Adair "Belted" Tracks Chewing up some ice

[Rock Doctor]

This was from last weekend, when I went out to put my Cabin up for the winter. It was supposed to be an overnight trip, that ended up lasting almost 4 days. It was a bit of a Comedy of Errors that kept me there, Snow, Cold, Icy Hills, and of course my dogs decided to go for a 9hr walkabout as I was about to leave (That kept me there for an extra night........ Damn Dogs)
While the dogs were out chasing Snow Fleas, I decided to ride out to my truck, just to see if the little Bast@$#s were out there waiting for me.
No luck of course, but I did manage to get a little vid with my cell phone on the way back looking for them.
Was wishing I had a Video Camera for this trip, it would have been awesome. My IKAM is missing in action and my good Headcam is a little BUSTED

These new Adair Tracks were shredding the ice in the deep holes and in the creek, but like other Plastic Tracks, they can use a little help on icy hills and rocks. Some kind of traction enhancers are needed.



RD

[trevorakm1]

hey RD do you think maybe some sort of bolt or ice spike through the rubber belt in between the kleets/ grousers? not to many to perforate the belt between kleets say maybe two centered between kleets. long enough to give some bite in addition to the kleets but shorter so as to not interfer with the slidability of the kleets on pavement or firmer surfaces. I'm a track guy and chomping at the bit to get a set of these adair tracks but there is a weakness that is inherent to the material the kleets are made out of in certain conditions. the idea of mounting a piece of rubber hose to every other kleet is a good one and seems to overcome many of the problems that are encountered but do you think they would help in the snow and ice. I'm trying to think of an enhancement that won't interfer with the sliding quality of the plastic but also lend some bite in conditions where the kleets actually sink into the surface being ridden on.

[Rock Doctor]

I think those could be very good ideas. My experience with the Chained Adair Tracks has indicated that it doesn't take much to make the tracks better in ice/snow ( 1 ice cleat on every 5th Grousers has proven to be enough for my riding conditions ). I'm unsure how much the rubber hose would help in snow, but suspect that it wouldn't hurt to try it. I'm pretty sure that the boys at Adair are working on some ideas.
When I first tried these tracks I was a little concerned about how easy the were sliding sideways, but once I scuffed up the Grousers faces, they started working better...... Much like the chained tracks. I think that a creatively designed ice cleat made for the larger Grousers will help enough.
My next concern is how these narrower tracks will float in deep snow. Obviously they will not float as well as a wider track, but I'm thinking that they will work for my conditions. So far, I'm happy with how they are working out, I just wish I had ordered them sooner so I could have tried them out more in the Summer/Fall conditions.

RD

[spookum]

Is the rubber belting too thick for plain old picks, like for a snow mobile track? Maybe 2 dozen ice pics and you could be set!

[plott hound]

cool vid RD.i gotta get me set of those tracks.i think they are the cats ass.

[juggernaut]

I would think that adding additional plastic segments to the rubber belts would enhance its floatation therefore giving better performance in deep snow .

[Rock Doctor]

Is the rubber belting too thick for plain old picks, like for a snow mobile track? Maybe 2 dozen ice pics and you could be set!

1/2" Thick, I think Snowmobile Picks would work fine, as long as they are strong enough not to bend. They would have to be long picks to make it through the Belt and reach out past the grousers. I believe there a number of ways to add traction.

I would think that adding additional plastic segments to the rubber belts would enhance its floatation therefore giving better performance in deep snow .

True,
Personally, I'm not headed in that direction with these particular tracks, I have plenty of wider Snow Tracks, these are intended for summer mostly.

RD

[mightymaxIV]

Doc, I am impressed that your machine can even move in that icey mess. As always great video!

[Rock Doctor]

Doc, I am impressed that your machine can even move in that icey mess. As always great video!

At the times where I was really breaking up the ice was pretty impressive, the tracks seemed to have a good conection to the ground. Climbing the icy hills and out of the ice holes was a bit tricky at times. The best part was that in 65kms, I didn't use my winch at all, Some "Creative Driving" at times, but no winch.

RD

[Model Citizen]