Was a bit of a pain being stranded last Winter – replaced cycling with running as there was less chance of death.

Anyone used the Conti or Schwalbe ice tyres? Do the genuinely work in ice packed onto tarmac? Could be a good investment. Possibly.

Do the genuinely work in ice packed onto tarmac

My concern isn’t grip I may or may not have but the other road users who assume that near bald tyres on a Nova with a big exhaust are perfect for the conditions.

Yes – they work quite astoundingly. I had the conti snow 120s – it was just unncanny to be able to ride on boilerplate

Hmm – sounds tempting.

Also ordered some of these from Canada – I refuse to get stranded this year (also bought the 110 Defender just to make sure!)!

http://www.icers.nb.ca/customers.html

i found the conti 120s too wide for snow

so have used my 120s once and put 1.8 muds on in their place last year – much better ! including racing the puffer solo and riding to work nearly every day last year – most of the time in the snow on 700 x 32 panaracer crosstowns – do second staying the **** off the roads – saw some mental interpretations of “driving” last year ….

here’s some I made last year…

yep – used Schwalbe’s tyres last winter – no issues on hard, or melting ice, but would second wwaswas’s comment – other road users become even more of a liability.One other thing to watch out for is when you stop and put a foot down you can slide out as you do tend to forget how slippy it is underfoot.

Do a forum seach for 1 year ago – loads of threads on this issue of snow and ice tyres. 🙂

rode to work this morning with my Schwalbe ‘ice tyres’ on the roadrat as they apparently require 20+ miles of ‘bedding-in’ on tarmac before you take them off-road.

quite noisy … like riding over Rice Crispies. Quite frosty this morning but no serious ice to speak of so I can’t comment yet on how effective they are on ice.

Looking forward to the first snowy off-road ride!

Schwalbe Snow Studs are good for unpredictable/mixed conditions. The studs are just on the outside, so they catch you if you slip but are not too noisy for tarmac. They were ace last year on snow covered back roads and saved me multiple times when slipping on ice.

For pure ice, full spike are the way to go.

Yep they geniuinely work.
I’ve had a set of schalbe ice spikers for several years. And around this time stick em on a spare bike for the icy mornings. There also pretty good off road tyres.
Tempted to buy a pair of the lighter ones this year though.
But your bike will sound a bit like a tank and people will look round to see what’s approaching 🙂

I have some Schwalbe Ice Spiker’s, the wire bead version which are cheaper but heavier than the Pro’s. I think the Pro’s may also use carbide for the studs instead of the tungsten steel on mine?

I’ve not actually used them for off road as yet as I found my Trailrakers to be quite good at dealing with ice last year, probably due to the soft compound on the knobs.

I used them for commuting only, they are draggy in comparison to normal slicks as you would expect but I look at it as a positive as it’s extra exercise from my point of view.
They make one hell of a clatter on tarmac, I often left them on when the ice had thawed and more ice and snow was on the way, it’s like riding on 2 bowls of highly noisy rice krispies!

I’ve no idea how the tread would fare in off road mud as I haven’t tried it but the cheaper tyre knobs are a little ‘plasticy’ whereas the Pro version – folding bead look like a softer compound, but I’m not 100% on that, would have to check them out in a shop.

As for riding on ice, you could be forgiven at times for thinking it’s actually middle of summer, even breaking stopper power didn’t seem reduced that much. No exaggeration, they really do work on the blackest of ice, I’d even advise you to think about getting some of those stud devices that can be attached to you shoes as you may actually forget you are on ice when dismounting, the spikes work that well!

They are bloomin expensive though, I would suggest people wanting to dip their toes into the frozen water perhaps think about buying one for the front only, perhaps combined with a soft compound MTB tyre with well spread knobs on the rear, that might actually work well, then later you may decide to buy another for the full set, or not as they case may be.

Review of the pro’s here here..
http://www.bikemag.com/gear/accessories/Schwalbe_Ice_Spiker_Pro/

Ran Ice Spikers on a hardtail last winter. They’re no better than normal knobblies on softer snow, but they’re ace for ice, refrozen slush and nevé. I used them a lot for road riding in conditions where the trails round here were utterly snow-drifted. They basically turn hard-packed snow and ice into a rideable surface, though you can’t take liberties on proper water ice or you’re goin’ darn…

If you’re going to get them, I’d go front and rear personally – what’s the point of a planted front if the rear isn’t going to give you any grip? And no, they’re not very fast rolling.

And if you’re a keen runner, I can totally recommend running shoes from a Swedish brand called Icebug – they use tungsten worrever it is studs in the sole unit and work pretty much like ice tyres.

I’m building a sort of semi skimmed rather than fat bike using these 3″ nobbly beauties for the snowy/icy winter bits. About 5-10 psi should do it lovely

the only issue is there isnt any schwalbe ice spikers or snow studs available in the uk until the first week in december…..ive got loads coming in though if anyone wants any! 😀 (i think ive got one pair of the dearer ice spiker left in at the moment)

theyre great,i used icespikers last year in glentress and they were super grippy! very odd when everyone else is skidding about…
http://www.cycle-world.co.uk/offers.php

I’m trying to decide between the snow stud, and full spikers. CX bike commuter. *muses*

I went the DIY route like the wookie above. I trimmed the excess down though to just proud of the knobs. I used bonty mud x’s and the one ride I had on them was great. Of course then all the ice melted… This year I intend on setting them up tubeless to save a bit of weight and prevent potential problems with the screw heads eating through tubes.

After going DIY last year, I had a chance to roll around the block twice before the ice melted.

I’m keenly anticipating the same conditions this year.

I used a variety of treads during the Norweigan winter season last year. Something I learnt on my first outing, if your riding on just pure icey / hardpacked snowy roads — your tyres grip very well but of course (doh!) your feet don’t when it is time to ‘dab’ or put a foot down to halt! I’d suggest some spikes on your shoes too!

Schwable tyres are nice IMO as some of them have a reflective sidewall — which is great for on-road winter time rides.

Nokia make some hefty treads too — more studs / spikes = more price

I don’t get on with ice tyres – feckers are too slippery when finally on the bike/disappear at the slightest bit of heat (and there is a lot given how little traction they provide) and getting them on is a total nightmare…they don’t have much give in them so they tend to snap if forced…

Try rubber-based tyres…much easier and reassuringly grippy.

Dick – far to clever for me, took at least 3 re-reads!

Clas Ohlsen have some CX tyres in with 120 spikes for £29.99 if that PSA is of any use to anyone?

I used roofing felt tacks and duck tape a long time ago, worked a treat for a few hours, and great for sparking skids on tarmac in the dark!