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Do you really get what you pay for?
Most of the time the answer to that question is a resounding yes,
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Side by side
you can see the
tire pattern is just about the same. |
but not always. Sometimes you are paying for a brand name and not an increase in
quality. As many of my close friends know I spend a lot of my free time flying
radio control helicopters and I have found over the years that more money spent
does not equal a better flying machine! Make no mistake though, a Snap-On tool
will always be my first choice. Sure it costs more but I feel it is worth it.
Just my opinion. So what does all this have to do with sand tires?... Everything!
Time to head for the hills!
Dune/Sand season is here again and in getting my gear ready for a full-on
sand assault I found my trusty Sand Skates worn to shreds...literally! It was
time for a new set of shoes! So I jumped on-line and headed directly to Rocky
Mountain ATV. They always have a killer selection of goods and their ATV
tire section proves it! In my quest for some Sand Skate 2's I ran across a tire
that appeared to be almost identical to the Skate, the Sand Shark. I eyeballed
them for a second but Skate's was what I was looking for. When I was finally
able to dig up the Skates I was surprised at how much more they cost than
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The Sand
Sharks look good on the 400!
A good set of sand tires can make your day. |
the Sand Sharks! So backed up a few pages and checked the specks on the Sharks
and they were right in line with the Skates. So why thirty bones more per tire?
The combo deal with ten inch .160 Douglas alum. wheels goes for sixty-five bucks
more. Could the Skates really be that much better? I am thinking that a guy who
just plopped down six grand for a new quad might be interested in saving
sixty-five bucks so the question arose...do the Skates out perform the Sharks?
Let's make a deal...
I knew what I had to do. Now all I had to do is rope somebody into helping
me. I wanted to test the two different tires head to head, on the same day, on
the same sand, with the same quad. The only variable being the tires. I have the
quad (400ex)and I
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| Slingins
Sand! |
know several suitable sand boxes so all I needed was the paddles! I gave the
fellers at Rocky Mountain ATV a call and found the ropin' to easier than I
thought! I talked to Raymond at Rocky Mountain and he loved the idea of a head
to head test and agreed to sponsor the test. Working with Raymond and all the
people at Rocky Mountain was a real pleasure and I would not hesitate to go to
them for all of my ATV needs. With two sets of tires mounted on 10 inch .160
Douglas wheels in hand I was all set to test away...all I needed was some sand.
Flight plan is filed and you're clear for departure.
Any aviation buff will tell you that September in
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| Riding buddy
Randy gets with it! |
Nevada means Air Race time. If warbirds are you thing the the Reno Air races is
the place to be. Hmmm, I am planning a road trip to Reno and I need to burn up
some vacation time so why not continue north to the Oregon coast and visit the
Oregon Sand Dune National Recreation Area? A few brief calculations later and
the Oregon coast was penciled in. The trip to Oregon would surely melt my gas
credit card but I knew it would be worth it!
First Impressions
The air races were a blast and the short (yea right!) ten hour drive to the
Oregon coast offered some great sights. We elected to camp at the Spinreel
camping area as it
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These mold
tits on the Sand Skates
give the tire a more unfinished look. |
is duner friendly. Upon close inspection of my new tires ( I got them the day I
left for Reno and barley had time to load them on the tire rack!) They appeared
to be identical in weight, size, and paddle pattern. One thing that I did notice
right away was the Sand Shark had all of its molding tits trimmed off where the
Skates looked like they just popped out of the mould. A minor detail that in no
way affects the performance of the tire it just looks like more care went into
the Sharks. Other than that no perceivable difference was noted in the tires.
"We will have to run a few tests"
Like I said I wanted to test the tires on the same day,on the same sand, with
the same weather conditions, using the same quad. So it pans out like this: The
quad is my 400ex, the sand was the Oregon Sand Dune area near the Spinreel
camping site, weather conditions were cool with no wind. One thing of note was
the sand was slightly damp
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As a ATV
standard, The Sand Skates
will make any machine look sweet! |
making it a little "thicker" (you could get by with some horsepower
and fresh knobies). First up to bat was the under-dog. The Sand Sharks. With
these bolted on I could keep the front of the 400 airborne at will. The v shape
of the paddles allowed me to turn easily but sliding the quad took a little more
effort. These tires did what paddles do: throw major sand. I spent lots of time
flying up the hills and roosting sand on every turn. Now it was time for the
Sand Skates. A quick spin of the nuts (lug nuts...sheesh!) and the Skates were
installed and ready to go. Just as I figured they performed well and pulled
every bit as hard as the Sharks. Again the v-paddle pattern allowed for ease of
turning. The performance was identical to the Sharks.
And the results are in...
Just as I figured the Sand Sharks held thier gound against the Sand Skates.
The "fit and finish" was on par with the Skates. Two things I cannot
comment on is the tire compound that the tires are made of and how long they
will wear. Time will tell. Secondly, I had now way to weigh the tire assemblies
but by using the "hold it in your hand and see" method they feel like
they wiegh close to the same. All things considered I would save the sixty-five
bucks and run the Sharks. I am sure that there are people out there that will
run the Sand Skates no matter what and that's ok but for me I could use the
cash!
Last Word
All in
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The business
end of the 400
with Sand Sharks installed. |
all the test resulted just the way I figured it would. Sharks or Skates, same
same. It would have been a lot more expensive to do without the help of the fine
folks at Rocky Mountain ATV. Although I did not get the tires for free
they did help defer some of the cost. If you are in need of ATV related items I
would give them a try, I am sure they can help you out! You can contact them @
(800) 336-5437 or visit thier site www.rockymountainatv.com
'Till next time...Ride safe!
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