Talking to the winter riders around here, they say more studs make mo' bettah.

I have my eye on the 240 stud 40cm 700c Nokians to replace my 106 stud Nokians.
No one has ridden on those, here, but they have ridden on the 294 stud Nokians, which only confuses the issue, because the 294's have considerably more width as well as more studs.
Kinda like apples and pears.
They think I'll see an improvement over my 106's.

I asked the question because I've read many times of this forum that studs don't do much on snow. My experience tells me the same. While I haven't had enough experience to know the full effects of tire width and tire pressure, I can say that it logically makes the most sense in terms of a way to get better traction in snow. Studs rock for packed snow and ice though.

Well, on any given ride, here, I see everything from bare pavement to white ice, to black ice, to graded and packed snow, to fluffy/crunchy/mushy snow, to freshly fallen powder; all on one ride.

On my one real snow ride this year, I saw all of the same as your description. It seems the only way to deal with conditions like that are to run tires for the worst conditions.

Yeah started first season of winter ridin' and the last month has been a total mix of everything you listed off above. The snow had basically disappeared and left compacted snow/ice all over. Challenging to ride over at times. Was dark this am and rounded a curve slowing down pulled too hard on the front brake and woosh! No studs no stand up!
Was able to recover quickly and w/o any bruises but its time to try these studs out everyones talkin' about. It seems not worth waiting for a complete snowpack. Just get the studs on NOW!

OC

A great place to go for a ride with studded tires......

threw on a pair IRC "Blizzard" studs... had fun this morning... wooohooooo

Snowing and Loving it here! Course when I go to work this next week, I might throw the Conti Town & Country's back on. Not sure yet. I hit some wet pavement today and was looking for the deep stuff offroad. The Studs do make it more stable, but not sure how long I will keep them on. I am still trying to make another wheel set, to just be able to swap out the studs/slicks.

some great pics there 2manybikes! I like being the first on fresh snow, then come back and see others have traveled my path... I always think to myself, "hee hee...beat cha to it!"

I live in Sweden and just changed tires for the winter season, yes, the Nokian Hakkapelitta 106 tires give a great grip on those ice slicks that might otherwise send you into the ground. Don't know how much safer it actually is but - for sure a whole lot safer than my kevlar slicks.

yeah, Bend's quite intense during winter, isn't it! Hats off to you for commuting year-round!


Have you tried the Nokian 700c 240-stud tires yet? Do you know how they compare to the 106? The weather here in Portland has gotten pretty bad so it looks like I'm gonna have to get those studded tires after all. From where did you order them btw?

I rode the Nokian 240's (40cm) to work for the first time this morning on mixed bare pavement and ice, and then we had a significant snowstorm all day long and I rode home tonight on fresh snow, compacted snow, churned snow and every form of ice imagineable.
What a difference from the 106's.
I never had a moment of doubt about my ability to stay upright.
The 106's do well on ice, but not so well on compressible snow.
In 13.5 miles of snow and ice with the 240's I had to put my foot down only once.
I suppose the 240's present a slight increase in rolling resistance over the 106's, but I didn't notice it.
But then, I haven't ridden the 240's on completely bare pavement yet.

I had two interesting experiences on the way home.
Some kids in a SUV passed and spit on me and called me names, and a nice lady stopped in her big pickup and offered me a ride.
I said "thanks, but I do it for a hobby."
She laughed.

Anyway, I could have done the ride on my old 106's, and I have in the past, but I felt a lot safer on the 240's.

I ordered the 240's from Peter White.
If you can't get the 240's, the Nokian 106's do a great job.
From my college days in Portland, I only remember a few times I would have needed the 240's over the 106's.
But then, Portland has some nasty winters now and then...

Me too. But I'm not always the first one.

what a great thread!!!
i too am from winnipeg and i am trying to decdie which tires to purchse....
Nokians for sure, but which ones?
it's a toss up between using 2x294's or 2x120's (or maybe 1x294 on the front and 1x120 on the back?.. 'cept there isn't as much of a price diff between the 2, so i might as well spend the little extra and get the 294's....plus, the 120's on ebay are showing to be heavier than the 294's?).... the 120's have similar tread pattern as the 294's but no studs down the middle.....

anyways, i would like to hear how Moki made out wiht the new tires on winnipeg streets.... any one else have a comment?

thanks
jimmi

Anyone know where I can get the Nokian 240 700cc (29")? Peter White is out of stock until next year!

I run Nokian 106's from first real snowfall until late March or so. The studs do touch the pavement a bit even when riding straight, but I want that because several miles of my ride is over gravel, which is actually hard packed snow much of the time, and it's hilly so I need climbing traction. I rode it one time without the studs and I had to walk up a few hills.
The studs are also nice for climbing out of ruts. The 106's aren't very aggressive for this, but they're a good compromise for those of us riding mostly on pavement, just trying to keep it upright.

