I have seen some information about studded tyres from Schawlbe and continental. Some of the tyres are designed such that you pump them up hard and the studs (mounted on the side knobbles) do not contact the road (unless you lean!) Gets icy and snowy and you let some air out and you have studded contact for ice / snow. Any one used them at all? Comments? Thinking about next winter....
studded tyres
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I've been using a Schwalbe Snow Stud tyre upfront on the 'cross bike this winter. Ideally I should have had one on the rear too but I didn't have a spare rear wheel at the time (I've got one now so I'll shoe that up later this year perhaps)
The tyres have a lower stud count (100 studs) than a lot of other studded tyres and are almost certainly less effective on sheet ice than those with more studs (since I don't have a rear tyre I haven't tried riding on bare smooth ice). Pumped up to 70 pounds they run fairly quietly on dry tarmac but they are heavy tyres and the rolling resistance is considerable (although I'm used to riding fair old distances with knobbly 'cross tyres on the road so I didn't find this a big problem).
On compacted snow- even quite shiny compacted snow- I found the tyre secure enough, I ran it at about 35 psi. Not having a studded tyre on the rear meant I took it pretty easy although in practice I had a lot more grip than I expected at the rear from a knobbly 'cross tyre run at low pressure.
Buy them in the summer! they were hard to obtain toward the end of last year when the wintry conditions started.
The tyres have a lower stud count (100 studs) than a lot of other studded tyres and are almost certainly less effective on sheet ice than those with more studs (since I don't have a rear tyre I haven't tried riding on bare smooth ice). Pumped up to 70 pounds they run fairly quietly on dry tarmac but they are heavy tyres and the rolling resistance is considerable (although I'm used to riding fair old distances with knobbly 'cross tyres on the road so I didn't find this a big problem).
On compacted snow- even quite shiny compacted snow- I found the tyre secure enough, I ran it at about 35 psi. Not having a studded tyre on the rear meant I took it pretty easy although in practice I had a lot more grip than I expected at the rear from a knobbly 'cross tyre run at low pressure.
Buy them in the summer! they were hard to obtain toward the end of last year when the wintry conditions started.
I'm expecting them to last a long time- I just used the tyre when the roads were sure to be icy/snowy. The rest of the winter I switched wheels or rode another bike. It would be possible to run the tyres continuously during the worst of the winter months if you only have one bike, adjusting the pressure as required.
Stephenite
Membå
- Location
- OslO
I agree with Palinurus.
I've run Schwalbe Winter Marathon 700 x 35mm on my 'cross all winter in Norway and they have been excellent. They have two rows of studs either side so i can adjust the tyre pressure to run on either 2 or 4 rows according to the conditions.
They show no or very little wear after 3 months and c.200 miles. I expect them to last a few years. They are heavy tho'. But i dont mind sacrificing weight and speed for grip and safety. I dont think you'll regret the expense if you need to use them.
I've run Schwalbe Winter Marathon 700 x 35mm on my 'cross all winter in Norway and they have been excellent. They have two rows of studs either side so i can adjust the tyre pressure to run on either 2 or 4 rows according to the conditions.
They show no or very little wear after 3 months and c.200 miles. I expect them to last a few years. They are heavy tho'. But i dont mind sacrificing weight and speed for grip and safety. I dont think you'll regret the expense if you need to use them.
threefingerjoe
Über Member
- Location
- St. Louis, MO, USA
I've been using the Nokian Hekkapalita 106 tyre for (I think) 4 winters. They're still in great shape. Schwalbe and Nokian tyres both use carbide studs, so you won't wear out the studs.
The Nokian uses a different theory. This tyre (the 106) has 2 rows of studs, 106 per tyre, down the center. They are made for ploughed roads and blackice. They are excellent on hard packed snow and glazed ice. But I try to keep the bike as upright as possible by taking it easy and not leaning into turns. I don't use them all winter, but, in the past, had them mounted on a spare set of wheels, so I could install them quickly if it was icy in the morning. This winter, I have a spare "foul weather" bike, so I just left them on. As it turned out, I ended up riding that bike with the studded tyres most of the winter. We had a lot of ice and snow this year.
