First Experience on Nokian Studded Tires
 

Well it snowed in Washington DC on Wednesday, so that I knew that my commute would be icy. My commute is 18 miles each way, with most of it on a bike path, which never gets plowed. The bike path was a combination of bare pavement, packed snow and ice. I am using the 700c Hakkapeliitta W106 35mm on my Lemond Propad.

All I can say is that the Nokian Studded Tires are a great product and made riding on ice quite fun.

I never felt out of control on the ice and just had to be extra careful going around corners. Going in and out ruts was a little bit harder. Another benefit of using these tires on ice, is that you will become a much better bike handler.

I have been considering studded tires as well, but, did you have to ride on bare pavement? For me it seems that morning snow is very often runoff by evening. That runoff may well be ice, but how do they handle on iceless, snowless surface? Glad you found a new addition to your bike arsenal.

I took the Metro to work today, and noticed the Mount Vernon trail looked quite icy (the Metro passes over it at one point). I'm thinking about those Nokians. Thanks for the review.

This week was also my first use of my Nokian 106s too (I'm also in the DC area). They handled snow, ice, and bare pavement (going home) like a champ. More rolling resistance - especially on the bare pavement - than regular tires but that's to be expected.

On bare pavement do not expect to go the same speed with studded tires as you would with non studded tires. Also one can not dive into corners on bare bavement as the studs make the bike handle a little squirrly in corners. Overall, riding on ice etc added about 15-20% time to my commute.

I just tried to put mine on this morning but they hit my fenders. I had already built up one of the wheels (not trued yet thank god) for a new wheelset. Now today I get to return the rims and hubs of the 2nd wheelset and the new nokians. I think I'm just going to get some Nokians for my mountain bike so I can get some decent exercise this winter. And if I need to commute anywhere when it is really icy I'll use my mtn bike. Damn I hate clearnance problems!

I have an order in fo rthe Nokian Mount and Ground for my 'nasty weather' ride.

Exactly !! Put some Nokian Extreme 296's on the mtb and just leave them all winter. Have one bike for the ice and snow and one for the clear pavement. It's a lot less work when you get all set up. Check the weather and pick your bike. :) :) :)

Glad to hear it ! Wait until you try a lake or an ice rink!!!
Post some pictures if you can.

Here is my unplowed bike path ride yesterday. About 20 miles overall. Nokian Extreme 296's . :)

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/dad029...LdyZCBkzKrc__c

No one around stocks these tires, are there many bad clearance issues? I am planning on building up a "salt" bike. but I would still run Freddy fenders. Is there a huge height dif with the studs? where was the clearance issue? near the BB or just the fender itself? thanks you all for your info.

2many thanks for the pics, is that your commute? that is gorgeous. Where in NE is that?

I am running SKS45 fenders and do not have a clearance problem with the 35mm 106s.

2many, nice pics, are the pictures from the Amherst, Ma. area?

For pictures and information about the tires and a source check the ICEBIKE web sight. The tires were avaliable on line from All Weather Sports in Alaska, just google them, you can get the tires on line.

The clearance thing is a tough one. It depends on the individual bike, the exact fenders, and the exact model tires. It may be hard to do that without seeing the bike. I think the Nokian 296 tires will fit on just about any Mountain bike. Regular full coverage Freddy fenders will be too close I think. You don't want full coverage fenders that are close to the tires anyway, they will clog. To really do this nice, either live without fenders (I REALLY don't recommend it) or make your own high clearance fenders. I already have fender photos on the computer for someone else, here they are.

I made motocross type fenders starting with a Topeak DeFender front fender and adding pieces.

This was on The East Bay Bike Path from Providence Rhode Island to Bristol Rhode Island. 14.2 miles one way.

Oops. I had to edit my post, this is the sight for the "Ocean State Bike Path Association" there are lot of photos of the path in warm weather (links to photos).

http://members.cox.net/osbpa/

Nashbar has their studded ATB tires 26X1.95 on sale now for 34.95.
700X35 for 19.95.
Enjoy

Another convert! Welcome. ;)

Question for long-term Nokian users: How long do you think the studs will hold up on dry pavement? Sometimes my rides take me on long stretches of clear pavement so I was curious about that. I hear the Nokian studs are much more durable. True?

(I have studded tires, but not Nokian. I didn't want to spend the money and realize I didn't like riding in the winter. Mistake on my part!)

vtjim, I have a friend who has commutted on a set of Nokians for 3 seasons (bare pavement and snow/ice combination) and he feels that he should be able to get through a 4th season without replacing them. His commute is 18 miles each way. Remember these are carbide studs and not steel.

It does sound like you read my post about inexpensive $50 steel studded tires lasting one year, and my Nokians Tungsten carbide studs now on year four. I did go out of my way not to ride either on the pavement very much. Say good bye to steel studs on pavement if you do much of it.

I did as little as possible except for a couple of 30 mile rides on the Nokians. The Nokian studs are not wearing down much. They are slowly going into the tire, I think the rubber underneath is wearing. So far no changes in handling. Eventually I will be switching the middle studs with the outer studs, as they don't wear on the outside that I can even see. I will probably build up the back of the stud when I put them back with a few thousands of something to keep the stud out about .010 more of the hole.
I don't have a computer on my ice bike so I don't have a record of how far I have been. All I can say is not much on pavement. A typical ride is only about 1/2 mile to get to the snow or ice I ride about twice a week from ? December To March? not all this time is snow or ice, I may ride another bike when the pavement is clean.

Another place to get them: http://harriscyclery.net/site/page.c...tion=stud+tire

I got my Nokian H106s from them - good price, good service.

I got mine from www.peterwhitecycles.com

They work peachy fine. I just put them on when I think that the weather warrants it, then leave them until it's time to switch to my road bike.

I love my Nokians. They have reduced the incidence of buttock to pavement to 0 during winter riding. Before I had them mounted, I would have an average of one slide/year due to snow/ice issues on my commute.

One thing however...be careful with the idea of only using one tire. When it's really icy, you need two. Found *this* out shortly before I passed about 300 cars on the way to work (after crashing out) since it was so icy. One isn't enough sometimes.

Enjoy the cold,
Tom
Flawil, Switzerland

P.S. The tires I've got on currently are three seasons old. Most of the riding I do is on non icy/non snowy pavement. I've lost two studs. That's it. EXCELLENT quality, and well worth the cost.

Nokians -- don't leave home without them! Wednesday in DC was one of those great days with most of the cagers hoplessly mired.

Paul

I went out yesterday WITHOUT Nokians and have a BLACK and BLUE mark all down my left side....came home and called every local bike shop for studded tires. Not one had them but said they could order them for me and I would have them in 1 - 2 weeks... So, I went to PeterWhiteCycles.com and called (Peter answered the phone). Took 5 minutes and I purchased the Nokian Extremes for (181.50 w/shipping) and I'll have my Tires by Tuesday. :) Great timing because we're expecting 12 inches of snow this weekend!!!

I don't think bike shops stock studded tires because there's not enough of those "you're nuts" kinds of bicyclists around!

So far I've commuted 159 miles for the month of Jan. thanks to studded tires. If not for those tires I would maybe have a quarter of that.

I'll warrant that handling the ice without the use of these tires will improve your handling skill even more ;)

And boost your medical bills....my left side is black and blue as proof of that...:)

Thanks for your responses, I believed that the studs on pavement would be like slicks on ice, not sure why I thought that. One last bit, are any of you running studded tires on a road/cross bike? 700c? that is what I would be attempting.

Lastly, do they sing? Do they make a cool sound on pavement when you really stretch it out? (I won't be dissapointed if they don't) Thanks again for your insights.