Ok..you guys have been right about everything else I have asked. Now I have a really dumb idea up my sleeve and need some advice. My bike is no dune rocket, but it sh*ts and gits. First and second gear here in the winter is about useless in the snow. So...I was wondering about putting some paddle tires on in the winter. Any feedback on this probably insane idea ? How do they ride if you get where the snow is'nt very deep ? Will they just bury the bike in the deeper stuff ? Thanks.

 

search this forum, only couple weeks ago there was a two page post on this exact topic....
my view is that i cant imagine any paddle tire holding up long in snow... many rocks, roots, dirt they youll find under the snow that will tear off the paddles in one encounter.. So ill be the first to tell ya it wont work with $#it, but if ya got the ca$h to burn, than i guess try it, i wouldnt... i rode in up to 1 foot of snow this winter with 20" fast trekkers mounted backwords and did a real good job keeping up with my 6 friends on 4x4 quads, just alot of tire spinning but you keep moving forward.
Jetjock16

 

tuff *** sand paddle,the GECKOS..

 

I was told once that the worst sand tire in the world "Paddle Masters", work great in the snow. I can belive it to and I can also tell you that they ARE the worst sand tire out there first hand. But you can run them suckers on gravel black top what ever. They are tough.

 

wats tougher, gecko or paddle master?

 

I haven't actually owned any geckos. But I have seen Raptor03's geckos. I would say the paddle masters.

 

I tried paddle masters and gained about 10 more lbs on rotating mass and lost about 15 bike lengths.. but if you dont drag race there a tough paddle,,geckos will lose you a few bike lengths at the least also, i usually run 22-11-10,10 paddle extremes, but just picked up a pair of 12 paddle -22 inch exremes today. im still sick about the price $149 a piece!!!

 

probably not as sick as the guys that get behind that thing when you get it back.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Lots of people use paddles in the snow, I used to run them for fun on my 350X.
Realistically - if the snow depth is shallow enough the best way for traction and the fastest forward motion will be to dig through the snow to the ground with a rounded profile, narrow but deep lug - like the typical stock 4x4 tires such as Titan 489.
But, for snow thats too deep to get through to the ground, but is packed well enough for the bike to not sink and bury to the frame, the paddles are a good time, at least on my 3-wheeler, I have never tried on the heavier DS.