approach into corners...

 

[timo]

the symptoms you have are classic of having broken ribs, might wanna have them looked at.

hope your boss's son is gonna be ok. i would hate to get that medical bill.
#ouch.

i picked up a different sled this year with a new track and it doesnt have studs, i figured that i would just go without and see how i liked it
saturday i pulled off a road into a field that had glare ice under the snow and before i knew it i started spinning around and rolled my sled
now it hurts to breathe and a cough or sneeze about makes me cry my ribs hurt so bad
i'm better off than my bosses 13 yr old son, he lost control sat and went into the trees around kalkaska and was airlifted to grand rapids with 3 broken ribs, a broken hip, perforated liver and kidney damage... they expect him to be in intensive care for a week to 10 days and then rehab....

 

[jonesin]

thanks
i was heading home and 1 mile away, completely unexpected

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weather prevented the use of a helicopter, they put him on a jet, $$$$$

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the symptoms you have are classic of having broken ribs, might wanna have them looked at.

thought about it but what would they do, tell me to take it easy?

 

[whitedust]

Sorry people got hurt but learned the no studs lesson in the 90s got to have them or iceripper tried to wait & see like you & had simular experience almost blew out both my knees trying to stop on black ice could not do anything else to stop so stuck out my legs to avoid hitting 2 other sleds oncoming watching me come at them for like 250 feet skidding left & right. I was 1 hurting unit after that rode home loaded up had studs the next day.

 

[jonesin]

I was 1 hurting unit after that rode home loaded up had studs the next day.[/QUOTE]

i'm thinking the same thing, once i have strength in my right arm again, right now it hurts to pick up a six pack of beer! kind of weird, the muscle in my chest hurts worse than my arm...

i put studs on my first sled 10 years ago when they would let you borrow a tool, is there any studs easier to install than others now where specialty tools aren't required?

 

[whitedust]

Yeah I've seen screw in studs but not impressed sure better than nothing ... I think stud boy & Bergstrom has them. I have iceripper track & like it a lot don't have to worry about pull outs or throwing studs but costs ya.

 

[indy_500]

Just get the drill bit it's only like $12 and do it right. Any other studs are not worth it imo. Ice ripper tracks work but still not quite the same. They help in the corners and stopping and starting but if you're on glare ice you're still going to spin like you would with a non-studded track. My buddy has one and personally I wouldn't spend the extra $$$ for one, if you're a stud kind of guy just stud your own track. A studded ripsaw or Cobra makes for a killer trail track.

 

[russholio]

I've never owned an unstudded sled and after riding one a couple weeks ago, I never will! Even in great conditions (which they were), there is a noticeable difference. I can't imagine what it would have been like if it had been icy.

 

[jonesin]

I've never owned an unstudded sled and after riding one a couple weeks ago, I never will! Even in great conditions (which they were), there is a noticeable difference. I can't imagine what it would have been like if it had been icy.

i never had either, this was 30 yds from the road where it must have flooded before the snow
i walked out there yesterday and picked up the rest of my windshield and you could clearly see where my track stopped following the skis and where it was next to them(perpendicular) for 10 yards or so before i hit something solid and rolled, happened in the blink of an eye, i felt it go loose and knew what was happening but there was no way to correct it........

 

[russholio]

Sounds pretty dreadful. Glad you're basically okay but like Timo said, it would probably be a good idea to get those ribs checked.

 

[attack_06]

Not having studs about the dumbest thing u could do,guy should not have even let his son on that sled. I won't let my wife on one without them

 

[ezra]

I dont know a bout the dumbest thing .
I ran them for decades but have not had a studded sled since a 04f7 and that was a picked drag sled.
prob better than 9 yrs since a trail sled has had picks.
have not wrecked one for lack of studs in that time just change how u ride.
quit using after so many trails started banning them where we would trail ride.dont miss them.

 

[dab102999]

Ya I wouldnt go with dumbest ever either. My yammy with a 144 by 1 1/2 has no studs. Always been to leary to put studs in it. On ice I just watch how fast I get moving but have had that sled up to speed many times. Never have I thought I was gunna loose control. Would prefer a studded track but am not unhappy with what I have.

 

[jonesin]

i pay attention, but like i said it was right next to the road, speed wasnt really an issue i was going from 5-20 mph but i was making a gradual turn and accelerating and had no idea there was ice under the snow
down here the trails go down a lot of hard packed roads between the fields and i always pay attention you can feel the traction or lack of.... it was just an accident, could have happened to anyone
my bosses son just lost it on an ungroomed section of trails, got crossed up on a whoop and hit the next one hard causing him to hit or grab the throttle wrong launching him into the trees. he's one of those kids who just loves to ride and if he isnt riding he is polishing his sled and begging to go..... he puts on more miles than most of the grown ups i know in an average year

 

[anonomoose]

From what you describe and where you ride, it sounds like somebody should buy that kid a rooster for protection. Maybe you too.

I have never owned a studded sled, and just go easier, though I think long tracked sleds work better on subsurface slippery. They aren't as prone to spin outs.

 

[Banjo Man]

I studded my old RX-1 and seemed like I lost some of the ride. Not like they have the best ride to begin with. My son just picked up same yesr, same sled with no picks and rides better.

 

[sledboy482]

I had God watching over me one day years ago. I was on my 1998 Cougar 550. Not studded. It was a low snow year, and I rode out onto a small lake in Woodruff area. Snow only about 5 inches deep. My friend was over to the right drilling holes to ice fish. I was accellerating normally. The powder snow flew out under the sled, and I was spinning circles immediately. I was only going like 30 when this happened. I tucked in tight to the handlebars and kept staring straight ahead through the windshield. Thought about jumping off, but couldn't tell if I'd be jumping away from or in front of the sleds direction. I think I went around 4 or 5 times before stopping. Had the track hit a ripple in the ice, or caught on an old ice hole that refroze, I would have been flipped. That sled had studs the next week. I truly thought my life was over while my friend watched helplessly.

 

[srobak]

Never had studs on either of my sleds back in the 80's and 90's and don't have them on the ones I have rented over the last 10 years. Never really a problem on the trail, in the ditches, through the fields or on the lakes. Feather the throttle (vs having it pinned all the time through elevation & terrain changes, turns, etc), "listen" to the body language of the sled (it will talk to you), ride for conditions and remember dirtbike & ATV skills when riding spirited and it's all good.

 

[russholio]

Good advice if you ride dirt bikes and ATV's, but some of us don't.

Yes, one can get by without studs. Plenty of folks do. You definitely have to pay closer attention to what the sled and conditions are telling you. While one should always pay attention and there is no substitute for that, I'll personally take the extra added margin of safety that studs provide.

No slam or disrespect to those who choose not to use them. Everybody's gotta do what's right for him or her.