Technical > Wheels, Tyres and Brakes

Are winter tyres/spikes worth it for riding on frosty days

<< < (3/8) > >>

PH:
My shiny studs are still to see action, there's only been three days when they'd have been needed and they've coincided with not needing to be anywhere.  I'd be quite happy to never need them, but there's a long way to go before I swap them back.

steve216c:

--- Quote from: steve216c on January 11, 2021, 08:48:25 am ---
As for the forest. This was my no-go when wet or in snow on old tyres. But on icy mornings where the ground has been hard, this part of route was not just rideable, but even fun! On a clearing where 4 paths meet, it was often too slippery to ride, but the spikes kept me up when I saw an MTB with offroad tyres struggling last week. And for the homebound commute, where surfaces were muddy and previously unrideable for my 28" road tyres, I could navigate that stretch without having to slow too much or get off and walk. A huge win for me, especially when I overtook some younger adults pushing their MTBs on same stretch  :o


--- End quote ---

Had my first noticeable slight slide/loss of grip in the forest on my commute to work with the spikes this morning. There was a lot of wet snow during the night and much of this had made the muddy stretches of my route even wetter and more muddy. I hit the mud on a downward incline at about 20km/h trusting in the spikes to keep me stable, but as the path started to climb I could feel the pull of the bike wanting to go another direction from where I was pointed. I was able to maintain enough traction, but I can say I have pushed to the limit of what I can expect these tyres to manage without quite losing control.
We are expecting  sub-zero conditions overnight the coming days which should at least freeze the mud and make it rideable with the spikes. Otherwise I think I am going to have to be a little more cautious riding on sodden ground despite my initial euphoria.

brummie:
I favour Continental Contact Winters for winter riding - Fine for most wintery conditions, BUT when ice is present Schwalbe Marathon Winter tyres keep me upright.

mickeg:
I find that studs are very slow, I avoid using them if I think they are unnecessary.

My Nomad Mk II gets studs front and rear in winter.   I do not regularly run studs on my Lynskey, occasionally use that in winter too.

With studded tires, if there is very little ice, I run higher pressure, the studs are off to the side of the tire slightly and that seems to lift the studs off the pavement a bit.  But if conditions are quite icy or there is much snow, then I may run lower pressure so that the tire patch is wider, the studs seem to grip better.  If the snow is deeper than one or two cm, the snow can prevent the studs from contacting any underlying ice in which case you have to be careful. 

When I am not using studded tires, for my front tire I usually set pressure at about 65 to 75 percent of the pressure in my rear tire.  But if I have studs on, I might run the front at an even lower pressure to try to make sure that the studs can grip the ice better.

I have talked to commuters that did not want to pay the high cost of two studded tires, they bought one and only put it on the front tire.  They felt that the front was the most important wheel to have studs on.  I bought a used studded tire that I put on a spare wheel.  I can put that wheel with the studs on the front of the Lynskey if I suspect I might encounter rare occasional ice but there is not enough ice to require my Nomad that has two studded tires.  I have not tried it yet, but I think on some days I might feel more confident with studs on the front.

steve216c:
First up steep forest hill on a snowy morning a couple of weeks back- the rider in background messed up my solitary tracks going down just before I was ready to take me shot! In prior years before spikes I'd stopped even trying as there was never enough traction.



On Wednesday I rode in on a 'river of ice' from several days of freeze, and it was raining hard making the surface very slippery under foot. I almost fell mounting and dismounting the bike to take picture it was so slippery. But on 2 wheels with spikes worked a treat to keep me upright- although I did have to drop my speed to avoid getting drawn into and along frozen ruts on the way. But the forest shortcut saves me a good 10 minutes on my commute and with the spikes I can take it on in all but the muddiest of conditions now.



Not everything has been great on the spikes. They are not as puncture proof as my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres. I got my first puncture where the footpath had been gritted and a piece of flint broke into the rubber. Luckily just 3km from home- and I was able to walk home and fix it. Would have been worse had I been closer to work at 16km as the walk would not have been so pleasant.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page