Max hill climbing angle?

[donnie]

Headed out west of Sundre this weekend. Lots of quadders and side by sides. I ended up trying to climb a hill that no one would touch. Probably 150 yards long and starting at 45 deg to 55 deg 3/4 of the way up. Ended up spinning out at the 55 deg mark and noticed I have a limited slip front diff. Thank god I am a sledder so I didn't panic, but had to back the quad down to the bottom. In this case, would a locking diff made a difference and I possibly would have made the climb? Quad is a 96 Yamaha Big Bear 350.

 

[tex78]

Well I'd say that mabe not so much diff lock, but just size and weight and ground speed is what limits on hills

Mabe tires also would change it

Diff lock helps but ground speed and torque carrys u over the hill

 

[donnie]

Forgot to mention there are loose rocks and ledges 3/4 of the way up that you need to crawl over. I had it in 4Low 2nd gear and had a little bit of speed, but it just seemed like I couldn't get enough weight on the front to bite. If I had locking diffs, I bet it would have helped considerably. What's a good bighting tire for climbing? I used to run bear claws, do they still make those?

 

[storm1972]

Personally, I'd say if your asking the max hill climbing angle, it's too much , a lot of variables come into play while climbing hills, short chassis, max chassis, lifted machine or not ect, many folks are paralyzed and dead just because they wanted to try something that they shouldn't have even winced at. Rule of thumb I would say if it scares ya a bit don't do it and find a safer route where you won't kill yourself or the guys figuring to follow ya. Don't take any offense, that's just my 2 cents and the way I approach steeper hills, knowing your machines limits and well as your skill level in riding is critical.. Cheers

 

[ippielb]

When climbing, sometimes too much traction is worse then not enough. Instead of spinning out, you may bite and instead of the wheels turning the whole bike does. Sounds to me like you just needed more momentum.

 

[d mills]

Bike=2....trike=3.....quad=4

 

[donnie]

Bike=2....trike=3.....quad=4

I like this theory. Do you mean 20deg 30deg 40deg? I do understand peoples concerns on this topic, but I prefer the technical 4x4ing over mud bogging and trail riding. Could we say that a stock ATV is usually safe up to 40-45 deg?

 

[fidorama]

so who is stopping to measure the angles beforehand???

 

[imdoo'n]

so who is stopping to measure the angles beforehand???

Likely those who have gone over backwards

If you have any doubt as to making it or not don 't chance it, or you may end up in a full time wheel chair

 

[butters]

Pretty sure d mills is making fun of ippielb for calling a quad a bike. Bike 2 wheels, trike 3 wheels....

 

[handyandy]

When im climbing hills that have obstacles part way up.I climb slowly to see how the quad reacts and if I like it I back down the hill and try it faster and if not I'm not ashamed to try a safer route. Quads are just too heavy to risk it, if you flip one back on you it's not going to be pretty

 

[deaner]

With a 1996 Yamaha Big Bear 350 I would say you could easily rip up slopes upward of 25-30 degrees.