TuckamoreDew

The final product.


I really like this approach. I'm going to have to try it myself. Have you had a chance to try the tires out much?

redeyedtreefr0g

I might have to start thinking about chains or studs again. I had my first fall off of Zoomie today.

.Cricket

Ordering tires this week and hopefully giving this a shot soon! Wish me luck.

alanf

I am thinking of trying the chains idea but I was thinking that some sort of lighter chain being used more frequently or maybe some kind of webbing made of metal.

Anybody add to this idea?

alanf

Anyone try studs on slicks or close to slick tires?

badmother

I bought some webbing this autumn to try but did not get there yet. not metal but nylon, plenty strong I think if you get the right stuff. I bought from a garden center. Got something that was approx 10mm x 10mm and I think that is a bit small.

Wanted to use it on a Brompton where there is not much room for studs in the frame and also no space for the chains I made for other bikes. I think chain or mesh is good for folding bikes and other bikes that is often taken innside a building, car or similar.

But then nothing is effective on the black ice with rain ontop we had for approx 2 weeks .

badmother

Yes. After reading about and looking at the Marathon winters (and remembering how straining riding in the winter can be) I this year decided to go for the "non knobby" tyres when making new ones. No new pix but I`ll try to get some tomorrow. I realised I needed sturdy tyres so that they do not rip easely when in use so I used some locally bought "puncture proof" tyres w moderate threading. Put them on BF`s bike and my sons spare winterbike. Making one more set for a friend but I am thinking of getting some marathon winters for my spare winterbike.

alanf

Hey excellent idea. You just reminded me that I have some fishing net that is around 1" openings. I'll try it!

scoatw

From my experience, it is very labor intensive and the set screws show wear after about 200 miles.

badmother

I do NOT find it labour intensive (to make them) but then I made a lot for friends and family.

If the screws show wear after 200 miles I am guessing you placed them in the wrong place. Yo should not ride on them so that they touch the ground when riding. They should just be wery close to the ground ready to grab the road if you start sliding or lean over making a turn.

redeyedtreefr0g

Does anyone know how I can increase clearance between the rear tire and the fender? Even if I make snow chains, they might fit under the front fender, but definitely not the rear one right now.

Also, I don't like the jack chain that my husband got for me to play with, which may be the main reason (besides my mis-measuring) that I abandoned my attempts at constructing snow chains. I had in mind the flat twisted-link chain like in many necklaces. I thought the flatness would make it low profile but still enough "tread" to do the bite-into-ice-and-save-your-butt thing.

Would washers on both sides of the tire rubber (inside and outside) make good stud anchors to keep them from wiggling or working their way out?

Can you stud your current tires and then remove the studs in the spring and still use those tires?

TuckamoreDew

Yes, the wear is what I was wondering about. Fred wrote that he rode them on a frozen lake, not the road, so they probably lasted fine for him. That's not my intended use, so I'll give it a miss. Also, I only just now realized that I was asking a question about a post from 2010. Oops!

TuckamoreDew

Specifically, I was asking about the tires that Fred posted photos of with a gazillion set screws, including ones touching the road surface. He was using them on a frozen lake. I am not surprised to find that they wear out quickly on asphalt. I have already made the type that you are referring to, and I've been fairly content with them.

alanf

The idea didn't work out. The net came off within a few blocks.

scoatw

You look at the pics that I posted and you'll notice that I put the studs on the two outside rows of knobbies. And sitting for three hours or more installing 200+ set screws is labor intensive to me. And that doesn't include the time spent drilling out each knob. I'm sure using Sixty fiver's method of installing screws is faster and probably more durable.

Sixty Fiver

we have been studding tyres like this for over a decade and with the off camber studding the wear on the studs is minimized and tyre life will be pretty much normal.

I expect the 128 stud tyre in the rear (front is 64) of my bike with it's more central studs will see a lot more stud wear as these are in constant contact although if it is not icy I can ride my long bike with fatties or swap in my front studded tyre and be guaranteed some excellent stability.

Have been bombing around on icy roads like they were dry pavement.

Johnny Rebel

I made a set of studded tires from the directions at this link below (using pop rivets). My commuter/cyclocross bikes can take up to 700x32 with fenders, so this seemed like a decent way to go. 43 in the rear, 86 in the front. I used a set of Ritchey Speedmax tires which I didn't like all that much. A bunch of the washers came off, but no biggie. The 'stud' part is still there. My thoughts: I don't like riding these on pavement, or dirt much. Kind of wobbly and they just don't feel as stable as I would like. But I have gone riding on frozen ponds and it has been great fun. No spills, no flats (I put duct tape on a few of the bits inside the tire that seemed sharper than most. Overall a fun project, though I'm not sure if I want to subject the components of my best bike to all the road salt and sand. But for frozen ponds, I love it!

https://www.instructables.com/id/Pop-...our-Road-Bike/

redeyedtreefr0g

I have officially asked for studded tires for my birthday. I don't have the money to buy a spare set to stud myself, or to buy commercial ones for myself.

Are these Innova Tundra Wolf Studded Snow Tires any good? These are the least expensive ones listed. Cheap is good, but not if it sacrifices usefulness.

Yes, this was prompted by another fall. I left the house at above freezing with wet roads, along the way my headlight was going out so I couldn't see that the water turned to frost (a lot of frost! turns out). Tried to turn too fast and BAM! down and skidding along the roadway. It was completely unexpected, though hindsight says I should have guessed that near freezing means be careful anyway. It is the first fall that put my instantly in a rage. I thought "well why the F did that happen?" I scraped a bunch of leather off the palm of my gloves. I remember pushing down more in a desperate attempt to stop sliding down the road because then I might be losing some cloth and skin from my backside instead of my glove. Thank you glove.

