pomor

Got these same ones about 2 weeks ago, and they perform well.

scoatw

OK I have to ask. What brand of pedals are those ?

irclean

To be honest, I can't remember. It was printed on the box and was not any company that I'd ever heard of before. The LBS owner who sold them to me told me that they were made by Wellgo. No manufacturer or distributor names are stamped into the pedal body, however, which is why (according to him) he was able to sell them to me for half of the price of the brand-name pedals. So far they have performed flawlessly. Sealed bearings are definitely the way to go.

irclean

Ok, so we got a real dumping over the last couple of days. I decided to lower the pressure in my Marathon Winters and take them for a ride. My 700x35 tires are rated from 35 - 85 psi so I lowered them to 35 psi which made me a little nervous since I am a Clydesdale at 300 lbs. I was scared of a possible pinch flat but when I mounted the bike I noticed no appreciable flattening of the contact area. The first thing I noticed was that when I tried to ride through deep snow that had been compacted by passing cars the front wheel tended to plow and I felt as though a crash was inevitable. It was especially noticeable when I was going around corners where snow seemed to be collected or in front of driveways where people had piled snow from their snowblowers. I tried to follow wheel ruts and found that if I could stay on track I was fine but if I ventured into the deeper snow I started to plow again. Surprisingly, riding through virgin, unplowed snow up to 15cm (6 inches) deep seemed to pose no problem at all. I'm sure that will change once that snow becomes compacted. On well plowed streets the bike handled fine but the whole ride felt like a workout; I was forced to be constantly vigilant and wary of any piles of compacted snow. At first I tried keeping my weight over the front wheel but that seemed to make the plowing worse. I then tried shifting my weight rearward whenever I started plowing and tried powering my way out of the slide. This seemed to work; it was almost like experiencing oversteer in a car and steering into the skid. My riding skills will definitely be improved by the end of the winter. One thing the tires did great was getting me out of a jam that almost definitely would have spelled disaster with unstudded tires; I drifted over to the right side of the road and ended up in some icy ruts. I was able to power out of them with no difficulty at all. Overall the ride was a success. I had to dismount 3 or 4 times out of fear of falling but I think that will improve with practice. Here are some pics that illustrate the amount of snow that I had to deal with:

PS. Sorry for the long monologue.

pomor

I have also had these same tires since early December, and my experiences are similar to yours. Several times I felt like my front tire was going to skid and I would lose control, however, I noticed if I maintain moderate speed when going over ice, gripping the handlebar really steady I didn't slide at all. I noticed also I had a harder time on packed, several days old snow rather than on freshly fallen snow. I am in central Indiana, and we have had above average snow for December so far, but most streets I ride get plowed right away, and they salt here like you wouldn't believe, so I am actually waiting for a good 3-4 inches of unplowed streets to really test out my setup

irclean

Today, now that the roads are well plowed and well travelled, the tires are gripping just fine. BTW, what is attached to the spokes of your front wheel?

pomor

A toy, really, but a fun one: https://www.monkeylectric.com/

tjspiel

Just my take on this. Though I think it might be possible to find gear and develop techniques that would get me through just about anything we typically get in this part of the world, it gets to be a case of diminishing returns. Last year I missed two days of riding due to snow. It wasn't a particularly snowy year but I have some better tires this year.

I figure from a tire standpoint in a typical winter I'll end up having to leave the bike at home or work maybe 2 to 4 times a winter. That's something I can live with as I have a cheap and reliable backup in the form of light rail. To get me through the worst I'd need something with a double width rim and an extra wide studded tire. Even if I were to have something like that it would probably take over an hour to get to work in really bad weather and it would be exhausting. I intentionally live close to work to avoid hour+ commutes. I can run to work in that amount of time.

irclean

It's hard to argue with your logic. I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that there will be days when commuting by bike will not only be difficult - it will be downright dangerous. On those days I will likely be forced to choose alternate forms of transportation, or to just stay home.

rumrunn6

it snowed today and I rode. we got about 3". I did my work commute. 26 miles round trip. it took twice as long as usual going in but I got home close to my regular time. on the way down I was nervous and took mostly sidewalks in unplowed snow with low tires - incredibly slow. getting on the road with low tires was weird. after resting in a dunkin donuts for an hour to get the feeling back in my feet - I pumped my tires harder and took the paved roadway - cars be dammed - I just couldn't tolerate two more slow hours. the drivers were courteous.

y0urm0msname

You could always get this kit: https://www.ktrakcycle.com/

irclean

I've seen a video of those being used. Looks like fun!

