Portis

Even though i said i wouldn't do it, i just pulled the trigger on a pair of Nokian Extreme 294's. I currently have Nokian Mount and Ground's which i have fallen out of love with. This will be my third set of studded tires in the last few years so I am going to quickly become an expert or a broke vegetable.

Gojohnnygo.

Welcome to the club!

sknhgy 

I will be waiting for a report.

Hawseman

And if the 294's don't fit the bill, you could pick up some Freddies (336 ice crackin' studs per tire)

maximushq2

They are excellent tires. I just started using them this year and they have gotten me over some rough stuff. The roads were a mix today with ice patches all over, snow, slush, but the 294's kept me upright and moving forward.

royalflash

keep the M & Gs for the basically clear days where there might just be the danger of running into the occasional patch of ice

Portis

That's what i am thinking. The M and G's have been pretty nice here lately when things have started to melt and improve. The rolling resistance is pretty minimal i suspect compared to the 294's and probably quite likely the m and g's are suitable for most conditions around here most days.

Ken Cox

Over the past 4 years I have ridden Innova's, Nokian 106's, Nokian 240's, and now Nokian 294's.

Surprisingly, and subjectively, the 294's seem to have the least rolling resistance.

However, they have a huge amount of inertia, which makes itself felt when accelerating.

Tonight as I rode home I encountered some just-frozen rutted slush.

The 294's didn't climb the sides of the ruts as well as I had hoped, but I never had the feeling they would go out from underneath me, as long as I kept riding.

The 294's represent as much of an improvement over the 240's as the 240's represented an improvement over the 106's, with the exception of the rolling resistance and inertia.

The 294's have less rolling resistance and significantly more inertia.

BearSquirrel

If the 294s don't stick to it ... virtually nothing will. The issue isn't the studs, it's the width. 294s are advertised as 2.1" tires, but they're really closer to 1.9". For snow you want to have the widest tire available. Now who does snow but never sees ice ... and vice versa?

BearSquirrel

The 294s have a larger diameter than the 240. This changes the effective gearing ratio. This is likely what you are feeling.

Ken Cox

On this bike, I switched from Schwalbe 2.35" Big Apple's to the Nokian 294's, so I actually went down in diameter.

The Nokians simply weigh 900+ grams and this represents inertia.

I ride a fixed gear bike, and so I might have more sensitivity to inertia than someone riding a geared bike.

The 294's, in my humble opinion, have remarkably low rolling resistance for a knobby studded tire, but they have the inertia one would expect from a 900+ gram tire.

Portis

Took my maiden voyage on the Nokian 294's today, and I must say that i am pleased. Last night we had 4" of snow and so out I went this morning. There may have been some negligible ice under the snow but for the most part it was just snow.

And man these things are a MAJOR improvement over the Mount and Ground's in snow. Going was slow of course in 4" of snow but it was fun and i felt in control the entire time. The tires chewed through the snow better than anything I have ever used.

Gojohnnygo.

Nice pic! Save that pic for future studded tire wear comparison. So we can see how well they hold up and believe me they do hold up with some wear on the center studs. Its been 3 plus years on my set of 294s.

Carl26

Nice Portis! I recently bought a pair if Extreme 294's as well.
They are slow and loud when I hit a clear patch, but they really
dig in to the ice and packed snow. I never new icebiking could be so much fun.
I usually ride on paths that aren't cleared. The hardest part is riding over people's
frozen footsteps. Its a bumpy ride.

By the way your pic is too big, it's stretching the whole page out.

Hawseman

Correct, and the Freddies are closer to the 2.1 sizing, though they are stickered as 2.3's. More studs AND more meat.

MUDDY88YJ

Where can i order the Nokian 294's from thanks for the help

Portis

www.bikeman.com

Carl26

That's where I got mine. Fast shipping even though they are up in the Northeast somewhere.

MUDDY88YJ

Thanks for the help but what tire would people recomend that dosen't cost more than a car tire.

rbrsddn

Bottom line, you gotta pay if you want to play. Buy cheap ones, you pay more in the long run.