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With the winter approaching I'd want to avoid slippy icy commutes that I had in the past 2 winters, so what studded tyres should I be looking at for my Pompino?
I know its only going to be for a few weeks at most but its got to be better than getting the bus!
Do the tyres wear out quicker and how are they on normal tarmac?
You normally have to run them in for a wee while (just a few miles at an easy pace, no harsh braking/cornering) Then they last for ages.
Very noisy on tarmac though.
Buy now though - they sell out fast as soon as the winter hits.
Very useful page on a US bike shop here that explains everything [url= http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp ]http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp[/url]
including why it is unnecessary to run them in except if there is a manufacturing defect (!)
The rest of the site is quite informative & amusingly written if you have a few spare minutes.
I bought some for last winter. Went for the top of the range Schwalbe ones, yes they were expensive but should last forever seeing as they only get a couple of weeks use a year plus they worked exceptionally well on ice. Noisy on tarmac as druidh says, you'll want to swap back to your regular tyres as soon as you're sure the snow has gone!
Contrary to silogs views
I found em shite on snow. They are designed for ice.
Unless you want to predict weather each night youll probably find you fit em at first ice and they stay till it goes. Least thats what im doing 🙂
It depends on the exact conditions. A Marathon spike is still basically a marathon, so yes it's not much good in loose snow (though, mine did very well on hardpacked snow). But the plus side of those is, they're quick and I could quite happilly ride around on them on no-snow days.
OTOH I'd only use my Ice Spiker or my old screw-spiked Nevegal when the conditions require it. (which, incidentally, is how I broke my ribs at the start of the year- found some ice on a day which didn't seem like it'd be icy)
[url= http://www.schwalbe.co.uk/spikes/marathon-winter/ ]I'm going for a set of these for the commuter[/url]
Contrary to silogs viewsI found em shite on snow. They are designed for ice.
You're quite right, that last "snow" should have been "ice", my mistake! These tyres will slip and slide on snow (but then so will anything IME). This is not really a problem as far as I'm concerned though because sliding in snow is quite predictable whereas ice will have you over with a broken arm before you know it!!
Very noisy on tarmac though.
Upside is that it's very reminiscent of frying bacon...
...Downside is that such makes me very hungry whilst riding
steveoath - Member
I'm going for a set of these for the commuter
£30 from Spa.
Has anyone tried the continental top contact winter tyres? The non studded ones, any good, got to be better for the road if they grip one ice?
That was a great link, so much info on the studded tyres, will order myself a pair for my winter commute
Got some Marathon Winters last year and they were superb on ice. My homeward commute has a climb that Strava describes as a cat 4. Rode up it on a mix of smooth, wet, crunchy and rutted ice and they didn't miss a beat. One of the most impressive things I have experienced from a product.
As for the sound though, and I tended towards the sound of riding through rice crispies. If I start hankering after bacon next time there will be trouble!
One thing to bear in mind is that if there's a big chunk of sheet ice then ice spikes turn riding on it from impossible/terrifying to merely disconcerting. It's sort of like riding on ground where the top wee bit has thawed and the rest is solid.
The other thing is do not stop till you get off the ice as your shoes don't have spikes :/
Oh, and factor in a little extra time for your commute as they're a bit slower.
[quote=mr_stru ]The other thing is do not stop till you get off the ice as your shoes don't have spikes :/
Oh aye - I meant to say that too 😳