WRX on Sand

I could have sworn I saw this discussed here before, but I can't find it through the "search" function. Last weekend, I went dual-sporting with a local group and discovered that I can't do deep sand quickly on my X. It could be that I'm a wimp after having a hip replaced in December, but it felt like the front wheel simply refused to get on top of the sand, regardless of how hard I pushed it. Any little variation in sand depth or density and the wheel would drop into the sand and start plowing up a furrow. Sometimes, I could get on the throttle and get through but more often the bike got caught in the rut and dug in. I hit the ground hard once and Laugh-In tricycle style once. After that, I just paddled my way through miles of deep sand and suffered the tolerance of the much faster guys I was riding with.

I think it's true that "if you can't afford to fall down, you can't afford to ride," but I used to be pretty quick in desert sand (30 years ago). Anybody else try deep sand on an X?

I, currently, have an Avon Distanza on the front and Shinko 705 rear. That really jacks up the back, relative to the front, which I suspect makes the front wheel problem worse. No problems in mud, stream crossing, gravel, or dirt; sand is all that seems to seriously kick my butt.

My experience is she'll move in deep sand, slowing chugging along, but if you're expecting it to take it like a dirt bike it won't. Maybe try something with some actual knob up front? Or get a 21" front from Warp 9? Distanzas might as well be street tires, and while my sport tires did *ok* in the mohave, death valley, and saline valley, the only places I've willingly subjected myself to large amounts of sand since I swapped to the X wheels, I certainly never expected them to handle or glide like a real knob.

This one? <--

I have some pics & video of some deep sand riding on the Navajo rez a few yrs back.. also ridden a lot in moab, mesquite, & other deep sand spots. The key for me is to keep my speed up.. sometimes hard to do if there are sharp turns.

Here's the link with some vids later in the report.

https://wr250rforum.forumotion.com/t1110-az-ut-ride-9-28-10-1

Yeah, I figured it was me. Good advice, if I can get the guts to take it. Maybe in another six months I'll feel less paranoid about the hip.

Don't forget, rydnseek doesn't have "normal" street tires either. He's basically riding an R with a smaller front wheel.

That was going to be my question -- how much of a difference does the tire make?

My forest service roads are fun to ride, but if it's been raining its muddy and slick, and if it's too dry there are really sandy patches, both conditions seem precarious on the distanzias.

I'm torn between putting more aggressive tires on the X wheels for all around use (but afraid it'll drastically change road performance) and sucking it up to order a set of R style wheels to swap. But it seems like a lot of folks order the extra set up and rarely take the time to switch... Decisions...

xaman wrote:

I'm torn between putting more aggressive tires on the X wheels for all around use (but afraid it'll drastically change road performance) and sucking it up to order a set of R style wheels to swap. But it seems like a lot of folks order the extra set up and rarely take the time to switch... Decisions...

I depends on what you do. If you ride 90% street commuting and on occasion do a few hundred mile weekend dual sport trip.... the dual wheels might be the way to go.

If you are commuting all week and then riding trails on the weekend... dual wheels might be the way to go.

If you rarely commute, ride the bike to your local trails or dirt road areas, and have no aspirations of dragging a knee.... you may be better off buying a set of warp 9 wheels and selling your stock wheels. Or trading someone for their R wheels.

At the end of the day it's a hard decision and I've been trying to answer it myself for quite some time now.

That's good reasoning.

Right now this is my "do it all" bike, so I'm not willing to sacrifice performance on all the street miles. I'm not dragging knees, hard to find many twisties around here, but I do want longevity and balance at high speed.

I need to pony up for the extra wheels, but I'm also trying to save pennies for a more highway oriented ride.

xaman wrote:

That's good reasoning.

Right now this is my "do it all" bike, so I'm not willing to sacrifice performance on all the street miles. I'm not dragging knees, hard to find many twisties around here, but I do want longevity and balance at high speed.

I need to pony up for the extra wheels, but I'm also trying to save pennies for a more highway oriented ride.

Sounds like we're in the same boat.

[quote="Arkmage"I depends on what you do. If you ride 90% street commuting and on occasion do a few hundred mile weekend dual sport trip.... the dual wheels might be the way to go.

If you are commuting all week and then riding trails on the weekend... dual wheels might be the way to go.

If you rarely commute, ride the bike to your local trails or dirt road areas, and have no aspirations of dragging a knee.... you may be better off buying a set of warp 9 wheels and selling your stock wheels. Or trading someone for their R wheels.

At the end of the day it's a hard decision and I've been trying to answer it myself for quite some time now.[/quote]

For me, it's a no-brainer. I commute every day to work and do about 90% of my urban travel on the WRX. If I have to choose, it's street first, off-road 9th. I tried 50/50 tires on my old Kawasaki Sherpa and that was no fun at all.