Summit and Renegade, 2009
November 17, 2013
Hi Scott,
I wanted to let you know how everything worked out on my '09 Summit 146" 600 Etec and my husband's '09 Gade 600 Etec.
First the Summit:
As you remember my first call to you was an act of desperation – I absolutely hated this sled. It handled horribly to the point that I was ready to light it on fire (figuratively of course). It was un-rideable and I had no idea where it was going – like it had a mind of its own.
You recommended 8" triples, 1/4" ski savers and shims. I had everything installed, whole sled checked out, skis aligned etc. The mountain sled that I named "Christine" was now like a Ferrari on the trails. I let a couple of friends check it out and they were absolutely amazed and they are expert riders.
One of my most vivid memories memories was following a friend of mine on her Summit on a spring day (she is an expert rider). The trails were squirely (water,snow,ice). My friend was having a hard time with her sled – I could see the rear end jack knifing etc. and every time she looked back I was right up her butt (I normally have my hands full trying to keep up with her). Not only that, but I was steering the sled with ONE HAND!!! NO KIDDING!!! When we stopped I had her jump on my sled and I took hers – she was floored! Her husband took it next and he was blown away. Keep in mind that this is when I still had my stock 2.25" track. The "only" difference in our sleds was my sled had 8" triples, ski savers & shim package.
Because of the low snow conditions (and ice) the next year I decided to change my track from the stock 2.25" to a ripsaw 1.75". I wanted some traction control because of all the ice out east and especially on the lakes which we cross all the time. I decided to try your Trail Grabbers and I am so glad I did! I went with a 6-4-6 pattern, as this was what the track lended itself to. I only wanted to put the Trail Grabbers in the beefy lugs.
This set-up worked fantastic! It provided just the right balance of traction – not to much hook-up the track would follow the skis through the corners instead of wanting to go straight. I felt totally in control and safe on the icy lakes and corners too. They also worked great on icy inclines. I will never stud a track traditionlly again and neither will my husband.
I traded this sled in the end of this past season it had almost 8,000 miles on it. The triples had about 6,700 miles. Worth every penny.
'09 Renegade:
My husband's sled was traditionally studded and with Curve skis. This was my sled then he took it after the first season.
I had heard so much about the Curve skis that I wanted to put them on this sled. I set them up with the carbides that Curve recommended. This sled was a bear to turn – very heavy. I worked a lot on the set-up of the suspension and got it a bit better, but the steering remained heavy. I did notice that there was a very tight temperature window where these skis really worked better – high teens to the 20's. I did like these skis off-trail – nice float.
The one benefit to this hard steering was it helped my golf game!
My husband took the sled the next year and he complained about the heavy steering and his aching shoulders too (so it was not just me). I jumped on it once (after having my sled set-up sweet) and actually missed a corner because I couldn't turn the handlebars!
To try to improve things we replaced the carbides (which were junk by now), installed ¼ Ski Savers and shims. What a difference that made! My husband was no longer complaining (which is worth a lot to me) and the sled handled so much better. I took it for a ride just to see – and it was like night and day. You didn't have to be Arnold Schwarzenegger to steer the sled!
We both traded our sleds in for 2014 Renegade X and can't wait to get them set-up right – Trail Grabbers, triples, ski savers and shims – it's a no brainer & money well spent!
Thanks,
Stacey A
Boston, MA
