Who Has Sliders?

[dukmon]

" It reminds me of my road cycling days when I would obsess about a few ounces on my bicycle while my body was 10 to 15 pounds overweight."

Dan, I'm proud of you. The first step is admitting you have a problem. Before long, you'll free yourself of all visible spandex and embrace mountain biking.

 

[Skiime]

TLDR - I went with White Knuckle

A little late to this thread but I went through all the same questions when I was looking for sliders. Looked at Slee, White Knuckle, and Metal Tech. I didn't have the opportunity to see any first hand before I purchased mine. The factors that went into my purchase.

1. Protection - All three products provide this without fail
2. Style - Kick out or no kick out. I went with the kick out for the exact reason someone above noted. I have two small children. They can climb in and out of the truck without issue. I also like the solid top plate on the white knuckles.

I have used them as actual sliders only a hand full of times. But in those 3-4 times they have paid for themselves. The rest of the time it keeps the short people in my life happier.

I as well am late to this thread, but I second exactly what highrisk just posted. I love my WK sliders. Same exact reasons as above, and I think they look great.

 

[vabluefish]

Just ordered my Slee sliders. I'd been back and forth between all of them. I don't think you can go wrong any way you go.

Will attempt to install them at home. Besides a drill, what are the must haves to install? Jack stands, creeper? Ramps?

 

[mark71]

Just ordered my Slee sliders. I'd been back and forth between all of them. I don't think you can go wrong any way you go.

Will attempt to install them at home. Besides a drill, what are the must haves to install? Jack stands, creeper? Ramps?

I found balancing the slider on a floor jack while slowly raising it into position made marking the holes for drilling and installing much easier. Make sure you have a high torque/ low speed drill and some good muscles, because the frame is tough. I actually rigged up a tetter-totter like fulcrum to help me push the drill into the bottom of the frame, and it made that part MUCH easier than laying on my back and pushing up with the drill. Drilling into the side of the frame was easier because you aren't supporting the weight of the drill and you can lean into it with your body weight.

 

[DarioCarrera]

I like my TJM sliders a lot! Let me see where I can find a picture of them

 

[linuxgod]

Just ordered my Slee sliders. I'd been back and forth between all of them. I don't think you can go wrong any way you go.

Will attempt to install them at home. Besides a drill, what are the must haves to install? Jack stands, creeper? Ramps?

I bought a set of Cobalt drill bits (designed for hardened steel) and some lubricating fluid. I haven't done my install yet but after using them to drill holes in my fender for the snorkel I'm going to recommend both of these. Lubricating oil is particularly important since once the drill bits get hot they become dull quickly.

If I get my WK sliders installed before you do your Slee sliders I'll let you know how it works out.

 

[Willy beamin]

The frame is tough to drill into. Its no joke. Wear long sleeves because the shavings are tiny hot branding irons.
Kiss a bit goodbye

 

[dukmon]

The frame is tough to drill into. Its no joke. Wear long sleeves because the shavings are tiny hot branding irons.
Kiss a bit goodbye

How about laser beams??

 

[Willy beamin]

How about laser beams??

Pick your poison

 

[Markuson]

That frame be TOUGH...

 

[Reckless]

I just bought some used Slee sliders from Taco2Cruiser. Will be installing them Monday. I have been waiting for this mod for a long time but was not in the mood to drop $1500 ($1250 + labor) on it since I don't do rock crawling. I know Taco loves it but I haven't understood the excitement of rock crawling. Most the videos I see online seem like its very slow, tedious and very calculated. All three things that I hate.

I'll post pics and give my initial impressions later.

 

[dc916cruiser]

I finished installing one side of the WK sliders last night. Titanium bits worked very well at drilling through the frame, but be careful, one of them bent very quickly. Slow speed with light/medium pressure worked well.

 

[Dan Higgins]

" It reminds me of my road cycling days when I would obsess about a few ounces on my bicycle while my body was 10 to 15 pounds overweight."

