I rudely introduced my hip and shoulder to the cold, hard personality of icy tarmac this morning. It got me thinking about studded tyres. I’ve never bothered before as my commute is usually either on gritted roads or through the woods but the wise people at the council have decided that large sections of the previously slightly rough and puddle strewn, Trans Pennine Trail needs blanket tarmacing.

So do studded tyres on bikes help much? They’ll be going on my 29er so I’m open to various tyre suggestions.

icy sweden dweller here. if it is sheet ice, yes they do help. if it is fresh snow, no they dont.

i rarely bother changing and instead use my mtb as a commuter with lower tyre pressure, drop the saddle a little and take it easy.

Very much so, I bought a pair about 5 years ago when we had snow on the ground for a month or two.
I was riding along streets/paths in Brum where the compacted snow had turned into polished paths of ice with no fear of losing any grip, though i was careful not to lean too much.

I didn’t realise how good mine were til I was riding on sheet ice while watching dogs do bambi impersonations.
You need to remember that your shoes aren’t as good as your tyres if you put your foot down. They are very noisy on tarmac.
Used them twice in 5 years 😥

No, IME.

They are good for sheet ice and frozen compacted snow but in reality those conditions are rare in the UK. The grip they offer in those conditions is not great though, although plenty to proceed with caution.

However, they offer diabolical levels of grip on normal greasy roads, cobbles or rocky / rooty trails. So in typical UK weather you might be better on some icy bits but die on the normal unfrozen bit. They are also brutally heavy, so make the bike feel terrible.

Yes. They are scarily good. So good that you’ll forget how icy it is until you stop, put a foot down and fall over as your foot slips from under you.

A studded Marathon will be good on ice, not so much on snow/compressed snow/slush.

An Ice Spiker has a decent bit more knobblies and will work in more conditions (but be a bit draggier on the road).

You can also get semi-studded tyres that seem to work out quite well. Pumped up, the tyres run on rubber only. Reduce the pressure and/or lean over and you’ll have some spikes giving you some bite.

diabolical levels of grip on normal greasy roads, cobbles

I’ve got Schwalbe Marathon Winters (I think that’s the name, the road one rather than the MTB one) and I’d disagree with that. They’re just like a normal tyre IME, sounds like you’re riding over rice krispies constantly and yes, they’re heavy.

But they work well on tarmac and are fantastic on sheet ice/really thick frost, you don’t even realise you’re on it until you put a foot down and end up doing the splits! I’ve not actually fitted mine since the winter of 13/14 because it’s just been too mild to warrant them, but I’ve ridden a 15 miles each way commute on them.

Contrary to what TomD says, I’ve found they’re great of course on ice (especially when you start to believe in the fact that they’ll dig in when you begin to slide around a bit, rather than the cliff edge you’d get without studs), but also are great on wet roots (basically they dig in rather than slide off), and fine (but noisy) on tarmac and cobbles. I’d imagine they may lose out on cobbles/hard slick rocks when you really need loads of grip, but I’ve never encountered anything where they’re a disadvantage grip wise.

That said, they’re pricey and roll slow so I haven’t had mine out yet this winter.

Aww hell, I was about to start looking for some until you said that tomd. That’s exactly what my commute was this morning:
A few miles on damp but unfrozen roads, a few miles through sloppy, rooty singletrack, a few miles on tracks with the odd iced puddle and then the arse clenching miles on the super slick, frozen motorway that the TPT has become in places.
What you said makes sense bearing in mind the ‘usual’ South Yorkshire conditions.

Thanks guys.

Great on ice, as above, but slow rolling generally and spectacularly noisy on tarmac… I’d disagree that they lack grip on non-icy sections, the studs are designed so they give under pressure and let the rubber around them do its thing. Ice Spiker Pros are really good on roots as well… I guess some of this will depend on the individual tyre model of course, I’m not sure you can generalise.

You can also opt for part-studded tyres with a clear centre tread and studs on the edges, reduce pressure so they bite, up the pressure to put more emphasis on the faster-rolling centre.

On proper sheet ice and snow that’s thawed and refrozen, they’re just about the only way you’ll stay upright and over, say, the extended winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11 they were fantastic in the Peak and stayed on the bike for months. For more normal winters, I keep a set on a set of spare wheels and bring them out when things get properly frozen and sub-zero.

