The Scotsman

Just need a bit of advice on tires for winter
I have been cycling for two and a half years now, I commute 60 miles to work a week on mostly road, but certain sections because of traffic I have to use the pavement (sidewalk).
Last Friday we had a bad frost, the roads were very icy, and I was overconfident and took a spill on a patch of black ice on the sidewalk, shook me up, but got back on again and was more cautious.
Normally I change my tires during the winter, but I decided to stay on the continental Marathons I have, they are 26 by 1.5 inch fitted to my mountain bike .
I know that only snow or ice spiked tires will help on the ice, but I cannot afford the cost of them as in Britain we might have a week or two of really bad frost.
Any suggestions on what tires?
Would getting wider tires and a different tread might help? Or would it be exactly the same as what I have on at this moment.
If you could recommend them from experience I would be grateful.

Bike Gremlin

The tires you have are OK. Pump them to a low pressure and take it easy. Fatter tyres might be better on ice, but worse on snow (won't plow their way to the pavement through snow). Then again, in deep snow, fatter tyres with big grooves are better.

Getting a pair of studded winter tyres will cost about 70 euros, lasting 5 or more years since you don't have room. I prefer that expense, to falling and breaking bones, or not riding, or riding at walking speed.

If you have room, get a spare set of wheels with winter tyres.

Even better - get a cheap (i got mine for zero euros) mountain bike, fit it with spiked winter tyres and ride it when it is snowing. Salt can be bad on bike and components, so it pays in the long run to have a winter "beater" bike.

The Scotsman

I like the idea of getting a winter bike, I got rid of an old mountain bike my son had used, wish i had kept it now!
Thanks for the suggestions

MichaelW

English winters are tricky for selecting winter tyres, the conditions vary around freezing every day. I only fit my winter tyres for a Big Freeze.
I bought some cheapo MTB tyres with big, well spaced knobbles and screwed some 3/8" panhead, self-tapping screws through the large knobbles, pointing out to the edge of the contact zone with the pavement, from the inside (20-30 per tyre). Dremel off the point to leave about 3mm and if you want, glue a patch of old inner tube over the panhead.
This costs less than £20/pair and takes about 2hrs labour per tyre.
Grip on slick black ice is excellent. Mine are on their 3rd winter.

They are heavier and less efficient than my usual slick Big Apples so they only get fitted if I really need them. On a heavy frost with occasional black ice, it is always a dilemma what to fit.
If you have spare wheels with winter tyres, the choice is made much easier. I have to use my set of wheels (Front dynamo hub and rear internal gear hub).

The Scotsman

I was watching a youtube clip of how someone made something similar, I have found some schwalbe snowstud tyres for £52 delivered, the only thing that makes me hesitant is the studs falling off as many have said.
Looking at the 5 day forecast it looks as though tomorrow and the next day will be very cold, but after that it is about 6 deg c, so in two minds what to do, it could be a mild winter! wishful thinking.

acidfast7

I'm actually similar issues in Frankfurt.

I'm finding that it varies over the course of a single ride. We had a few days where we had slight snow. In the sunlit area all of the snow melted and it's fine. On overpasses and in shaded areas, not all of the snow melted and there is a thin layer of ice under any fresh snow.

When it's actively snowing, it's a nightmare to know where the ice is.

In addition, I live next to the river in the middle of Frankfurt, where almost nothing accumulates and I ride to work which is in the foothills of the local mountain range.

All it seems that I can do is to avoid biking shoes and I lower my seat so I can very easily touch the ground should I start to slip.

Wish me luck!

The Scotsman

I can imagine where you are it gets a lot colder than in England, i wish it would either be extremely cold for a month or two or mild, having it vary is a nightmare.

acidfast7

it's not that bad. roughly 0C/32F during the day and maybe -5C at night.

i just returned from Stockholm, and there it looks easier ... my friends were vintage road bikes converted to fixed gear with top-clips and studded tires and didn't have a problem on the ice.

Bike Gremlin

A bag of extra studs is around 10 euros. I had about 10 studs fall off the Schwalbe Marathon Winter tyres during the breaking in period (first 40 kilometres ridden on paved roads, without hard braking or accelerating). After that, no problems. A stud might fall out, but it's around 200 studs per tyre, so no real problem. They should last 4-5 years... I hope.

droy45

Try the Nokians. I have never lost any studs on general road riding over ice and snow. If your careful you will never slip or fall with those. They are a little pricey although will last for many seasons especially if your season is short.

jeffpoulin

I've had my pair of Marathon Winter tires for 4 years and they're still going strong after 8000km. I lost 1 stud the first winter due to an emergency stop where I locked the wheel and skidded, but all the other studs are fine. I paid 70 euros for the pair and consider it cheap insurance. They're not just for snow and ice, you can ride on dry or wet roads just fine. The tires drop my average speed about 5-10%, but otherwise ride like other tires (except for the crackling noise, of course). I generally put the tires on in early December and take them off at the end of February.

hilltowner

I'm going into my fourth year with Marathon Winters. No studs lost that I can tell. 18 miles round trip. Where I live they're on the bike from Thanksgiving until Easter. I've been very satisfied. I don't think I've gone through even half their lifespan yet.