Dan, I'm proud of you. The first step is admitting you have a problem. Before long, you'll free yourself of all visible spandex and embrace mountain biking.

Ha! But I go so much faster wearing Spandex! I do have a couple mountain bikes. I enjoy doing "cross country" rides but at my age, injuries don't heal very fast - if at all.

 

[BW200]

All of these steel sliders seem to be in the same range when it comes to weight. They only vary by 10 to 15 pounds. Given where they are placed on the vehicle I think the difference is negligible. It reminds me of my road cycling days when I would obsess about a few ounces on my bicycle while my body was 10 to 15 pounds overweight.

HAHAHA!!! @Dan Higgins!! - That so struck a chord!! I agree, a micrometer on a gnat's butt compared to reality!

A couple years ago I pointed out this same observation to a guy I met on a local bike trail - he had commented on my old Jamis mountain bike being "old tech but "solid" and "heavy-built", hahaha" in front of his chuckling buds, and observed how I was riding on clip-less pedals with hiking shoes, etc. And yeah, I was wearing cargo shorts, a t-shirt, no clip-cleat in my hiking shoes (because I was riding for fun), and no-helmet-by-god, on a 1989 Jamis with "only" 18 speeds, and mud tires, on a paved railroad "trail". But I had drafted behind him and a couple of his pals for about a mile, got tired of riding behind them and finally passed because they were slow. This while he was on his $5000 carbon-fiber frame ultra-light road racing cycle, wearing the latest aero-slick "team" jersey and tights and lightweight shoes (probably carbon fiber too), etc. - but here's the thing, this snob was at least 25# overweight flabby with an inner tube under his jersey!! What the heck?? Giving me crap?? So, me being the nice fella I am, I simply pointed out that I had still passed his butt, and that maybe he should concentrate on losing a few pounds before wasting all that money on lightweight gear! I make friends everywhere I go...

 

[TonyP]

When I see people wearing their full bike racing regalia with a fancy helmet on their Sunday ride, I giggle. It's just comical.

 

[Reckless]

If I get my WK sliders installed before you do your Slee sliders I'll let you know how it works out.

Let me know when you get yours done. My mechanic is installing my Slee sliders tomorrow. We can meetup for some ice cream to compare. I'm free after 9pm on weekdays.

 

[M1911]

Let me know when you get yours done. My mechanic is installing my Slee sliders tomorrow. We can meetup for some ice cream to compare. I'm free after 9pm on weekdays.

Let us know how much your mechanic charged and how long it took him.

 

[dc916cruiser]

Hey guys, I finally finished installing the WKO sliders last night, but made a couple of bonehead mistakes. First, I overtightened one of the center support bracket bottom bolts and stripped the threads. Second, while I was drilling the rear support bracket bolts, I grabbed the wrong bit and ended up drilling the hole too big. DOH! Anyways, I contacted WKO and asked them what they recommended. They said I could simply move up to a 1/2" Grade-8 bolt, which will need to be tapped. I was considering having the holes welded, but the recommended approach seems like a better option. Anyhow, just wanted to provide an update and a warning to not overtighten the bottom bolts. I asked for recommended torque specifications, but they don't have any...

 

[gaijin]

I asked for recommended torque specifications, but they don't have any...

What torque did you use?

At least we'll know that torque is too much.

TIA

 

[dc916cruiser]

I was successful using 50ft/lbs on the front bottom brackets since the metal that is drilled and tapped is 2 layers thick. However, the center and rear bottom brackets are only a single layer thick of metal, which can't take the full 50ft/lbs of torque. That's how I stripped the center. After making that mistake, I hand tightened the remaining center and rear which if I had to guess, would be around 20-30ft/lbs. For the 1/2" horizontal bolts, I will loosen and retorque them to 40ft/lbs to lessen any frame squeezing that is currently occurring. I am also using red loctite on all fasteners. I sent a message to WKO inquiring about their recommended torque specs but was told they don't have any recommendations.

HTH