SideXSide Action - November 2007 - (Page 31) + Prowler coming up Cadillac Hill. Traction is key to being successful on the Rubicon trail. Traction helps you crawl up and over rocks without slipping—and the easiest way to gain traction is by lowering the air pressure in your tires. Lowering the air pressure will cause the tire’s contact patch area to become larger. This will provide you with better traction, floatation, control, and a softer ride. It’s All About Traction granite than you could ever imagine. After a short break and a few pictures, we set off for Cadillac Hill. Jon’s LT Rhino charging Cadillac Hill. Cadillac Hill is named for an old car that lies off the trail from a time long ago when cars used to be able to drive from Lake Tahoe to the hotel at Rubicon Springs. Those times are long gone and Cadillac Hill is littered with big rocks, tree roots, and even a bit of a creek. Going down, we have gravity on our side. Falling down a rock is much easier than trying to scale it. Most of us had almost made it to the bottom when we heard on the radio that Aaron from PRP busted his steering wheel adapter and needed help. After we got Aaron moving again, we made it to our campground at Rubicon Springs. We set up camp and headed to the river to swim and talk about our trip. The next morning, we packed a lunch and some drinks and set out for a day run up Big Sluice. The most typical route through the Rubicon is opposite of our direction, and we hit quite a bit of traffic on Big Sluice. One thing you need on these types of trails is patience. There aren’t too many bypasses and the trail is pretty narrow in many spots like Big Sluice. If you run into traffic, it is best to have a smaller group than we had. Fourteen UTVs is way too many rigs to try to keep together on this trail. Between the traffic and the long, tricky hill, only about half the group made it all the way up Big Sluice to Buck Island. The rest of us decided that the call of adult beverages, while sitting in the cool Lower air pressure in your tires is great, but lowering the air pressure too much increases the chance of popping a tire bead which will, in turn, cause the tire to deflate and possibly peel off the rim. The solution to debeading is a beadlock wheel. Simply put, a beadlock is a mechanical fastening device that literally clamps the tire's bead bundle onto the wheel rim using mechanical force rather than air pressure. It holds the tire’s bead firmly in place even under extremely low air pressure. Aside from the performance benefits that come with beadlock wheels, a beadlock also gives you a little added assurance for when you are out on the trail. If you suffer a flat tire and you do not have a spare, a beadlocked rim will help hold the tire on the rim so you can limp your vehicle to a place where you can get help. Above: A tire with 20 PSI is too round and hard, offering very little sidewall flex and grip on rocks. Above: A tire with 5 PSI is much softer and actually forms around rocks to give your tires more grip. Sources: Maxxis Tires; www.maxxis.com OMF Performance; www.omfperformance.com For my Rhino, I chose a set of 26” Maxxis Bighorns and OMF Billet Center beadlock wheels. On the Rubicon, I cringed many times as I watched a granite rock deforming the sidewalls and scraping past the beadlock. But the tires and wheels did their job well and I was very happy that I upgraded before the trip. - Crowley SIDE X SIDE ACTION ADVENTURES IDE X SIDE ACTION ADVENTURES SIDE X SIDE ACTION ADVENTURES SIDE X SIDE ACTION ADVENTURES 31 SID http://www.maxxis.com http://www.omfperformance.com
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