View Full Version : Asking Santa For Studded Tires
I am going to ask Santa for some studded tires but until then i am looking for some aggressive treaded MTB tires that will really shed snow and dig in. I might even find some that i like so much that i don't need studs. I am talking about some real agressive tires here.
Right now i just have some center connected tread tires on my MTB's and they aren't real great in snow. I know that studs are best but I want something that won't draw the "auditor's" attention when it rolls across the credit card statment. (Married people nod in understanding. ;) )
I'm looking to spend maybe $40 total. Any suggestions??
I presently have these.
Bontrager Connection Trail
http://www.bontrager.com/images/prod_large/04BT_tire_Connection_TrailB.jpg
JarodArmstrong
11-17-04, 09:17 PM
nashbar has some for $35 each.
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=121&subcategory=1084&brand=&sku=10627&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=
Steele-Bike
11-18-04, 05:34 AM
Two Christmas' ago I asked Santa for a pair Nokian Mount & Grounds, but as it turned out, his supplier was out of stock. After many moons of waiting for the LBS, er, I mean Santa, to come through, I ended up settling for the Innova brand studs. They're cheap and work for my two mile commute, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them.
Two Christmas' ago I asked Santa for a pair Nokian Mount & Grounds, but as it turned out, his supplier was out of stock. After many moons of waiting for the LBS, er, I mean Santa, to come through, I ended up settling for the Innova brand studs. They're cheap and work for my two mile commute, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them.
What is wrong with them? I see a pair on ebay.
pinerider
11-18-04, 01:44 PM
I have a pair of Innovas, they work fine, but have a very poor reputation for longevity. You can leave the Nokians on all winter with no problems, but to get any life out of the Innovas you should have a spare wheelset and only put the Innovas on when there's snow or ice on the road.
Steele-Bike
11-19-04, 05:44 AM
I have a pair of Innovas, they work fine, but have a very poor reputation for longevity. You can leave the Nokians on all winter with no problems, but to get any life out of the Innovas you should have a spare wheelset and only put the Innovas on when there's snow or ice on the road.
Exactly what I would have said. I have had mine two years now and the studs are holding up fairly well, but I have put no more than a couple hundred miles on them.
I am still waiting for the Mount and Grounds. Old Saint Nick, are you out there? Maybe LBSanta has them in stock this year...
Having spent over $4,000 to repair salt corrosion damage to my car, it has never been a problem selling the "auditor" on studded bike tires. Besides, a hundred bucks for two of them is about equal to three weeks of parking.
Paul
vrkelley
11-20-04, 10:41 PM
I am going to ask Santa for some studded tires but until then i am looking for some aggressive treaded MTB tires that will really shed snow [/IMG]
....He knows when you've been good or bad...so be goooood for goooood nesss sake..... Err sorry...It's too early for Christmas carols!
Violineb
11-22-04, 09:08 AM
Well I seriously would not recommend any other studded tires other than the Nokians. If you´re cheap then get the $50 a piece Nokians. As for some MTB tires with agressive threads something for the rear like a Velociraptor might be a good idea. I have Panaracer Fire XC Pro 2.1s and they work really decently well for me on both snow and ice. (on the packaging though it says not to use them for ice :p)
I sell both Nokians and Innovas. The Nokians are superior in that they have carbide tipped studs. They will last longer and bite better on ice. But, the Innovas have an advantage in that the studs can be replaced if lost. And you will lose some studs. My personal favorite store bought are the Nokian Extremes. 296 studs that really hang well. But my absolute favorite are the set I made myself out of Specialized Storm Controls over 14 years ago. They are heavy but I can climb frozen creek beds like I was stuck to them.
All this said, studded tires do nothing in the snow. They work on ice only.
2manybikes
11-30-04, 08:30 PM
Studded tires work excellent on ice. They are the same as knobbies if the snow is deep and there is no ice for them to grab/ If there is ice under the snow and it packs down to the point where the studs don't reach the ice, they are like knobbies.
They can be like riding on pavement if the ice is flat and frozen hard. Knobbies can be ok if the ice is a little soft on the top, if you are carefull. If the ice is hard frozen and bumpy like frozen footprints, the knobbies are useless, and the studs go right over it.
