have one studded tire

ibexbiker

Temporarily I only have one studded Nokian tire. The other tire won't be available for 4 weeks. Where should I mount the tire, front or rear? I'm thinking front--if I hit ice I'll have better control and I'll cross it with the front tire first. Having it mounted on the rear would be too late--I'll be down by then!

The BikeForums Team

-adv-

This is an archived thread, you can find the full version of this thread, with images, links and more content here.

Ready to buy? Check out these two online bike stores:
- http://www.nashbar.com (you can find the latest bike nashbar coupons in this thread)
- http://www.performancebike.com (you can find the latest performance bike coupons in this thread)

Cya on the forums,
- The BikeForums Team
- http://www.bikeforums.net

evblazer

from peter white cycling (http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp) "People often ask me if one studded tire in front is sufficient. Well, one studded tire in front will help keep you from crashing hard and breaking your collar bone or your pelvis. When the front tire slides, you go down quite fast and without warning. If the rear tire slides you can still go down, but not as fast, and the results are usually not so calamitous, since you usually have enough time to get a foot out of the pedal. But with just a front studded tire, you can still crash. You can still not be able to climb a hill with black ice. You can still not be able to get out of an icy rut. You can still spin on a downhill curve. You can still lose control in a busy intersection with lots of traffic. And you can still spin during hard braking."

From experience, when I lived in CT, I found a front only stud will help if your going straight on the flats but not much else.

Portis

Front, no question.

Abneycat

Definitely the front. I don't think you'll have a great time without having a rear winter tire, but the front is more paramount to not having instant, head cracking slips.

cooker

Have you considered roofing nails? See "fun with ice bikes": http://unknowntoronto.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html

CastIron

I think the Peter White quote summed it up nicely.

prairie*boy

Front for sure. But I am a firm believer in front ONLY, but then I am talking commuting and you might not be.

With studs front and rear, I found I didn't know how bad conditions, and got going too fast and then I was in real trouble (sort of like the guys with their 4x4s). With the rear tire unstudded, I know when it starts slipping, conditions are bad and I start riding less aggressively (brake before turning, pop boots out of clips, etc).

My $0.02 worth (but its Canadian $0.02 so worth a little finally!)

Prairie*boy

CastIron

^^ That doesn't make sense to me.

Conditions change by the hour and block traveled. If I have any doubt, I'll pursue a conservative approach. If I'm curious, I'll nail the rear brake and see what happens or watch other traffic for cues. Intentionally running with less traction strikes me as a fool's proposition.

Portis

^^ That doesn't make sense to me.

Conditions change by the hour and block traveled. If I have any doubt, I'll pursue a conservative approach. If I'm curious, I'll nail the rear brake and see what happens or watch other traffic for cues. Intentionally running with less traction strikes me as a fool's proposition.

+1

pyze-guy

Temporarily I only have one studded Nokian tire. The other tire won't be available for 4 weeks. Where should I mount the tire, front or rear? I'm thinking front--if I hit ice I'll have better control and I'll cross it with the front tire first. Having it mounted on the rear would be too late--I'll be down by then!

Make your own. (http://www.silentsports.net/stud_your_own_bike_tires.html)

rbrsddn

Cancel your order for the other tire, and purchase it somewhere else. The confidence in having two studded tires makes it worth it.

Roody

Front only is a big improvement over no studs at all, and adequate for most urban conditions.

But the rear wheel is what moves you. As soon as you hit an icy uphill street, you'll pedal up with a rear stud or walk up without one.

edzo

front

apply power gingerly
or not at all
when hitting ice

ibexbiker

I picked up the other studded tire at my brother's house in Kenosha, WI on Sunday. It's a 140 mile round trip but I decided I couldn't wait till I visit on Christmas day to pick it up. Mounted it on the bike this morning, plan on riding tomorrow. We got hit with a snow/ice storm over the weekend so I dying to see how the studded tires will perform.