General Cycling Discussion - Home made studded tires

I was in a downhill race last year. I remembered that the turns were very muddy, and i fell alot. So this year i had this brilliant idea to make my own home made studded tires. I have so many tires laying around...but i picked out a panaracer fire xc pro, because it had the best tread pattern. What I did was...i bought about 3 boxes of screwes. I think there was 50 screwes in each box. The screwes were 1/2 inch long. I drilled the screwes through selected nubs in the tire...first on the outside, but then i decided to drill all the way around the middle. I was very skeptic about the screwes breaking right off because i would be riding down a gravel road in one point of the race. Well none of the screwes broke off, and the traction was superb. Since the screw heads would be right inside of the tire...they would rub against the tube, and rip it to shreds. Of course....i had a roll of duct tape laying around my shop. I wrapped 3 layers of tape inside the tire, and i got no flats. I even rode on the tire to my friends house...on the sidewalk, and none of the screwes broke. The tires cost totaled about $32, which is much cheaper than buying a manufactured studded tire. And mine has more length to the studs. I dont really get how you can get more traction in snow, when the manufactured tires have such short studs! Have fun if you decide to so this:D -Matt-

How fast were you though? ;)

Years ago when I had a mountain bike I did my own studded tires using 3/8" metal screws that had a smooth round head on them. I selected a generic heavy rubber knobby tire I had and screwed them through from the inside and than placed a tire liner inside to protect the tube.

They were brutal looking tires and I had to cut the screws down a bit as they bit too much into the ice at times. I did go cycling on a frozzen lake one day and came across an ice fisherman and nearly scared the willies out of him as I wizzed by.

I've heard tell that slicks can work well on ice as your surface area in contact with the snow and ice is greater than if you had studded tires on.

There is even a chain link one can purchase to place on bicycle tires.

The biggest drawback to screws over studs is that the metal in screws is not hardened, and will wear very fast. The studs used in Nokian Tyres are thoroughly hardened, and even on cheap tyres (such as Nashbar's Innova line) are surface hardened. You could attempt a surface hardening of the screws, though, by using a mapp gas torch, heating the points of the screws to a bright red glow, then immediately quenching them in cold water. This might keep them from wearing out in 2 weeks. Higher grade screws might start out being harder, too.

Well i was probably going about 15-20 mph down the gravel road, and on the sidewalk, about 10 maybe. I havent used the tires again since the race which was in june. I'm waiting for winter so i can really use the tire. Heres a pic of it...i think the screwes i used were 1 inch long instead of a half inch.

I noticed from the picture that you used self drilling screws usually used for sheet metal. Excellent choice as they are definintely harder than your average screw.

Moose