I had a pair of IRC Blizzard tires. Wore the studs out in one winter with just a little pavement riding. The Nokian 296's are three years old (some pavement miles) and are great. I ride on the ice as much as possible, I have not lost any studs. On frozen ice footprints I use 22 psi front and 25 rear. You get what you pay for. You probably will be sorry if you get $40 studded tires, I was at $50, it was money down the drain. Get Nokians.
jnoble123
12-06-04, 10:09 AM
I have a pair of Innovas, they work fine, but have a very poor reputation for longevity. You can leave the Nokians on all winter with no problems, but to get any life out of the Innovas you should have a spare wheelset and only put the Innovas on when there's snow or ice on the road.
I had the Innovas for a year of winter commuting. By the end of the year the studs were worn down to the tire tread. Lots of dry pavement that year mixed with some trail riding.
I now have Nokian Extreme 296 tires on my Icebike. This is the fourth year and the studs are still working great. Lots of grip and no appreciable wear. Similar conditions for most of that time.
~Jamie N
www.bicycletouring101.com
veghead
12-07-04, 12:29 PM
The Innovas are great for "on ice" riding only. I have had them for a few years and used them on the lakes without and problems or excess wear.
2manybikes
12-17-04, 04:05 PM
I had the Innovas for a year of winter commuting. By the end of the year the studs were worn down to the tire tread. Lots of dry pavement that year mixed with some trail riding.
I now have Nokian Extreme 296 tires on my Icebike. This is the fourth year and the studs are still working great. Lots of grip and no appreciable wear. Similar conditions for most of that time.
~Jamie N
www.bicycletouring101.com
Before I bought my Extreme 296's I bought some Nokian studs for another tire. I had some left over. So after three years of use I took out a couple of the 296's used studs and measured them. Compared to the new studs they were only about .003 shorter. To me that means they are not wearing out. I did notice that the drive side rear studs looked shorter on the rear tire. It was because they were pushed into the tire a little more (not much). I don't know if the tire is breaking down or not. The traction seems the same so I rotated the tires and I can't tell the difference. Have you looked at the drive side rear studs carefully?
I have a few pavement miles too. Do you?
jnoble123
12-18-04, 09:47 PM
Hi!
I have plenty of pavement time too unfortunately. Once the tires go on I don't switch them out again until snow/ice season is clearly over. Four years of heavy usage so far. These tires work well for both pavement and trail riding.
One thing though..... I use them with Snowcat rims (44 mm wide) so all four studs on the tires occassionally touch the pavement. No real noticable wear on any of them.
This was discussed on the Icebike list last year. Someone mentioned a tire lasting seven or eight years of heavy usage before the tire rubber went. The studs were still fine.
~Jamie N
2manybikes
12-19-04, 08:11 AM
Hi!
I have plenty of pavement time too unfortunately. Once the tires go on I don't switch them out again until snow/ice season is clearly over. Four years of heavy usage so far. These tires work well for both pavement and trail riding.
One thing though..... I use them with Snowcat rims (44 mm wide) so all four studs on the tires occassionally touch the pavement. No real noticable wear on any of them.
This was discussed on the Icebike list last year. Someone mentioned a tire lasting seven or eight years of heavy usage before the tire rubber went. The studs were still fine.
~Jamie N
Thanks very much. Every year I think about getting snowcats but then the snow melts. Does it make the bike a lot slower?
Well, screw Santa.
I already am covered for the Snow/Ice. I bought the studded front, a Geax Blade for the back and some new rims so I now have the snow tires mounted up and ready at the first sign of snow.
http://xs7.xs.to/pics/04510/IMG_2998.JPG
Rode my DIY studded tire on ice for the first time today.
Wow, they really hook up. Unbelievable! It was a little unnerving at first but when I got the hang of it (got over the fear of slipping) it was like riding on dry ground. I actually had to check what I was riding on was ice after all, but sure enough it was!
My tire is a IRC Mythos and I used 192 self-starting screws. I didn't have a studded tire on the back (I'm riding a fixie) but I didn't think I really needed one.
Anyway, the sun melted most of the ice on the road later on but I did get a taste of ice riding. What fun!
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