daredevil
12-04-06, 05:09 PM
Big difference? Little difference? No difference?
Winter Cycling - Carbon Steel vs Carbide studs
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clevernamehere
12-04-06, 05:59 PM
HUGE difference.
Carbon steel studs wear out much faster if you have to ride on pavement much. Carbide (tipped) studs are much harder & will probably outlast the tire.
I learned this the hard way by first buying the "less costly" Innova studded tires with carbon studs. I wore them out in 2 months. I replaced them with Nokian carbide studded tires.
Carbon steel studs wear out much faster if you have to ride on pavement much. Carbide (tipped) studs are much harder & will probably outlast the tire.
I learned this the hard way by first buying the "less costly" Innova studded tires with carbon studs. I wore them out in 2 months. I replaced them with Nokian carbide studded tires.
daredevil
12-04-06, 06:35 PM
Can you purchase carbide studs to replace the carbon steel ones with when they wear out?
ViperZ
12-04-06, 07:26 PM
Can you purchase carbide studs to replace the carbon steel ones with when they wear out?
You could, but the cost of doing that makes the tires cost more than what a set with Carbides would have cost to begin with.
It's not only about the studs either as the rubber compound can be just as important.
You could, but the cost of doing that makes the tires cost more than what a set with Carbides would have cost to begin with.
It's not only about the studs either as the rubber compound can be just as important.
daredevil
12-04-06, 08:05 PM
And to make one more thing clear, when studs are referred to as steel, that means carbon steel, right?
And there's only two types of studs, carbon steel and carbide tipped carbon steel?:o
And there's only two types of studs, carbon steel and carbide tipped carbon steel?:o
cyclintom
12-04-06, 08:22 PM
Steel IS carbon steel. Iron and carbon make steel.
daredevil
12-04-06, 08:28 PM
Yet manufacturer's describe studs as carbon steel. A bit redundant. Probably to fool idiots like me.
ghettocruiser
12-04-06, 09:18 PM
To add to this some more expensive steel studs have a better hardening process, and do last longer, but not as long as a carbide stud like a Nokian.
The Schwalbe studs were steel, and wore alright. But Scwalbe has reportedly now switched to carbide studs
The Schwalbe studs were steel, and wore alright. But Scwalbe has reportedly now switched to carbide studs
Hezz
12-04-06, 09:57 PM
Carbon steel is a generic term used to describe all steels that are not alloyed with any significant amounts of other metals except carbon. THe higher the carbon content of the steel the harder and more heat treatable it is.
Carbide is another level of magnitude harder and more wear resistant than even the harder carbon steels. It is used extensively in the machining industry to cut carbon steels.
Carbide is another level of magnitude harder and more wear resistant than even the harder carbon steels. It is used extensively in the machining industry to cut carbon steels.
jimblairo
12-04-06, 11:14 PM
I found that the carbon steel studs actually slipped on pavement. They must round off.
CdCf
12-05-06, 03:35 AM
Tungsten carbide has a Mohs' hardness of about 9, and when used in studs, it wears against road surface filler rock with hardnesses up to about 7.5. The best steels get up to about 7-8 as well, making them wear much faster. The surface with the higher hardness will wear the surface with the lower surface. It's not the whole story, but it is a major factor.
2manybikes
12-05-06, 07:39 AM
The steel studs start out bigger so they will grab as they start to wear instantly. You can easily wear out a set in one winter. The carbide studs in Nokians when installed in some other tires fit too far down into the holes on some steel studded tires, and they don't grab as well. But, yes you can replace them. And it's better than not having them but not as good as they should be.
The tungsten carbide studs in Nokians don't get any shorter. The tire casing behind them starts to give way and they recess into the tire. Yes I took out a whole bunch of studs and measured them after having them for 5 years. I compared the average length to some new ones. I took an average of 20 of each type. (Try taking out and putting in 20 studs some day).
The average length was the same as the new ones. They only varied + or - .003 max.
The sharp cylinder edge gets rounded, but they grab just fine.
You could, but the cost of doing that makes the tires cost more than what a set with Carbides would have cost to begin with.
And it's faster to walk to Europe from Canada and get the tires. :(
The tungsten carbide studs in Nokians don't get any shorter. The tire casing behind them starts to give way and they recess into the tire. Yes I took out a whole bunch of studs and measured them after having them for 5 years. I compared the average length to some new ones. I took an average of 20 of each type. (Try taking out and putting in 20 studs some day).
The average length was the same as the new ones. They only varied + or - .003 max.
The sharp cylinder edge gets rounded, but they grab just fine.
You could, but the cost of doing that makes the tires cost more than what a set with Carbides would have cost to begin with.
And it's faster to walk to Europe from Canada and get the tires. :(