slcbob

My commute is 12.5 miles in Washington DC. We don't get much snow. But a half dozen times a year we'll get a few inches. The middle of my commute is on a MUP that gets packed down by foot traffic, ices up, and has enough shade that it doesn't melt like the rest of the area. Sometimes it can go a week or two before the trail is clear.

I'm thinking about trying some studs this winter, as an alternative to a) don't bike (bad) or b) mix it up with cars in bad weather where the entire town drives like idiots (bad, probably worse). I'd probably put the studs on my old beater MTB and leave my commuter alone for the no ice days.

The two sides of my concern are:
1) are studs really that good? The ice that I run into isn't real thick, but it's frozen footprints and they're almost like greased baby head rocks. Will the studs get me through? I don't want my old brittle bones snapping.

2) Will they drive me nuts on the 70% plus of my commute that will be on clear pavement?

Yan 

They work very well, and are comparable to knobby mountain bike tires in terms of rolling resistance.

Kol.klink

700x20c slicks are your friend, fixed gear is another big plus

balindamood

I grew up outside DC. Even before global warming, I do not think you need them there. I have since lived in Fargo and now Alaska. I need them now.

Studs work on ice. Knobs work on snow. For the 1-3 days you may actually get some benefit from them, I doubt that you actually NEED them there. If you have you have $200-$250 and a spare set of rims, go for it. If nothing else, your friends will think you are either a bike god or a complete nut.

Sixty Fiver

I don't know if I would have been riding today if I had not installed the studded tyres... freezing rain made things treacherous for everyone and yet... most of the time I felt like I was riding on dry pavement.





The studs on my tyres are off centre so don't interfere with straight line riding at higher psi and only engage when I am turning or off camber... with the weather being as bad as it was today I dropped the tyre pressure to 40 to get some continual stud engagement.

I was out accelerating cars at the lights today as they were just sitting and spinning and on my ride home had to make an emergency manoeuvre in an icy intersection to avoid a car that cut me off... at no time did I lose traction.

I also rode on the MUTS and the studded tyres make light work of those frozen icy lumps.

JusticeZero

Yes. Yes, they are that good.

slcbob

x20c slicks on ice, Herr Kolonel? Won't that kill me? Verstehe sie nicht -- Sgt Schultz

Concur I do not NEED them. Over the course of the winter, they will probably buy me 15-20 days of bike commute (~4 installments of 2-4 days, and 1 or 2 of 5-10 days). Studless, I will not try to be a stud and muddle through the ice.

I'm at a new job this year. The jury is leaning strongly toward complete nut and it really hasn't been that cold or rainy/slushy yet. But but vs. bike god -- really, is there a difference in practice?

That good on clear pavement? I understand they're loud, too, but maybe that's an upside of me going deaf. Hmmmm.....

Thanks, all.

Closed Office

That's a nice idea and a nice way of doing it. You could let out some pressure half
way through the trip if it turns out you need to.

I haven't used studs yet and want to avoid them if possible. I cut through alleys a
lot on my days off errands runs, and you get a lot of practice riding on ice that way.
At first I was really tense but got used to it and am surprised at how comfortable it
is now. I do commute early enough that I only share the road with about a car a mile
on my way in to work on my early shifts. For the later ones I take a little used street
to a bike path and avoid traffic again. I do thump into the pavement about twice a
winter but never in traffic and it seems preferable to studs. I am 61 but no sign of
brittle bones yet. I'll have to update my winter biking article in the sig because it said
once a winter but with the first black ice day this winter my average went up a bit.

PaulH

I've been commuting daily in the DC area for 11 years. I've had Nokian Hakkapillita 106 studs for the past seven years. Clearly, they are not actually essential. However, they make life easier and more convenient. I put them on in December, take them off in March, and never think about them inbetween.

1) How good - my bike with studs will get me up hills that I can't drive my car up. Vastly better than driving.

2) How loud - they make a cool sort of frying bacon sound that I consider to be a benefit. One disbenefit is that you will trave a few mph slower because of the aggrrssive tread.

Since much of your riding will be on ice free surfaces, make sure you get the Nokians. They have carbide studs that will last for years. One additional benefit of the Nokians is that they are very flat resistant. Never a flat in seven years of winter riding.

Paul

pwdeegan

i'm also using Nokian Hakka 106s. The tyres are noisier than my regulars (Conti 4-seasons), but only in a cool gonna-eat-you-up sort of way; like the craking of some brusiers knuckles in a fight scene, only you're about to pound pavement. As for rolling resistance, i do travel a little slower, but not so much that i feel it's any less fun---i still get to work on time, and feel great doing it; anyway, with the cold air here, gong a little slower means i get less wind-burn, as well as breath a little easier and avoid that horrible icey-winter-blood-in-my-lungs taste, good god i hate that.

i should mention that my commute is short (10mi r/t) and about 70% plowed salted pavement; last year i was fine with my road slicks, except for those two times i fell at 9.8m/s onto the sheet ice + rocks; and as others have pointed out before me, buying two studded tyres for the bike is far more cost effective than needlessly eating ice with your face and hips. now i ride with modest confidence, klickity-klackity down the road.

Yan 

You ride 20mm slicks in Toronto? I hope you didn't ride at the same time I did last night.

Sixty Fiver

PS -

My bike is also a fixed gear and have to say the combination of this and those DIY studded tyres makes this my best winter bike ever.

The front tyre is going onto it's 3rd or 4th season and figure it has more than 10,000 km on it... it hardly shows any wear to itself or the studs.

The rear tyre came studded (another diy job) and I don't know how many miles it has on it... the off camber studding was nicely done.

