Pacific Northwest - Homebrew snow tires

Never thought we would need this west of the mountains but today I built some homemade studded snowtires for my mountain bike. I found the info through a link on Bike Forums. It's pretty easy. Don't know how long they will last but they probably won't get a lot of use around here. :rolleyes:

Home made studded snow tires:

Parts
1 pair of old 26" knobbies
Box of 100 ea. #8 x 1/2" lg. pan head sheet metal screws, ~$4.00 for steel. Stainless would last longer.
1 pair of worn out 27" x 1-1/4" tires

Tools
sharp spike like an icepick
power screw driver
knife

Poke holes in the tire at the center of the selected row of knobs with the spike. I used every 3rd knob on the third row from the center on each side of the tire.

Install the screws from the inside with the screw driver
http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/inside.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/tire.jpg

Use the knife to cut the beads off of the 27" tires.
http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/bead.jpg

Install cut tires inside the knobbies so that the screw heads are covered
http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/install.jpg

Trim the liners to length
http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/trim.jpg

Coat the inside of the liner with baby powder to reduce friction on the tube
http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/powder.jpg

Mount, inflate, and ride.
http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/front.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/back.jpg

Fuzzy seat not included.

couldn't some of those hard plastic tire liners have worked?

couldn't some of those hard plastic tire liners have worked?

I tried the widest Mr. Tuffies they make but they were not wide enough to cover the screw heads.

nice, i wish i had a mtn bike these days...

When I made a pair of those, I used silcone caulking over the screw heads to smooth out the edges and adhere them in place.

Nice job! I bet you can really get around in this horrible stuff with those. (My 35mm studs are a little on the narrow side for deep snow.)

When I made a pair of those, I used silcone caulking over the screw heads to smooth out the edges and adhere them in place.

Nice job! I bet you can really get around in this horrible stuff with those. (My 35mm studs are a little on the narrow side for deep snow.)

The caulk is a good idea. If I decide this is a permanent change I'll get stainless screws and bond them in.

I found out today that tire pressure makes a big difference on these. At 45 psi the studs barely touch the ground unless you turn or start to fall. At 30 - 35 psi they work really well on ice and packed snow. Looks like I'll get to try deeper snow tomorrow morning. :thumb:

Duct Tape works well to cover the screw heads. Never had a problem for the few days each season I used them. Foolishly gave them away.

I used a lot more screws. Centered them more on the rear.

Duct Tape works well to cover the screw heads. Never had a problem for the few days each season I used them. Foolishly gave them away.

I used a lot more screws. Centered them more on the rear.


I tried it this way so I could ride dry pavement better by increasing the tire pressure. Probably could use more screws though.

I don't have many screws, but I have a ton of pop-rivets. Do you think those would work?

That's so crazy, it might just work!

I don't have many screws, but I have a ton of pop-rivets. Do you think those would work?

Maybe but I think they will wear out pretty fast. Not much metal in a rivet.

Not much metal in a rivet.

True that. I'll have to dig around a bit more, or (gasp) go out to the hardware store and actually spend money:eek:

True that. I'll have to dig around a bit more, or (gasp) go out to the hardware store and actually spend money:eek:

Measure how thick the tire is through the lug and buy sheet metal screws about 5mm longer than that, and corresponding nuts for the screws. Drill out the center of the lug, thread a screw through the hole and lock it in place with the nut.

Sheet metal screws have domed heads and are less likely to do damage, even if you don't use a tire liner or other protective strip.

I have also made my own studded tires...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3263/3127139265_ebb7ff92d4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/sets/72157611457061681/)

Posted a photoset on flickr (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/sets/72157611457061681/) on how to duplicate them...

I found that 1/2 inch screws were too long... and ended up using 3/8" #8 screws instead. I had to use 3 boxes (100ct) of screws to do both tires. However, I wasn't able to get the rear tire on the wheel, so I went back to knobbies for the rear (which worked fine on the ice). Use some heavy duty leather garden variety gloves to protect your hands when mounting the tire.

Studs only work well on ice, slush bogs down everything.

Rubberside down!
K'Tesh