Winter Traction - My Version of Tire Chains
 

I decided to start a new thread for my tire chains. It started out with using zip ties (which sucked, made turning more dangerous) and then moved to chains. I put a set on my front wheels and then made a set for my rear after how well it worked. It took me a couple of tries to get it right but I made a set I can take off easily and use again and again. I'm going to mirror this set for the front wheel so they are both the same.

Here is the front wheel -

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/1044/62488667.jpg

This is the rear wheel -

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6607/imag0437.jpg

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/1865/imag0443.jpg

And the final product -

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/1903/imag0444h.jpg

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/3185/imag0445o.jpg
- Yes, I noticed that link as well, I fixed it so no worries ^

I haven't ridden on the rear tire with the chains yet, but I'll report back on how well they work. We have a lot of patches of pressed snow that acts like ice around here, so turning is pretty dangerous. With the front chains I was able to make sharper turns but I could certainly feel the back slipping around, especially with the panniers on.


And in case anybody is going to try this, I'll put this in so google can bring it up if they search. I noticed several people who did this did not put their tire size and how many chains it took and what not, so here is mine - The tires are 29", I used 18 segments that go around the tire, each segment has 8 links on it. There are also 18 connections between the tire links, they are each 7 links in length. The chain I use has about 3 links in 2 inches. The measurement for the links that go around the tire itself are 144 links, or 8 feet work of chain. The measurement for the links that go around the rim side are 144 links per side, totaling 288 links, or 16 feet. Each tire will need a total of 24 feet of chain, which comes to be about $13, at .50 cents a foot.

Good concept, but I expect the chains will wear out fairly quickly on bare pavement. Could be wrong, though. Interested in hearing whether this works, and whether it's durable enough to be a worthwhile investment. Also, your tires may wear quickly from the chains.

Interesting, i dont have disc's so can't run them, i do wonder what they're gonna do to your wheels though?

I had some issues installing the ones on the rear, it seems it's best to keep it with just the wire instead of the all chain construction. I was trying to make it easy to put on and take off. It only takes like twenty minutes to install when using zip-ties to hold the segments in place until you get tension on the wire. I was able to make the all chain one work using zip ties to bring the ring chain closer to the rim.

First impression, I can feel them, they are very bumpy. They don't hamper my speed too much but I know I could be going a little faster. They really help with traction on hard pressed snow, which is like ice around here. I'm taking them both off today so I can use them when we get more snow fall, my commute is 90 percent on smooth pavement. The wear on them isn't obvious yet, I've been using the front set for about a week now and I only notice the black finish coming off, nothing too much.

I think it's worth the investment of time, they really only cost about $15 per tire, which is good for the one or two rides I will need them. To me, it would be more of a hassle to have to change out studded tires when I didn't need them. I don't even need to take the tire off to install/remove the chains. Good studded tires cost about $40 per tire. When I take the front one off today, I will make sure to make note of damage (if any at all) done to the tire or rim.

On the last picture could you use caliper brakes? Also did the chain come from HD or Lowes? Could you use a ziptie to connect the long chain on each lide of the wheel or how do you?
Thanks for the write up and picctures. Like you, I only need this type of traction 2-3 times per year for about 3-5 days each so not worth factory studs.

I can see these working well enough for snow, curious to know how well it will work for ice though?

Wow that's awesome. I don't know how practical they are but I bet it was a fun project nonetheless. :)

I picked up all the parts at Lowes, save the zip ties which I got at Costco. If you were to go out and buy everything you needed it would be around 20 bucks. If you already had zip ties however you could easily get this together for around 13 bucks. I don't remember what size chain I used, but I used 1/16th steel cable for the routing.

I would only recommend doing this if you have a disc brake or fixed. You could technically run it with caliper brakes but the cable+chain design had a tendency to move side to side. They stayed in place but they liked to get out of their alignment, hence the use of zip ties every other link to keep it in position. If you only needed to use these a few times a year, I think it's a good investment. The advantage to the all-chain design is being able to take it on and off more quickly, but I think it would be best to stick with the cheaper (and lighter) cable+chain design. It only takes about ten minutes to install it, so not so bad. I spent more time trying to find the cable and the chains than I spent putting it all together.

They work quite well, they aren't too bothersome on pavement. They give you a lot of forward traction on snow (soft and hard packed). I haven't had much of a chance to try them out on ice, but they did help me get up my icy driveway just fine. If I need to put them back on again this winter, I will update after I ride through some ice on purpose. I'm used to riding my road bike (rode it today actually) that I avoid ice and snow even when I'm riding on my equipped mountain bike.