asphalt junkie

I bought a pair of Kenda Klondikes about a month ago. I don't see much written about them here or elsewhere, but so far I'm pleased with them. Wanted a pair of Nokian 106s but couldn't get them quickly ... nobody in town had them in stock. Also considered the Schwalb Marathon Winters but found too pricey. The Klondikes were available at my LBS and the price was a bit better. They are designed about the same as the 106s, with carbide studs running on either side of the centerline but not on the upper sides. They've got a pretty good tread, like the 106s, which increases effectiveness in snow but also rolling resistance. I wanted a winter tire for riding primarily on plowed roads, and as always was very price sensitive. I figure I'll be driving on heavy snow days, though I'm curious to give the new tires a try next time there are a few inches of fresh.

Two advantages I can see of these tires over the 106s. They come in a 40mm width, which is just right for me. Couldn't fit the 45s under my fenders but 35 seemed too slender for snow. And the max psi is 85, which is 20 more than the 106s according to another post.

I keep these babies pumped up to max psi all the time but I'll probably experiment with lower pressure in fresh snow. Low pressure usually drives me crazy. So far, after a month of mainly riding on pavement with maybe three days on slush, patch ice and fresh hardpack (today) I'm happy keeping them pumped up. They've slid around a few times but usually under conditions in which I know I'm pushing them to their limits. I still slow down while cornering and going through piles of loose snow, etc.

Arcanum

I have the Kenda Klondikes in 700x40 as well. I run them at 65 psi and they work well. The only problems I've encountered have come from trying to do turns at speed (bad idea), and going over stuff that shifts under the tires: rough ice ridges/chunks under powder, and the wet-sand-like mush you get in some places. On ice and hard pack I feel more secure and stable on my bicycle than on foot.

youthcom

I read alot of praise on winter cycling & studded tires here, but I rarely ever hear ppl talk about this. Another term for it is fishtailing & it tires the heck out of me trying to stay upright through vehicle tire track compacted snow & slush/snow (chocolate mousse). Do you other winter cyclist just not experience this or avoid those conditions. Or is there a tire that is also good for this stuff. I run 26x2.0 & 2.1 Nokian M&G 160 in back & Continental 240 Studded tire up front. I'm thinking the only tires that would really work in these conditions would be at least 4" wide because 2" doesn't really float for me.

asphalt junkie

Yeah, I guess you get what you pay for. I bought the tires for mainly hardpack and ice, and they're dandy. Last night and this morning I had a few slips that made me realize things get iffy real quick when you get into various kinds of crud, so I'll have to be careful. This morning I was turning a 90-degree corner on bike path and went thru a 3" pile of dry snow. Front tire slid and I put my foot out ready to lose it but then it stabilized. How do the tires handle fresh powder?

Arcanum

They go right through fresh powder with no problem. No problems as long as there's not something nasty underneath.

To be fair, I'm not sure any tires would handle the crud well. The problem is you ride up on it some, then it shifts under you. Similar for turns at speed: I've heard people with other studded tires comment on needing slow careful turns as well.

tjspiel

It's discussed here from time to time. The problem is that when snow is driven over that part of it becomes compacted enough that your tire is not going to dig down through it. On top of that is a layer of loose snow. Even if your tires get some grab on that loose snow, that snow is just floating on a compacted layer which is also slippery so your tires are going to slide whichever way that top layer of snow slides. I don't know if a wider tire really helps because guess what? My car does the exact same thing when it hits that stuff if there's enough of it.

On a car it's kind of fun as long as you're going slow enough. On a bike you have worry about losing your balance.

I've actually thought a narrower tire might be better since it's more likely to penetrate that loose layer. It all depends on how deep that loose layer is and digging in isn't always conducive to keeping your balance either.

I've tried few different types of studded tires with different tread patterns and different widths over the years. Some seam to do a better job with some of the crud but may not be as good on a different type of crud. It's always a challenge.

WMBIGS

I've been on a pair of Nokian W240's for about 6 weeks now. It snowed about 6" and was cold. The snow packed down on the side streets real hard. Tires were perfect for this. Then we got an ice storm(rarely get those) and it left about 1/2" of ice on everything. Then it got cold again, zero F and below. Then we got about 3" of super light powder on the ice and then I went down hard. It's been two weeks since then, knee starting to feel better. Last ten days have melted most of the snow and ice. I went down three times in that period. Got a little paranoid about doing some real damage to myself.

rumrunn6

powder on ice? that's a lethal combination. thanks for posting that! today we got 3-4" of wet snow and it sounds like it's sleeting a little. if I wwre riding today it would be on the MTB studs for sure. not sure about tomorrow.