Gripper vs. 850 ski

[Rotax_Kid]

For those running Grippers on the Gen 4's which rubbers are you using? Looks like the Poo rubber fits the Ras 3 spindle decently but do they hold up well ? When I place the Doo rubbers in the saddle there's over a 1/2" space at the front of the rubber, so not sure which option is best ???

I used the Doo rubbers in there. The Polaris rubbers are pretty soft and don't last very long. I'd say in general I was getting a little less than 800 miles out of them before they mushroomed or started to tear

 

[diamonddave]

I have no miles on the grippers yet, but I"ll be curious to see how the Doo rubbers hold up. I'm not sure how comfy I am with how they sit in the rear portion of the ski. I can forsee them splitting by season end. I Haven't tried to make the Polaris rubbers fit, but am going to give it a shot tonight. Like advertised from others, last set of Polaris rubbers barely lasted a season and are very soft. Wish a guy could get a harder durometer.

That's exactly what happens.

 

[force4rmr]

Here's what I ended up doing...cut some 3/16 thick hard rubber and glued 2 pieces to the front and 1 thickness to the back of each Doo rubber. I made the depth long enough so they bottom out inside the Gripper saddle. Nice and snug this way and hopefully will last a reasonable amount of time.

 

[madmax]

Here's what I ended up doing...cut some 3/16 thick hard rubber and glued 2 pieces to the front and 1 thickness to the back of each Doo rubber. I made the depth long enough so they bottom out inside the Gripper saddle. Nice and snug this way and hopefully will last a reasonable amount of time.

This is a pretty good idea.
I had my grippers on my cat last year and have been using the cat rubbers on my 850 grippers.

 

[b-litt]

I started out with the t style 850 rubber on my grippers. Those lasted about two rides. Next I tried the Polaris rubber that fit the grippers. Those lasted a hand full of rides, but still failed quick. The XM rubbers work the best for me. They are very tight when first installed. They also don't let the ski move much. I love pounding and popping pillows and dead fall as well as hitting steep transitions or walls. Doing that puts much more pressure on the rubber bushing than most mountain riding. The problem with the t style or Polaris rubber is it only makes contact with half of the spindle. The XM rubber makes contact with the whole spindle transferring the pressure over a larger area.

 

[Cscottsled]

Anyone else try this? I am going to try grippers and I could just order a set of xm rubber.

I started out with the t style 850 rubber on my grippers. Those lasted about two rides. Next I tried the Polaris rubber that fit the grippers. Those lasted a hand full of rides, but still failed quick. The XM rubbers work the best for me. They are very tight when first installed. They also don't let the ski move much. I love pounding and popping pillows and dead fall as well as hitting steep transitions or walls. Doing that puts much more pressure on the rubber bushing than most mountain riding. The problem with the t style or Polaris rubber is it only makes contact with half of the spindle. The XM rubber makes contact with the whole spindle transferring the pressure over a larger area.