i have narrowed it down to 4 diferent options


the GBC paddle master (straight paddles)
i can get these in 20x11x10 mounted on douglas .190s for $180.00
PADDLE MASTERS


the GBC Sand devil (8 straight paddles)
20x11x10 mounted on douglas .190s for $150.00
SAND DEVILS


the GBC sand sharks (a V blade paddle)
20x11x10 mounted on douglas .190s for $160.00
SAND SHARK


Kenda Geckos (small v blades) [ive seen a LOT of ppl using these, but a lot of ppl say they are bad?]
21x11x10 mounted on douglas .190s for $150.00
GECKOS


i want a paddle that will give me good traction, good durability (wont break easily for any parking lot [gravel/asphalt] driving i have to do)
and i dont know how much traction you lose with a v paddle, but it would also be nice to be able to slide/turn well

so what do you guys think i should get?

i have to decide in like 2 days so let me know what your opinions are (and let me know if you have experience with any of these 4 tires)

thanks

 

i just checked the links, but they dont go directly to the tires! argh.....if you have an interest in the tires design you could just search for them... (sorry about that!)

also what rim thickness should i go with? i know a lot of duners go for the .125 cuz of weight and all

but im a big guy on a really big quad.... so .160s or .190s?

 

I have Sand Sharks on ITP rims and i like the v paddle. Thought the first time i rode on the it was rough till they got broke in. Get straights paddles if you are gonna race alot and v paddle if you want over all good turning radius and riding. If you want straight give the haulers a look.

 

yeah hi, try www.denniskirk.com look there, dk has all the top paddle tires there,,, and if they don't have it on line, go on top of the page and click on free catolog, and then click off-road, and it says in my book it says sand gecko would be the best, but i don't know in ur case you might be looking for something else

 

IMHO, the Sand Skate IIs are the best over-all tire. They're probably the most expensive also, but Sand Tires Unlimited donates a LOT of money to keeping our sport open! So, if you can afford them. . . .

Second choice is the Sand Sharks. I have them on both the Rs here and they perform really well.

I seldom will drag race anyone 'cause I don't care if you're faster, I'm out riding the dunes.

Geckos are heavy and stiff.

Go for the 21 x 10 x 10 and if you can get the .190 wheels.

 

For what I do, Skat Track makes the best sand tires. The new extreme haulers have kevlar reinforced paddles which helps keep them from breaking when you're putting a bunch of power to them. It's been said before, if you're straight line racing or climbing hills, straight paddles are the way to go.

If v paddles are what you want then look at the skat track "Edge" paddles. You actually can do very well with these and you can tolerate having an extra paddle with these rather than straight paddles. For instance, I run 9 paddle haulers and my buddy runs 10 paddle edge tires. They're about equal traction wise and the edge paddles will allow you to slide a little easier.

I've had sand devils, they're not worth the spared expense. I've had friends with Geckos and I have the same opinion of them.

Hope this helps

 

You never said what you're driving? In general I like skat. If you have the DS650 in your icon get 21" 8 paddle extremes. If you have a 400EX get 7 paddle 20" haulers. Sorry but your 4 options aren't any good.

 

Looks like you want to be under the 200 bills mark , I was going through the same decision headache a couple of weeks ago , the best advice I received was no matter which paddles you choose , they will be a lot better then you have now . I went with the sand sharks cause they are a copy of the sand skates . I picked those over geckos 1) cause everyone on here said geckos suck 2) I do some dragging but mostly carving the dunes and jumping . 3) out of the choices I gave , most of these guys picked sharks over geckos , and these guys have not let me down yet with the best decision making .

 

I was trying to make the same decision but for use in the snow, i heard paddle masters are really heavy and gekos suck. I finally realized that if i only go to the sand once a year i don't need paddles and they'll break in the snow. So i'll be buying realtors.

 

I agree with green700 but I would step up a paddle with the 400 ex. I would go with the 8 paddles myself. I haven't seen a whole lot of bikes out there with anything less than 8 paddles and they work great for Oregon sand. I don't have a clue what your sand is like back there!!!

I also have a couple of buddies that have 21-11-10 haulers for their DS's and they're minimum of 9 paddles and one has 10.

If you're going with haulers, don't hesitate spending the little extra money for the Extreme haulers. If I remember right, they're only like 5 bucks a tire more and you won't have the centers breaking out of the paddle.