Ice Spiker Pros, if you can get them at a reasonable price, are amazing. Standard Ice Spikers are good, but heavy. You could, I guess, also go for Conti Nordic Spikes for commuting use, the 120s have a clear centre, the 240s are studded all over. Heavy and slow and noisy, but work fine. The 120s are a reasonable compromise. ime.

A few more posts in between my reply and tomd’s. Interesting. I’m not worried how fast they roll and the noise isn’t an issue. May be I’ll give them a go. I’m thinking it’ll be something I fit when the conditions start to get ‘wintery’ and leave them for the duration rather than swapping tyres about based on a weather forecast. Look at it as ‘resistance training’!

It’s all about your ice tbh. I get occasional ice on my commute but really not enough to justify the downsides. I’ve got a snow stud- one of the tyres designed to only have shoulder studs so you can run it at higher pressure and ride on rubber, but drop the pressure and ride on spikes. But it’s no use for me either because when I do bin it on ice, it’s because it caught me unawares and I’d not have dropped the pressures. When the weather’s actually bad I take the mtb with full offroad ice spikes or I just don’t ride.

But, ymmv… If you were riding regularily on ice I think it’d be more or less a no brainer, they’re like sorcery when they’re working. It’s just how often they’re doing the job that’s the issue.

Thanks guys, I’ll have a Google for options and see what I can find.

Three times on the ground on my way to work today. On the only patches of tarmac on a 43km commute. Not impressed at you Rochdale.

I feel your pain, brother….in my hip, thumb and shoulder.

Uk is a big place…. Rural aberdeenshire they have been worthwhile for last 4 years . Not needed them this year mind. Water wings needed.

Studded tyres work really well, but… you will probably be the only vehicle in your vicinity with them fitted. I used them a couple of times and they were great at letting me commute on proper frozen, icy roads. But the sound of assorted car tyres spinning and skidding out of control around me persuaded me that I might be better off not using the bike when the weather’s like that. Just a thought…

They are good for sheet ice and frozen compacted snow but in reality those conditions are rare in the UK. The grip they offer in those conditions is not great though, although plenty to proceed with caution.

However, they offer diabolical levels of grip on normal greasy roads, cobbles or rocky / rooty trails. So in typical UK weather you might be better on some icy bits but die on the normal unfrozen bit. They are also brutally heavy, so make the bike feel terrible.I have 26″ Ice Spiker Pros which I run tubeless at low-ish pressure. Can’t say I agree with any of your points to be honest. Grip on sheet ice is exceptional. They weigh less than a Marathon Plus 700c 35mm which is a very popular everyday commuter tyre!

Yes – especially that compacted icy snow we get for a week after it really snows.

Bought some Ice Spiker Pros for silly money a few winters back after a bad fall on ice put me off commuting by bike. They paid for themselves in 2-3 winters in terms of petrol saved and fitness/sanity maintained by keeping me riding to work and for fun.

I commute on the Trans Pennine Trail on similar surfaces (Harlington to Carlton). I use Schwalbe Snow Stud tyres when there is a chance of ice. They are heavy and noisy but are great when you do hit a section of ice. They do slow the commute though so I take them off when not needed.

There is a steep bit of closed road near my (Bogle Burn for Melrose locals) that, in winter, will often be polished sheet ice. Last year i calmly rode up it whilst dog walkers were falling then sliding down the entire length of road. I looked like a cycling legend and I decided then that if I never used the tyres again I wouldn’t mind, because just then, I was a cycling superhero.

Ideally, you want to have them on spare wheels that you can swap over on icy mornings.
Wish I had fitted mine today. No incidents, but patches of first real ice this winter.

Like franksinatra, I had an excellent commute one day on Marathon Winters, passing a Vito on its side and both driver and attending policemen, who were incredulous at my passage, as they were having difficulty staying upright. Smug feeling lasted the rest of the day.
Top tip- if you do buy a set, send an email to Schwalbe asking for spare studs, as you will lose some.

For my local woods they’ve been kinda ok, but could quite easily have done without, just being careful about where I go.

However, from my door I have the canal towpath which gets a lot of use.

what normally happens is it snows, gets compacted through the day, then freezes to sheet ice making the entire towpath unridable.

spike tyres are perfect for this, the bonus too is that you only share the path with a few folk who have ice grips.