So yeah. Need some tires.

Or, if you have a cheaper idea to make some, I'm game, I'm just really tired of falling down. Really.

alanf

The reason the tires are less expensive is that they have very few studs on them. The studs are in the centre of the tire also, so when you lean over for a turn, they are not gripping as much.

I am guessing a bit here, but when I studded my tires, I studded them on the side, so the studs only gripped when turning, which helps prevent the tremendous amount of drag studs can create.

Even with studs you have to drive slow. They help, but they are not miracle workers. Expect the worst.

This is not a lecture BTW, as I have been there myself. I've had a couple of crashes and one was at a fair speed, going straight, down a hill on solid thick ice, with a heavy backpack with a laptop in it, on a road bike with skinny treadless tires. The odds were stacked against me big time.

I zoned out thinking about something and zoned back in after I was barreling out of control, when suddenly I was on the ground, looking around, hoping no one had seen me and trying to gracefully remount the bike, trying not to show myself hobbling with wounded hands.

I knew that if anyone saw me they would say; "see I told you driving in the winter is dangerous!" and they'd be absolutely right.

alanf

On second thought I looked again at the picture of the tire from the other profile and it seems to show that studs are off centre so this might not be such a bad choice.

The larger picture gave me the impression that the studs were centred on the tire.

redeyedtreefr0g

Yes, the picture is a bit confusing. I think they are off-center, but only just. They are also zig-zagged, and several reviews say the tires "wobble" on dry pavement. I don't think I'll get those...


I spoke with my husband about it, and he has agreed that studded tires are something we should definitely consider, but we can't afford the $50 apiece ones I called the local bike shop about. Even $30 for those I mentioned seems steep, although I do understand that they might last several years, so the investment would be worth it.

Because I seem to have my husband's full support* we will try building me studded tires this afternoon with the smooth tires I have. If they don't work we'll buy studded tires, and again if they don't work, we'll buy me new regular tires in spring.

*partially instilled because my mother's first text response after my shared-text rant on ice and Mother Nature and Zoomie this morning was anger at my husband for not having a reliable car for me to drive (the car is perfectly driveable but has weak brakes so I can't reach the pedal due to how far it travels, as well as bald tires). I like riding my bike so the choice has usually been to turn down offers of rides as long as I can take my bike. It's just that sometimes I fall off my bike. I have accepted rides from my husband and coworkers, such as last week with my cold. It not that I don't have options- it's that my preferred option is my bike. Not my husband's fault at all!
(my dad's first response was to ask if I was ok, and what size my tires were because he'd see what he could do)

alanf

Your brakes need new pads. That's why they travel so far.

Sixty Fiver

The first time you do this it will take more time... I can usually stud a tyre in under 45 minutes from start to finish and we set aside 3 hours for classes on this.

With some help most folks can have their tyre built and installed in a few hours... considering that the more screws you use the more time it will take.

The 128 stud rear on my winter bike was originally built with 64 off camber studs and then I revisited the tyre and added 64 more centrally placed studs when I discovered I needed a little more bite in the rear for my extra bike.

The front tyre can get away with less studes as you just need traction when you are cornering while a more centrally studded tyre may serve you better for accelerating and climbing when it is very icy.

There is nothing like being able to pull away from cars at the lights while they are spinning away or being able to ride up some steeper roads when they are all but impassable by cars that don't have studs or chains.

I have some 20 inch Marathon winter tyres coming for my Raleigh 20 (a gift) and will set my folder up as a 2nd winter bike with these and see how they roll out.

alanf

So if you were going to do tires that don't have a lot of tread, how much would you want the nail/screw to protrude?

redeyedtreefr0g

I think the disc part is what was screwed up, eaten away bad and there is a tiny leak somewhere. But hubby is the mechanic. He needs more money for a part. No point in putting the new pads on that side to let them get chewed up.

My bike tires took a couple hours, but I wasn't rushing or using anything but a screwdriver. Used Lath screws based on a reccommendation from the cashier at Home Depot who did his mountain bike. Trimmed them with bolt cutter.

I'll ride it to work this morning and see how it does!






EDIT:
I rode to work just fine. The vibration is slight, noticeable mostly at slow speeds. There is some noise too, but that becomes normal after just a little while too, like how I don't freak out anymore when a car with studded tires goes past (that first time was scary- what the hell is that noise?!).

I was getting ready to ride home after I was just talking about the studs too. So I know my tire was aired before I walked out with the bike. But I paused at the driveway of the bus shop to answer my husband calling me, we chatted for a minute or two as he made sure I remembered that I was going to bring him a leftover burrito at school today. I hung up and went to pedal into the street and my front tire was flatter than a pancake.

Wheeled it back in, found a leak, patched it, put it back together, PSSSSHHHH when trying to air it again. Took it back apart, found three more leaks (good thing I just cut up that big patch to make a bunch of little ones!). Tried to find any more before I put it all back together. Aired it up, seemed good. Rode off! Made it down the road and around the first corner, which is about a mile or 1/3 the way home. Flat tire. I texted my husband in class to let him know I wouldn't make it and started walking.

I need more than one layer of duct tape to protect the tube, it seems. Now I have a junk tube that I can use as the Home Depot cashier suggested.