I've put a few more weeks on the Nokians (294 and WXC300), and it confirmed my impression that they don't quite grab the ice as hard as the Ice Spikers that I used last year. The traction is certainly serviceable, but on the bike trail and hydro corridor sections of my commute, where I am riding on glazed-over footprints, I can feel a bit more lateral movement of the tires. Maybe it would help if I used my FS bike to reduce the bouncing of the wheels, but changing tires over is a pain and that bike is a beast on the road as it is.

On the other hand, knowing the the Nokian studs are carbide rather than steel means that I now can listen to them clattering on pavement without worrying that I am grinding them down to stumps, which was a big damper on my winter riding last year. Mounted on my XC bike they don't seem to drag as much either, the rides are only a few minutes longer than in the summer.

What pressure are you running the Nokians at ? 25 psi will help your traction over the frozen foot prints.

Hello everyone....

well after researching studded tires and watching eBay forever i ened up getting studded tires from my LBS.... i was in to have a small repair done and mentioned studded tires.... the guy there showed me the ones they make... they take stock MTB tires and put in screws along the edge... the screws they use look like vinyl roofing screws.. they are about 1/4'' wide and the end of the screw is screwed inot the tire leaving the 1/4" head exposed... the head has a deep groove cut into it that gives 2 sharp edges along the edge of the screws.. these are about 1/4" as well... they are along the edge and don't offer much ressitance on pavement... i think this is better than the nokians, or others, because they give a long shapr edge for traction instead of a small little screw head... and they are along the edge.. the screws are also carbide... they offer plenty of bite and make a cool sound on the pavement and when they bite into hard packed snow... the guy at the LBS said the screws were similar to ones used by motocross ice races... the studs were black originally but the edges are turning silver-ish as the paint wears off... the front tire weighs 765g and the back weighs 890g, so not a lot lighter than Nokians, but i like the studs better.. i've had them for about 2 weeks and i love them... great price and they work!!

i think they totally rock, and they were $49.99CDN ($43ish US)each... i think they also offer free shipping on orders over $100...

i would suggest that people take a look at these (no pic at the link... maybe if you email them they will send/post a pic).. i would also suggest that before people send bigbucks to have some highend brandname tires mailed to them that they check out their own LBS for studded tires...

anways, i love them... they work, they're cheap, they're local and the look/sound supercool...

i hope i'm allowed to plug my LBS, but here goes... Alter-Ego Sports on Pembina Hwy in winnipeg, manitoba... check out the link...

https://alteregosports.shop2.mtsyello...txtProdID=3469

jimmi

Why is there a difference in weight between the front and rear?

How many studs per tire?

I have a set of 160 stud/tire that has been shipped to me. I might order one of the 300 stud /tire vicinity. Is it best to put a high stud count tire in front or back when mixed with a medium stud count tire? What about low stud count tires mixed with high or medium stud count tires?

the front and rear tires are different brands.... the front is a Tioga and the back is a Serf... their tread patterns suit the arrangement....
there are 50 studs per tire (although there is room for 50 more studs too. the guys at Alter Ego were pretty cool and may add the additional 50 studs if requested...)
these are not like the studs in the nokians or schwabbe or innova... THOSE studs are little nail-like tips/points and are primarily made of steel... THESE studs are the HEAD of a carbide screw, which has 2 crazy-sharp edges that are roughly a 1/4"... so instead of one little dinky point you get 2 sharp 1/4" edges per stud... maybe i can get a picture and post it
the studs are screwed into a knob that runs along the edge of the tread pattern, so it doesn't wear on pavement and slow you down on smooth days, although you can still hear them a little... especially on corners... and can deflate PSi to give more contact
i think they're awesome....
somebody else buy some to confirm my conclusion!!!

in terms of which tire to put where in terms of stud count.... i would guess that the higher the stud count the better it would be on the front rim.... other people may have different opinions though....

J

hey folks....
thought i would post some pix of my studded tires...
from these pix you can see the screw heads really well and how they are cut to have 2 sharp edges...
i love them... they have great bite and make a cool sound on hardpack...

check 'em out.... worth every penny($50CDN each)... and cheaper than nokians!! possibly, better!

jimmi

i'm trying a new way to post the pix.... i hope they work...!!
first a few front tire pix:





a couple back tire pix:

I've never needed studs in all the years I've been winter riding.
check out the build your own ice tires

https://coupedesglaces.org/

I run an IRC Blizzard in the front for snowy/icey days. Last week was the first time I ran it and I noticed quite a bit of difference over my Fire XC Pro. For convience sake I have a NOS (Deore DX) wheel that I keep it on.