BarracksSi

I've figured that, if it's snowy and icy, I'll just walk -- I don't live that far from work.

However, we had an extra-icy-and-slushy morning not too long ago where even the pedestrians were walking in the street. I started to walk, got one house down, and said, "F this, I'm gonna bike it." I rode out where the cars were driving and keeping the slush from freezing.

As I was rolling out, a woman walking on her way to work said, "It's awfully icy out, I don't think I'd ride a bike!" I replied, as long as I ride in the street I'll be fine. And, yup, I was.

apricissimus 

See, that's what I normally do as well. The time I fell though, the entire right lane was coated in ice (which is unusual). I thought I could make it if I was just careful and didn't make any sudden moves. I was wrong. People keep talking about how sudden a fall like that is, and they're right. Before you even realize what happened, you're on the ground.

buzzman

I do some occasional volunteer work with Charles River Conservancy. Next time I'm with them I'm going to suggest we grab some shovels and see if we can get the drainage around that corner a little better. You're right even in the summer that corner is deadly.

I ride both a streets route- Brighton Ave/Comm Ave or the bike path along the Charles. Primarily the studs are a necessity for the bike path. There's just tons of spots on my ride where the black ice or built up ice or packed snow that turns to ice are almost impossible to negotiate without studs. But they can be a life saver on the road too.

I've ridden lots of winters and just kind of lived with the fact that I would fall once in a while. But really sometimes I'd just slam to the ground and smash my wrist or my knee or my hip or something that took me off the bike for a week or two. I kind of took it as part of winter riding. And maybe it's like pregnancy they say no woman would ever do it twice if she really remembered all the pain of the first birth. By the time winter has come and gone and come back again I'd forget how hurt I'd gotten the year before.

But really it takes just one really bad fall to make them worth it.

FredOak

My route is too traffic intensive to risk myself because of my tires.
And what's the point of riding if I have to be so slow and careful because the tires aren't suited to the road conditions to the point where I could walk faster.

It comes down to knowing your equipment and it's limitations. If the Marathon's don't perform the way I want in certain conditions then I'll not ride on them.

They are great for what they are designed for, but aren't up to some of the conditions I have to ride in. In the mean time I'll finish out the season with them and I'll look for something else next year.

metal_cowboy

Peter is a smart guy. I would rank his sensibility up there with Sheldon, Grant, Tom Ritchey, Joe Breeze and all the other iconic minds who are not influenced by hype, hyperbole, and mass-marketing BS.

PaulRivers

The difference between my situation and other's is probably that I don't have to ride on the street - I have bike paths almost the entire way between home and work.

In my case, I agree that the Schwalbe's are rather lacking in grip in snow, but I find I can bike fine if I just go slower (though I haven't done that much snow biking with them). Nothing I've read suggests that there's really any tires that lets you bike as well in snow as you do in the summer - the Nokian 106's are a little better but still have a lot of trouble in snow, the 240's are better, and the extreme's are as good as you can get but still not perfect, and roll like you're driving a tractor. The more snow grip the tire has, the slower it goes, and it still never reaches that 100% perfect point.

I figure the Schwable Marathon Winter's let me go faster when the path is cleared (plus our paths are plowed - pretty cool :-)) and when it's really snowy a grippier tire would be slower anyways. I guess what I'm saying is that either way I'd have to go slow, but with the Schwalbe's I can also go fast when the conditions are good rather than going slower all the time.

buzzman

So I now have two days of experience with my Schwalbe Marathon Winter 26x 1.75 on my rear wheel, which I just mounted after riding a week with a studded Nokian 1.9 on the front and regular 1.5 Michelin on the rear.

I'm a bit bummed. The first problem is my Novara Buzz bike doesn't have better chainstay clearance for a little wider tire. My Nokian 1.9 barely cleared the chain stays ( I actually trimmed the knobs on the side with a razor knife to make them fit). I liked them so much I put up with occasional rubbing when the wheel was not centered perfectly or was slightly out of true. But finally the rear one wore out (after 3 seasons) and so I went with Schwalbe because they offered a 1.75. Well, it came on Monday and I hurriedly mounted it (mounted beautifully BTW) and it looked like a great tire, well made and I love the reflective sidewall. But I put it on the bike and the 1.75 is just as bad a fit as the 1.9- rubbing the chain stays on both sides. And another design flaw on my Buzz is the vertical drop outs- (why- on a commuter?) so I can't pull the wheel back at all, which would solve the problem.

So I'm so bummed but I trued the wheel to perfection and centered it so there is only the slightest of rub and decide I'll ride it anyway. By the time I get 1/2 way to work the tire has slightly started to favor the non-drive side and is rubbing so bad it's like riding a 6 percent grade all the way to work- I could barely manage 12 mph.

I take a few minutes at work re-center the wheel for the ride home. It was considerably better centered but I decide to take the bike path- and the performance of the Schwalbe does not compare to the Nokian in the snow. On ice, black ice, glare ice, sheer ice it's very good to excellent but snow, some slush, anything more than an inch of snow or crunchy knobbly snow and I was sliding- bummed again!

I think next year I'm setting up an old mountain bike with good chain stay clearance as my winter bike. I'll ride the Schwalbe (probably on the front) till it wears out but I'll stick with the Nokians for next time. I thought I wanted the Schwalbe for a little more speed on the road but really I just want a tank in the winter.

GearsForFears

This is a chant at University of Wisconsin hockey games when opposing players pratfall. "Ice is slippery! Ice is slippery!"

bkbrouwer

Nokian W106's.

Icey/snowy conditions.....50-55psi
(mostly) clear.................60-65psi
Clear sailing (ride home)...70psi (5psi above max)

noglider 

Wow, I didn't know so many people ride in ice and snow. Maybe I'll try it next winter. I expect the last snowfall to melt away soon here.

I might try studding my own tires to save money. I'm thinking of running sheet metal screws from the inside, through the knobs. I realize this will shred a tire fairly quickly, but I have a lot of spare knobby tires. I should probably put some Mr Tuffy strips between the tire and tube so the heads of the screws don't shred the tubes. Has anyone done this?

Jim from Boston

See this sticky from the Winter Cycling Forum, "Making your own studded tyres [sic]":

https://www.bikeforums.net/winter-cycling/494562-making-your-own-studded-tyres.html

mthomas

Hey. I've got a shovel. If you do get something set up with the Conservancy please let me know - I'd be happy to pitch in.

PaulRivers

fyi, though - if you're doing any riding on regular road (like the typical city riding consisting of part snow covered road/path and part open road/path) your custom studs will get ground down within a season. Part of the reason those expensive studded tires are so expensive is that they use carbide studs - studs that are so tough they will outlast the tire lifespan even when ridden mostly on clear road. The issue isn't just about durability either, if the studs wear down and you don't notice one day you expect them to grip the ice, and they just don't...

Uh, sorry, it's late so that probably sounds worse than I meant it to be. :-) Just wanted to be helpful/informative!

buzzman

here's the latest email I've received regarding their next Open Volunteer Day. (You can also check with Mass Bike about co-sponsored events with CRC. I'll look for you out there!