The Scotsman

Looks like Marathon winters are the winner! I will look and see what price i can get them for.
Thanks for the feedback, weather crazy here, it was -3 deg c (26 F) this morning, and while it was frosty, there was no bad ice, tomorrow it goes up to 6 deg C, so it is easy to be complacent, but I know we still have Jan and Feb which are usually the coldest.

The Scotsman

Looks like Marathon winters are the winner! I will look and see what price i can get them for.
Thanks for the feedback, weather crazy here, it was -3 deg c (26 F) this morning, and while it was frosty, there was no bad ice, tomorrow it goes up to 6 deg C, so it is easy to be complacent, but I know we still have Jan and Feb which are usually the coldest.
One question though, it is basically a cost exercise:
Do you think i would get away with just buying one for the front and keeping my standard marathons on the back?

agent pombero

Marathon Winters are heavy beasts of burden but do well in the wintery elements. Slippage on the ice is still possible just be careful, bring the PSI down a bit, and have fun riding :-)

The Scotsman

Has anyone tried the Schwalbe Snow stud tires? just wondering if they were any good as the price is a bit cheaper.

droy45

I like the Marathon winters too as they have less rolling resistance than the Nokians. If you will be encountering some snow and ice, or have some sections of off road use on your commute then Nokian is the better choice. If you will be strictly on dry pavement with the occasional black ice or morning freeze from the previous days melt then the Marathons are the better choice.

mikhalit

For the European (North Atlantic) winters with temperatures around 0C i much prefer having tires that are 35+ mm with some good thread AND one extra front wheel with a studded tire permanently sitting there. That way my laziness still allows me to change the wheel every time i am suspicious about black ice since it takes me less than a minute to replace it.

The Scotsman

So would you say that getting a studded front tire is adequate enough to deal with the ice?

mikhalit

Yes, if we are talking about commuting in the area where there are no very lengthy patches of black ice or frozen slush or deep snow that stays there for a while. Otherwise two studded tires are better.

It's no problem for me to keep the balance when the rear wheel slides a bit when i break (i don't really go over 20 km/h if it's snowy/icy), but if the front one does slide then i am very likely to fall (smashed my work laptop to pieces once exactly this way). Low pressure also makes a lot of a difference.

Rear tire i have now is Conti Winter contact (first version), but it's in the condition not really different from their non-winter Top contacts. Slicks in the middle, thread on the sides, somewhat sticky compound. And my wife asked me to install 47mm Marathons, she mentioned that she does not want studded tires, she feels better riding wide and soft tires.

nelson249

I just bought these:

https://www.conti-tyres.co.uk/conticy...ctwinter.shtml. Mine are 28" but they are also available in 26". I picked them up in Canada for C$65 and they run for about 50 quid or so in the UK.

They are no replacement for studs in icy conditions but given the UK climate and that of Southern Ontario they're pretty good all round winter tire.

noglider 

I once fishtailed on ice with a city bus coming up from behind and a hazardous sewer grate ahead of me. I thought for sure I was going down and might also be crushed by the bus. By sheer luck, I didn't fall, but maybe the lesson is that while front wheel traction is most important, rear wheel traction can be just as important in some situations.

If you don't get ice often, it's tough to decide what you should ride. Studded tires might be extreme overkill if you don't end up riding on slippery surfaces often. I rode knobby tires without studs a couple of winters ago, and the squirminess was extremely annoying. Maybe they were just lousy tires or I didn't know how to inflate them, but I'd say there has to be some sacrifice when using winter tires. You just might be best off taking your chances with summer tires.

It's like that here in New Jersey, too. I'm just west of New York City, and the climate is just a touch warmer than the nearby suburbs in New York State. We have occasional winters with large amounts of snow, some winters with none, and a great deal of time with just patches of crap on the road, so there is no easy answer. And this applies to both car and bike tires.

peterw_diy

I like my Marathon Winters but over the first season, despite my best efforts to respect the 40km break-in recommendation, I lost over a half dozen studs. Last week I shopped for replacements. Schwalbe sells them on their site for a ton of money -- a bag of 12 costs nearly $25 USD with shipping. Nokian's replacements are cheaper but nobody had any in stock. So I'm gambling on QBP's relatively new 45Nrth brand. One of my preferred online shops has their carbide studs with aluminum bases (rather than the galvanized steel bases Schwalbe and Nokian use) in stock, and they're only $13 USD for a pack of 25, shipped.

fietsbob

Got 2 Mount andGround W Nokians in 91, still have all their studs,
but of course Iced over days are episodic, here, not quarterly..

Burton

This is definitely a recommended strategy.
Keep in mind that studded tires still have limitations on ice and keep your speed down. One advantage of running with a non-studded rear is that you'll be able to spin the rear in icy conditions - which will be a big heads up to be careful! A studded tire in front will still let you brake effectively and prevent you from slidi g out. I never ride clipped in in the winter myself - platform pedals and Sorel boots.