692 studs - Guess what I'm gonna do today
 

I'm gonna go to home depot, buy some sheering pliers, and cut down every single screw on both tires [692 of em] as low as I can go! I've decided long is not the way to go! I'll let you know how it goes. I don't want to run them long and have them pop inwards in the tire and waste 8 hours of work. thanks for the input everyone

Before:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P1010001.jpg

I'm confused. What are you cutting down? The tyre knobs?

The studs (screws) that he mounted in his tires for snow riding.

Yeah, pics will come

Hey, what happened to your old post with all the long screws sticking out? I wanted to post it on another forum to tease some "old-timers" about studded tires!

A dremel with a cutting wheel would be quick and effortless.

Just an FYI - - a lot of people who do homemade stud jobs use short hex-head sheet metal screws screwed into the knobs from the outside. The hex head has enough sharp corners/edges to give 'bite.' If the screws are too long, the points can be cut off to where they don't protrude (or protrude too much) into the inside of the casing. Then they run a layer or two or three of duct tape inside the tire to protect the tube.

How much would a tire shop charge to install hardened studs?

anywhere from $12-15 per, I believe; but I'm afraid they wouldn't stay put. First of all, even short automotive ones would be too long; and without molded pin holes, you wouldn't have a good uniform hole for the shoulder to hold it in place. [Motorcycle knobbies, on the other hand, have enough meat to drill a decent hole for using the studding gun on (I have one on my IT Yamaha that my friend studded for me).]

PS - -I just looked at Harbor Freight to see if they carry studding guns, but - -darned - -they don't :(

I'm guessing you didn't see the post from yesterday(?). I think the screws were like 1/2" long. I doubt they would've cleared the arch of the fork. That's why he's talking about cutting them down now. I think it's a good move, as the bike probably wouldn't.

I saw the post and the picts (before the thread got "decommissioned"), I just wasn't in the mood to pick at him at the time and tell him he was working backwards. Thought I'd let him know for next time though; even cut down, they'll probably eventually push out inside the casing.

That's how we did motorcycle tires to ride on the ice. They worked fine. A lot less dangerous if you fall right in front of another rider, too. ;)

I almost think it would be less of a hassle to get another box of shorter screws, use a drill/proper bit in reverse to remove the long ones and replace them, rather than cutting each one down. Sounds like a lot of extra hassle to me, anyway.

Good luck!

I've got some homemade studded tires with several seasons on them. They are installed from the inside out and the screws are still fine (no pushing into the casing). The screws only stick out of the tread a bit though.

That sounds like an even better idea, I'll have to try that. Have to go out in the garage and see what I have lying around for tires.

the best liner for screws

is a commuter slick with the bead cut off.

use that as a liner for homemade
studs and you will prob never get a flat

Nah, noooooooo no no no way!! Haha. Took probably 45 mins to cut down all 600-something screws total.

They work awesome. It's fun. They were most definitely too long and now stick out 1/8-1/4 inch.

They sound like crackling ice on dry pavement but work fine, and are long enough at 1/4" so that they can wear down and be useful for a long time. Shwing. I really think these are better than nokians in terms of # of studs & price for my uses. These really dig in when you press the brakes on a couple inches of snow. I can't imagine the nokian studs doing that. Probably only a small difference anyways, though. Of course, I haven't compared nokians to mine, so that's just a guess.

Yeah that's a good idea, if you could find some really short hex head screws, maybe you wouldn't even have to worry about flats. I like that idea, will try it next time, maybe.

Ok so for those who missed it - here is the hilariously long before picture. As you can see that really would have sucked. I was in denial until last night when I realized I didn't want to ruin 8 hours of working on these to screws popping inwards b/c they're too long.

Before:
http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P1010001.jpg



After (Sorry for the crappy pics, but you get the idea):

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u...P1010001-1.jpg

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u...0/P1010002.jpg


I'm sure some would say these are too long, even I think they're a little long, but I don't care too much at this point, they're at my persona maximum length, any longer and it'd suck. I'm just happy now that they aren't so long that they are the only thing touching the ground. The work well, too, which is cool. It will still be interesting to see if/when they pop inwards. I could take turns as I normally do on pavement - fast and hard (obviously not as hard as without studs, but surprisingly hard) without falling. Yay

What's funny is that I didn't just buy a variety of screw sizes to test out, first. Just went with the half inch. Coulda saved 45 mins of bolt cutting if I'd just tested it in advance for the right length. But that's ok, because that's behind me now. Now for the fun. These things are sharp enough to slice my hands up, litterally, after boltcutting them. They'll round out in no time with the amount of pavement they'll see though =)

They look much better. I'm sure they'll work fine.

Thanks for posting the original pic again!

Yeah, apparently going on "flat" trails (not flat, flat - they are woodsy trails with roots/rocks, but "flat" in terms of level plane) is 3x hard in the snow as it is dry. It seems like the only winter biking that is really worth while is

-on ice
-on hard, packed down snow
-downhill (powder would be funnnnn)

I need to find some good downhill trails around here. I dunno where to start looking, maybe asking my LBS. Downhill in the powder seems like so much fun. Only problem is getting to the top of the hill..

nope, i have used auto studs in the past and they worked super great! they never pulled out or pushed in and they were appropriate length. you ought to try them if you don't mind a little work...do-it-yourself type work

the ones i have used are called BonGrip crampons. they came in a yellowish box. made in france. they had a flange at one end and small carbide stud on the other. you put them into the bike tire from the inside after drilling a hole through the tire into a block of wood. you'll want to use a drill bit around half the diameter of the stud shaft.

then use pliers to grasp the flange end of stud and push through from the inside. i did a quick search and couldn't find those studs i used. i bought them a long time ago before the internet was prevalent. maybe company doesn't exist now. but i am sure any auto store would have a similar product. they were made for car tires.

http://204.71.140.50/images/tires/ti...studs_pile.jpg

Cool^

FYI - you probably could have used roughly 1/2 to 1/3 the amount of studs.

I dunno, I wanted to do as many studs as possible, thinking it would lead to increased traction. Maybe I was right, maybe not. I don't care about riding them on pavement, I don't mind it.

I'm wondering how the car studs would work. With the screws, you have the threads holding them in place.
With the studs, all you have to hold them, it seems, is the pressure that the rubber squeezes them with, and then, your silicone lining on the inside of the tire. I don't understand how they wouldn't pop back into the tire, seeing as they don't have threads