hey im goin to little sahara the 17th-19th and i was wonderin if i'll actually need paddle tires. I only will go to the dunes once a year so i dont really want to spend the money on them, but i have also heard you can just deflate the stockers a little bit and be okay. Also..what gear do you guys run alot of the hills in?..any other first timer tips for riding in the dunes

 

You don't "need" paddle tires, though they will be helpful. Most of the dune reviews and such I see, they do all their riding on stock knobbies, so you can do it, and do it pretty well. I wouldn't be entering any races with knobbies...

I'm not too familiar with Little Sahara, but maybe someone that is can chime in, but I would assume there are places fairly close that rent paddle tires. Something you might want to look into.

Can't answer the what gear question for you...too many variable there. Tires being one of them, gearing on your bike, and the hill you are pulling. I pulled most hills in 3rd gear, but with the stock Pred gearing felt like I needed to drop the gearing a bit, or somehow setup to pull harder in the low end. I probably should of pulled some disks off my WB pipe, but didn't think about that until after the fact.

 

ok..thanks for they reply. i've never riddin in large dunes like that before..so i didnt really know where to start
asking about tires and stuff..and i'm sure there is someone else here that has ridden there before

 

On my DS I've gone everywhere there with my stock tires, however the paddles are much more fun. With 2 inch taller paddles I still run stock gearing. I'm not completely stock [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

those are some nice looking quads btw... nice paint jobs. if i can find some to rent i'll just rent some down there..

 

Yes you can rent paddle tires down there at the shop they have in the park (LSPS) I think last time we were down there it was $25.00 per day and like $65.00 for 3 days.

 

you don't really NEED paddles, but they can sometimes make it easier to ride, depending on the sand conditions. If the sand is really dry, the paddles will let you climb a dune without getting a run at it, which is kind of nice. I've ridden without paddles at LS with no problems though. If you do buy paddles, buy the ITP sand stars with the v-type paddles. BTW, be very careful on the dunes until you learn them. They will have almost straight-down drop-offs on one side. Stock gearing is ok, but you may want to gear down for the paddles.

 

Hey crazy you still have that same color bule that u had when you were here for the jamboree? I thought that was a pretty cool color. Did ya get the shift forks fixed on doug's bike?

 

call first about the rentals to make sure they have some.
also, don't air down your tires or you will break the bead and have to have the shop re-fit your tire to the rim again because it will go flat. I did that 4 seperate times before I learned my lesson. Sand gets in there and the only way to fix is take your tire off and re seat.

understand you don't want to buy paddles, but if you can't rent, find some or you will be wishing you had them. Not worth going IMO unless you have paddles. It's like putting around while everybody else is ripping it up.

 

thats just the thing...there's 11 of us going and no one is taking paddle tires, so i didnt want to be the only one becuase that would be my excuse for winning all the time ;-P