What that tyre is not particularly good at, is deep, rutted snow. Or, snow that is full of footprints and tyre tracks that have refrozen overnight. They make a 206 stud tyre that also has 2 rows of studs toward the sides. These are made for this kind of snow, and for climbing out of tyre tracks. I rarely need a tyre that is that aggressive. The 106 works find for me. I run them fully inflated all the time.
I may try the Schwalbes the next time, but it looks like I'll get quite a few more winters out of my Nokians.
The Nokian uses a different theory. This tyre (the 106) has 2 rows of studs, 106 per tyre, down the center. They are made for ploughed roads and blackice. They are excellent on hard packed snow and glazed ice. But I try to keep the bike as upright as possible by taking it easy and not leaning into turns. I don't use them all winter, but, in the past, had them mounted on a spare set of wheels, so I could install them quickly if it was icy in the morning. This winter, I have a spare "foul weather" bike, so I just left them on. As it turned out, I ended up riding that bike with the studded tyres most of the winter. We had a lot of ice and snow this year.
What that tyre is not particularly good at, is deep, rutted snow. Or, snow that is full of footprints and tyre tracks that have refrozen overnight. They make a 206 stud tyre that also has 2 rows of studs toward the sides. These are made for this kind of snow, and for climbing out of tyre tracks. I rarely need a tyre that is that aggressive. The 106 works find for me. I run them fully inflated all the time.
I may try the Schwalbes the next time, but it looks like I'll get quite a few more winters out of my Nokians.
levad
Veteran
I have been using Schwalbe Marathon Winters since January 4th (first day back). I used them in all the snow and have decided to keep them on in all weathers until Easter (or when I am certain that there is no danger of ice). I will have done just over 1,000 miles on them by the end of this week and there is little sign of wear.
My rational for keeping them on is that I leave home at 5:30am and travel 12.5 miles on unclassified roads and 0.5 mile on a 'B' road. Most of the hills face North or North East on the way to work and lots of water runs off the fields. This morning there were 5 locations on route where it was sheet ice for 10 or 20 yards.
My wife would say I am a big girl and just don't like falling off!
My rational for keeping them on is that I leave home at 5:30am and travel 12.5 miles on unclassified roads and 0.5 mile on a 'B' road. Most of the hills face North or North East on the way to work and lots of water runs off the fields. This morning there were 5 locations on route where it was sheet ice for 10 or 20 yards.
My wife would say I am a big girl and just don't like falling off!
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
+1 Schwalbe Snow Studs on spare MTB... road bike when not icey.
ed_o_brain
Guest
I bought the Schwalbe Snow Studs from Wiggle and put them on my MTB.
They are hard work! I was exhausted having cycled the 25 miles to run them in! They are not to bad on the flat, but for climbing with... eek! That said, I found I was much faster on the down hill sections in the bad weather with them due to the extra confidence they gave me. And thus, much faster over all.
The studs in them are definitely steel and not carbide.
The weather, by and large, seems to have cleared up since I fitted them. I have a 17 mile part rural commute, part urban commute. Ideally, I would like to change bike half way through!!
They are hard work! I was exhausted having cycled the 25 miles to run them in! They are not to bad on the flat, but for climbing with... eek! That said, I found I was much faster on the down hill sections in the bad weather with them due to the extra confidence they gave me. And thus, much faster over all.
The studs in them are definitely steel and not carbide.
The weather, by and large, seems to have cleared up since I fitted them. I have a 17 mile part rural commute, part urban commute. Ideally, I would like to change bike half way through!!
Flying Dodo
It'll soon be summer
At Christmas I bought a set of the 700 x 35 Marathon Winter tyres, and put them onto a spare set of wheels. That way, it's easy to swap them if the road conditions warrant them instead of my normal Marathon Plus tyres. There's a bit more drag on the Winter tyres, and my average speed (on a 6½ mile commute) is about 1-2 mph lower, but they're certainly worth it when it's icy, as they grip perfectly.
SoulOnIce
New Member
- Location
- Robin Hood territory
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Snow Studs are tungsten carbide - most are. Had they been steel, mine would have been worn out.
