elmatto

I am looking at a 'be all' bike for a multi-mode commute (5 miles via bike path) and the occasional longer ride. Whatever I get I need to use throughout the year- even in the middle of winter

The Season Tikit looks perfect- except I cant get studded tires in winter for it. Typically there will be about 1-2 months of icy weather and the bike path does not get any ice or plowing. There is not much snow, just the ice but it gets pretty slippery

So, for all of you who have a Tikit- how does it handle in the ice? I thinking the smaller wheels and lower center of gravity might help a bit but interested in real life experiences

The only other option is to get a stock/singlespeed Tikit, and then use the difference in price to get a winter beater for the winter. Lock it at the station and hope it is there when I get back!

Thanks

GTALuigi

i used a Dahon Mu SL for the year just like that.
20" with spike (Marathon Winter) tires are as good for winter as any 26" or 700c bikes

which was great, now that trained me well to do the full 45Km (1 way) on my own.
i used to take a mix of bike + train + bike
but i wanted to kill the public transit portion as it was always unreliable, slow, and it was simply a PITA.
so this year i gathered up my balls to do the full ride on my own
and very proud of it, now that it's been 3 month after 90Km a day doesn't seems like that far anymore

wahoonc

I assume the Tikit has the 16" wheels? I know Schwalbe makes 20" tires with studs. You could make your own studded tires, we used to do it with our rally car tires way back when. I seem to recall a buddy of mine putting sheet metal screws thru the tread of the tire from the inside and running Mr Tuffy tire liners But they were damned effective and relatively cheap.

Aaron

Lalato

Yeah... the only studded tire you'll find in 16" is one you make yourself. If that seems like a crazy idea, then it might be best to go with a 20" bike and get the Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires.

Good luck on your search!

elmatto

Thanks folks:

GTA= thats so cool, 90km a day! Would love to make the trip the whole way but lets just start small first! I actually like the look of the MU XL Sport cos of the internal gears (+ you can get the 2008 model for about $800. SL is pretty good though).

Wahoonc/Lalato= Yes the tikit comes with 16inch wheels only (349). I was thinking of making my own studded tires following the directions in the winter cycle forum, I noticed you could get replacement studs from some of the tire companies so was thinking of playing around with that as the starting point.

If only there was one bike that had it all- 16 inch wheels, small fold, great fold and smooth ride, internal gears & disk brakes for winter, studded tires.....and cheap as well!

Lalato

That would be quite a folder!

If you're up to making your own studded tires, I don't see why it shouldn't work. You'll just need to find some decent knobby 349 tires... and go from there.

The Mu SL is a nice bike. In fact, Dahon makes a number of good bikes that would be worth a look. Since you might be going with a 20" bike, it might also be worthwhile to check out other makers like Downtube.

--sam

badmother

I made both studded tires and chains for my 20" bikes this winter, no problem making for 16" also. I think I like the chains best, especially if you are going to fold the bike and take it inside a car, bus or similar. Chains can be used on your regular tires, no need to look for the knobby ones. Look in the Winter forums, there is a sticky for homemade studded.

I think the only problem with folders in the winter is if there is deep snow. That is no fun!