I am a stud...

[Norm]

...ded tyre rider. Fitted the Marathon Winters to a spare pair of wheels this afternoon, with a bit of fettling at the same time. I went for a quick ride round the block and what a strange noise they do make, the sort of crackling that is imagine would come from permanently running over broken glass.

They also feel a bit... I don't know... wibbly? They felt like they were flat when I turned into a corner, as if they slid for a few cms before turning.

There was surprisingly little extra drag, though. They (26x1.75) felt faster than the (26x2.1) tyres on my hard tail.

 

[Oldspice]

I thought they would be slippy on just plain ole tarmac. I have a few tacs and a hammer. I shall give it a go

 

[Norm]

They didn't seem to slip much in a straight line, whether standing on the pedals or hauling on the brakes, and they felt OK when settled into a corner. It was only the lack of bite on initial turn in that felt strange, as I said, like they were punctured and flopping onto their sidewalls.

 

[HLaB]

I thought this thread was going to be something grand like 'I'm a Stud Farm Owner' I'm still on the 23mm slicks, hoping the weather won't be as bad as the last years, I've not got room for another bike at the moment

 

[Norm]

I'm still on the 23mm slicks, hoping the weather won't be as bad as the last years...

I'm running these tyres in, they recommend 40-odd miles of gentle tarmac to bed the studs in before using them in anger. They're on a spare set of wheels, so I can swap them over in minutes once they are bedded in.

As for the weather, I had a 30-mile commute round London last winter, which wasn't really cycle-friendly, and I took the risk on normal City Jets the year before that but jumping into the car when it was bad. Since getting this job in April, though, I've only used the car to commute once (on my first day) and I want to keep it that way, if I can.

 

[ufkacbln]

Keep the pressure high and the studs are "away" from the road, and you just get the annoying buzz.

Then when you need the studs, lower the pressure and the studs come into play

 

[Norm]

Yup, I'm running them in at 60psi. I think that might be what's causing the cornering issues, the studs are skimming the tarmac under straight-line use but, when rolling into a corner they get into the middle of the contact patch.

 

[middleagecyclist]

Great in light snow and compacted ice. Not so good on dusty, dry concrete. I got cocky and had been cornering quite aggresively outside in sub zero temperatures but the studs didn't have much purchase when i moved into the underground garage. No harm done though.

 

[Norm]

I had a bit on a longer ride on them today, only about 6 miles but, BOY are they noisy! No way I'll be able to sneak up on a pedestrian, even if they have an iPod on maximum volume.

They did seem a bit harder work than the City Jets usually on that bike, but that's possibly only perception as I didn't have a computer on the bike and I wasn't on my usual route, I guess I'll have more of an idea when I commute on them tomorrow.

Funny feeling to ride on them, and the tyres do have a very rounded profile.