I work as a messenger and found that with our current weather (snow and ice) that I have been getting around faster than most... I am the only guy running studs and found I can still maintain some pretty good speed and retain great stopping ability and handling.

balindamood

They are heavy, loud and slow. You will loose 2-5 mph off your avg time on dry pavement. If you are going to be doing much riding on dry pavement, make sure you get carbide studs (Nokian and a couple of others). Stainless studs will wear out in a year or two. I have over 5 years (OK, more like 2.5 if you figure they are on the bike 6-months a year, but about 2500 miles of whihc about 500 miles is on pavement) on a pair of Nokians and the studs are still fine. Where you will have problems though is the rubber is soft (sticks to snow better), and the knobbies will wear, but the studs won't. Eventually, you will start to throw them (i.e. loose them).

TuckertonRR

an advantage to slogging through in winter in studs is that you're so used to them come springtime, when you put the higher-pressure slicks on, you're _zooming_ and it will feel soooo easy.

andrelam

+1

If I were you I'd look at the Schwalbe Marathon Studded tires or the Nokia A10's if they are still available. Both are supposed to run smoother and with less resistance than the W106's. Both of those tires are supposed to be a little less good at deeper snow, but that is clearly not your primary issue. Here in Snowy Buffalo I'll stick with the W106's for now as I get deeper snow on a regular basis.

The way I look at it the $100 to $150 cost of getting the tires is good ensure to avoid crashing hard. I had a set of Innova steel studded tires. I saved about $50 over the Nokias, but after 2 months of use (about 500 miles) the studs on the rear were worn smooth and let me down on an icy day. I almost called an ambulance to come and get me. After a few minutes the pain subsided enough that I could get home, but I was off my bike for nearly 2 weeks. That was NOT worth the savings. Sure I have to work harder on my ride, but that makes up for the lack of recreational cycling in the cold. When temps are in the 20's I tend to just get my commute done and be happy with it. No extra hour long rides right now.

The studs do make a slight "rice crispy" sound. When the sound goes away yet the road still looks the same, you know you are on black ice... nice audio clue

Happy riding,
André

slcbob

Thanks, all. That's a lot to work with. I'll see what's kind of deal I can get on the recommended brands / specs.

slcbob

I see the Schwalbe Marathon is available in a studded 26x1.75 for <$60. Any idea if those are carbide studs? I haven't found a specific mention yet.

slcbob

P.S. this would seem to be the motherlode of stud info

https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

malpag3

Thanks for that. I'm looking at studdies myself and I was curious how you know when you're on ice, etc.

Cheers!

tmoritz

You don't need studs if you have a straight, flat, car less commute, live in a climate that is perpetually ice free, or just opt to not ride when ever there is a chance your traction will be compromised. In all other cases the trade off is cost + drag vs. risk of going down.

The cost of your deductable for a hip fracture or broken collar bone would probably be more than the cost of two studded tires.

slcbob

That summarizes the two extremes. There really is a large middle ground with regard to that risk thing, tolerance of partially compromised traction, etc.

Based on the other productive comments striking to that central issue, I have pulled the trigger on the Schwalbe Marathon Winters, will mount up on my old commuter that I will now use only for really crappy days.

I was well on my way to using the limitations of an investment in $100+ in tires on my old 26 in MTB vs. my normal 700c commuter to justify getting myself a 29er. It almost worked...

scoatw

If you plan on riding during the winter season, despite the fact that Columbus is supposed to have mild winters. That is just not true. We have our moments of storms and snowfalls. And I don't have a choice between driving and riding. You get a good quality Snow Stud, and they will last you 3 or 4 seasons. Do some research and you'll find out that a cheap tire like Innovas or the Kenda's just don't last thru one season let alone 3 or 4 like the Nokians do. Last year I started out with the Schwalbe Winter Snow studs and was disappointed with them. They just didn't bite down like I expected them to. I replaced the front with a Nokian Mount & Ground 160 and noticed the difference right away. I felt safe and confident, especially around traffic. This year I didn't fool around and I got the Nokian Extreme 294, and those things are like a Tiger Paw on the slick stuff. You'll find out in January and February when we get alot of snowy and frigid days and those side streets are going to be treacherous to ride on with slicks or knobbies. Sure you can ride super slow on them, but with a good snow stud. It will make your commute almost as fast as on dry roads with road tires. Sure the rolling resistance makes pedaling a little harder, but hey, that the price you pay for riding a bike in the snow. It's fun, it's challenging, and you get the satisfaction of knowing you're one of the few people in the city who can do it. Note: I bought a used pair of rims and mounted my snow studs to them. It takes me less than 10 mins. to switch wheels when the need arises.

PlayNurse

This is my first winter commuting. First morning of snow/ice here in Denver was on my MTB at 0530 am... front wheel hit ice as I was making a right turn. Bike went left, I superman-ed straight off. Glad I was wearing a helmet as I definitely would have cracked my yolk! Otherwise injury free except for sprained thumb. That day my boyfriend put on his used studded tires from last winter, even though the studs were worn a bit it made a huge difference. Since that day I have ridden in over 3 inches of snow to work and have not swerved or slipped at all and ice several days.
A bit of good advice he gave me was to under-inflate the tires to increase traction. Makes it a harder commute but its better than breakin' stuff.
Riding in the snow is fun, even more fun to see the wimps reactions as you ride by.

rajman

There's a deductible on that????

rajman

I rode two winters in Calgary (05/06 and 06/07). I got studs my first workday that there was freezing rain.

Sure they're loud and slow, but FWIW I try not to ride fast on black ice anyway. Not to mention, the bike path outside of the cleared bit it pretty much single track, nice to have studs for that.