I just got my buggy thanks to Big Mike, thanks Mike!!! Now the hunt for ice blades. Anyone have a set they would give up for a Peter Lynn XR..

XR or XR+ ?

The latter has 20mm rear axle bolts.

Don't think there were any ice runners specifically made for the PL buggy. Libre blades are spendy.

Lots and lots of home brews
http://popeyethewelder.com/types-of-kite-buggy/snow-and-ice-...

Depending on where you are, you might want to reach out to Don Swords ((www.powerkiteplace.com) and see who made up his set and how much they set him back.



ATB,
Sam

XR+. Can any one with ice blade experience tell me if snowmobile skis with carbides works better or worse than sharpened steel blades.

I have a PL XR+ with snowmobile racing skis and long carbide inserts. I have only used it twice, both times underpowered.

Likes- if there is a mix of snow and ice, the skis seem to smooth out the ride and keep me floating a little. I also imagine that on less than perfect ice, like what happens in a snow/freeze/thaw cycle, the skis will be better on this kind of variable surface.

Dislikes - the skis rotate and if I get into deeper snow, they can catch and flip upside down. Not good. I need to develop a solution for this. I cannot tell you yet whether there is enough contact between ice and carbide runners to handle significant side pull. The builder of the ice buggy said he had traveled up to 55 mph but things were a little sketchy. For that, I would feel better on a modded Ivanpah or similar.

I plan on using the bug this weekend on ice. Will try to get video.

In the popeye link look at the guy in black with yellow gloves. I built two sets of this style out of 1"HDPE , with 3/16 x 1.5" stainless blades. The 14" blades are not enough to hold major side pull , the 16" ones have held very well. You really want something longer though for better side pull resistance and less likely to drop in a crack. I bought the 1" HDPE from a "cutting board" manufacturer it was cheapest I could find. I reinforced the area where the axle goes thru with 3" pucks cut out of the same material , 4 bolts hold pucks and the main blade support together then drill the axle size thru the three layers. I haven't side slide into any obstructions yet but three weekends of textured ice powerslides haven't broke anything yet.

One of the Canadian riders at WWBB (Claude) said that he found 22" to be the optimal length. :wee:

Snowspider thats a great idea!! Plastic, I never would have thought of that. Cheaper than steel and I wouldn't have to use my hideous welding skills on that.. Do you use bearings in these or some sort of bushing?

HDPE is pretty slippery stuff and you'll have 3" of bearing surface on the axle. No bushing required , you will wear out your body before you wear out your blades. Very easy build.

Snow mobile skiis with carbide work on clean ice. But you add a couple inches of snow and it's all over. I just made a new set of blades out of T-1 steel 22" long 9" high. machined edge for a smooth slide!! Testing next weekend.

I would luv to see pics of all your blades... Whatever there made of...

I copied them from some I saw on a you-tube video called Ice Bugging or something like that. It was from Canada I believe. They were made of stanless but I can't afford that!! So scap plate steel is what I used. I hope next weekend we will get some video and pictures and maybe some one will know how to post them on here.
Dave.

"I built two sets of this style out of 1"HDPE , with 3/16 x 1.5" stainless blades"

Any pix?

Here's a homebrew design for snow..

http://vimeo.com/36603125

I used DN iceboat runners (blades). At 30" they were too long to use on a buggy, so I built a simple kite iceboat using the runners and 8' plank (springboard) from a DN iceboat. Made the backbone from 2- 2x12's planned, shaped, and laminated
11' nose to tail. Bolted on a cheap fiberglass seat for now.
Finished it late in the season last year and got out once in light winds. It was super stable and I can see this thing flying in the right conditions.
Only issue I had was using steering cables. The front runner would sometimes plow when turning. I have since replaced the cables with push/pull bars, shortened the stops, and rockered the runner more.
There is not a chance of local ice around NJ, and I've been working 60 hour weeks, so I might not get the boat out this season.
If ice and wind reports are good for Saratoga, I'll try my best to make the 6+ hour drive get there next weekend.
I'm dying to ride again.

Here's what I have so far. My buddy had the plastic board, (free) needed it double width so sandwiched two pieces together and used hockey pucks for spacers..Worked out perfect for the front fork width.. The little piece is what I will need fabricated at the metal shop so it has a nice edge and can be turned over to use the opposite edge..Hope all this works otherwise back to the kids chalboard...Not sure if pics worked?

Another pic of the pattern of what will be a Steel blade. Anyone have any input on something you see I should change throw it at me...

I've got more or less the same thing , I bolted the pucks to the main piece and because mine is solid 1" thick I cut a groove in the bottom to mount the blade in. Have fun!

Seems dead simple (in a manner of speaking). Is that really all you need to do? No fancy ski/blade combos or anything?

The Sun has acne lol, Great Vid:frog:

Very simple build, but the plastic style will only cut thru very shallow snow and will roll over hitting hard pack. Great fun and fast on open ice or weaving thru patchy stuff. Mine when power sliding to slow down sets up one hellaseous vibration that goes thru my body with a sickening feeling. Adding skis or tall blades for deep snow is a way more involved.

Hey snowspider, how did the bicycle chain on wheels work out? Have you tried it again? I just got a set of chains for my bug, and was wondering.

I've got the chains on and tried it once on smooth ice, the tire seemed to wrap over the chain , so the chain would'nt hold the buggy against the pull and sliding sideways I'd go. I think more tire pressure to keep the chain in contact with the ice and a rougher ice surface will make for a good match. I ran them for about 1/2 hour and they stayed on fine. Then I switched over to the blades. Everything has been so smooth I've had no reason to test further.

Heres the finished product.. Just snowed a couple inches last night and turned the ice into mush. So my trial run today was a bust!!! Have to wait to test them when the snow melts I guess.. Do you guys put a razor sharp edge on your blades or just an angled edge. The DN iceboat I have just uses 1" 90 deg. angle tuned edge down for a runner and it works fine.For these blades I ran both edges on a bench grinder for an edge but far from a sharp edge..

Pic 2..

Quote:

Originally posted by Jaymz Here's a homebrew design for snow.. http://vimeo.com/36603125

This looks like it would work I would like to try it

90 deg was recommended to me and works well.

The milling mechine I used to cut my edges wouldn't do 90 so I ended up with aboot 75 degrees. On good hard ice they worked well.
The best I have seen for home made so far are Pats aka snowspider and Claud's aka FMF Both simulare to yours and work well.
Good luck I hope you get some ice.