Agree with what most have said. Phenomenal levels of grip on ice. Ok on snow & other off road surfaces. Haven’t had any problems on wet tarmac. I have them fitted on a spare bike because they are haevy & slow for day to day use, but when the frosty morning commute is underway they are worth it.

Has anyone ever had any success making their own ice tyres? I have a load of old tyres lying round and unlimited rivets/self tappers at work and thought I might try and make some for fun more than because I need too. What could possibly go wrong!!!
I thought about riveting in from the rear then lining the inside with an old tube or similar. Mainly on the edges leaving the middle just tyre so they only come into play when I’m leaned over already falling off probably.

Has anyone ever had any success making their own ice tyres? I have a load of old tyres lying round and unlimited rivets/self tappers at work and thought I might try and make some for fun more than because I need too. What could possibly go wrong!!!

Done it with screws, predrill, screw in for inside, cut off excess. You dont need more than 1-2mm sticking out so rivets are not really appropriate.

the canal towpath which gets a lot of use.

what normally happens is it snows, gets compacted through the day, then freezes to sheet ice making the entire towpath unridable.

Half of my 12 mile commute is like this if we get snow.

And it stays like that for a good week after everywhere else has become frost free.

EDIT – when we had the really bad winters 5-6 years ago there were a lot of DIY studded tyres threads – not sure if they will be searchable.

The OH could have done with hers on this morning!

https://dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net/upaYdpBIL-SSsTHG16rw1XfMsXUT0PyNcmYIMe1CQa0-1536×2048.jpg

I rode Ice Spiker Pros on a 26″ singlespeed for the commute last winter, they were fantastic. Looking forward to trying my new nordic spikes on the cyclocross when things get a bit icier around Aberdeen.

Has anyone ever had any success making their own ice tyres?

Ideas here and here for a start.

I recently put Ice Spiker Pros on my Trance for added fun on a ski trip. The grip they give on compacted snow and ice is amazing. I was able to confidently descend icy, steep red runs in the evening afterthought he skiers had all gone home. Fantastic fun! They set up tubeless OK on Flow EXs, which was a bonus.

My 29er ice-spike-pro seemed to have very porous side-walls when i tried to tubeless them at the weekend.

Admittedly my technique is to only use a smear of sealant on the rim to get the tyre seated before adding sealant, but i stopped before that point as they were already dropping air out the side-walls as bad as any tyre ive had.

I have the shwalbe snow studs on my communter, and a set of ice spikers for the HT.

I find that the commuter ‘squirms’ quite a bit on tarmac with the snow studs on, even at 65 psi. On wet, packed leaves they are good, and good on proper ice. I put them on at the beginning of december, and they will stay on probably till march.

The ice spikers on th HT are about 2 gears harder, If you get my meaning. 🙂 but awesome.

My 29er ice-spike-pro seemed to have very porous side-walls when i tried to tubeless them at the weekend.

It looks like they only do a proper tubeless version in 26″ which is a shame (for you!) as they go up as easy as any tubeless tyre I’ve ever done, plus they are even more awesome tubeless!

I happen to be selling a brand new pair of 38c wide, 700c/29er schwalbe snow studs if anyone wants some. They’re too wide to fit my wife’s bike.

They work very well. We have 2 or 3 sets kicking around here. BUT The base tyres on some are utterly dire. Made out of plastic, tread patterns from the early 90s. Probably why tomD thinks they aren’t very good away from the ice and snow. Mainly as some of them aren’t.

We’ve got both types.

Yes, surreal amounts of grip on ice.

I don’t regret investing in a pair of marathon winter tyres as there’s no guarantees where the weathers concerned nowadays..

And you’ve got to put in 25 miles or so to break them in before venturing out with them in any cold snap.

As I tend to use sealed bearing hub type wheels most of the time, I keep the ice tyres on the pair of wheels that were originally supplied with my bike and swap cassettes accordingly.

Bear in mind that other road users won’t share the same levels of grip so keep your wits about you!!!

The Marathon Winters I’ve got are properly ace on ice and compacted snow 🙂

I’m pretty much off commuting on the bike after 2 offs on the way in today, ice was too thin for spikes but enough to wash out before I had a chance to think (it was black ice).

That and cars still passing inches away… 🙁

Will try the MTB with low pressure and taking it easy on paths / cross country next week.

“ice was too thin for spikes”

Was it this – or was it a case of you were already falling with speed when the spikes contacted the pavements (ie in the case of the cheapo snow studs)