Technical > Wheels, Tyres and Brakes

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

<< < (4/8) > >>

PH:
great photos.
My studs are still unused, I'm still happy for them to stay that way.
A bit disappointing about the puncture, the times studs get used are the times you'd least want to stop and fix one.  Mine studded tyres are Marathon Plus, I hadn't given it any thought, I'd assumed they all were. 

steve216c:
Punctures are alway annoying, but I got it with only about 300km ridden, so practically brand new and only just run in. It was a sharp piece of flint, but it could have been a piece of glass it was so sharp. The Schwalbe web site does rate these lower on puncture protection. Apparently Kevlar k-guard woven into the rubber mix. Not as good as smart guard on the Winter marathon plus model. I had misinformed myself when looking into these tyres as i thought the only difference was the outer row of spikes on the marathon version. I now wish I’d noticed that the puncture protection was better on the marathon model too before hitting the purchase button. Oh well..

Even so, since mounting over Christmas, I have ridden more than 600km on the spikes where morning frost ice and snow would have otherwise forced me to leave the bike in the shed. And although not every day required spikes, they were not so bad just to ride on stretches where regular tyres would have been fine. There is a bit more resistance when riding, and noise from The spikes when on tarmac, but it isn’t so bad. 38km today on tarmac and only added around 10 minutes more than with my non spike tyres would have needed for same stretch.

Tonight we are awaiting a hard frost so I’ll hit the forest short cut where I hope the mud will have frozen again. The spikes help in mud but are better on frozen surfaces in my opinion.

JimK:
that is wicked ice!

Andre Jute:
That ice looks more like a skating rink than a bicycle track.

PH:
Well the studs finally got used, had to go on several errands this morning and what snow/slush left from the last couple of days had frozen overnight and everything else had a thick frost.  I was half way into town and wondering if I'd needed them when dipping under a bridge on the river path they suddenly went silent, ah yes I remember what that means, the next sound is usually me hitting the deck, but this time sailed through without incident.   I wouldn't want to be riding them more than I have to, but it is a luxury to have the choice.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page