FIRST COMMUTE ON SCHWALBE STUDDED SNOW TIRES
Forecast for today looked like it would be well below freezing this morning so I mounted up the new 700 X 35 Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires I'd picked up about a month ago. There's been patchy ice up around Glen Rock off and on for the past week so I thought it best just to get on with it and ride 'em.
True to the forecast it was 18 F when I pulled out of the driveway. However with all them studs I now fear no ice! The rolling resistance is another story. Seems like I have to run about 1 gear lower than normal in most places just to maintain forward motion! Reminds me a lot of the $79 Wal Mart bike I bought when I was working in Arizona a couple of weeks ago. Only ran over a few patches of ice on the way in today and to tell you the truth I think it could have been 100% ice cover and wouldn't have made a lot of difference.
Anybody have any experience in how much mileage I can expect to get out of a tire like this without wearing the studs to nubs?
Thanks, Andy