Studded Tyres – Edinburgh Commute

I have a short commute to work by bike in Edinburgh, which is the quickest way to get there. Driving, walking and the bus all take much longer.

Had an off on black ice last week (ripped jacket and jeans, nice bit of road rash) and yesterday morning was pretty sketchy too! I’m wondering whether to invest in some studded tyres for the winter. They are pretty pricey though and wondering whether I’ll actually get the use out them over the winter.

My commute currently uses back roads and cycle path. I could use main roads (i.e. should be gritted) but don’t really want to as they’re pretty busy. Bike is an On One Inbred so can fit wide tyres

Schwalbe Marathon Winter.

/thread

To explain: personally used them for years and think they’re great (also used Snow Studs and Nokian w106). They’re the only spiked tyre for commuting you see recommended in Scandinavian forums.

AS warpcow says.

This:

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b6s142p1942

Is it really worth the bother and cost of fitting studded tyres for the few days you wouldn’t be able to ride?

Guess it depends how happy you are to fit/remove tyres on a nightly basis to suit conditions.

I commute 20 miles each way and I just use an alternative way to get to work on the very few days its too icy to ride.

And those schwalbes – Please note Schwalbe advise that these tyres should be ridden for 25 miles on a hard road surface to ‘bed in’ the spikes before use in icy conditions. Hard acceleration or braking should be avoided during this bedding in period.

^ what warpcow said.

Fitted mine at the weekend. Had them on for the past few winters and they’re great on packed snow and ice (use mine at about 30psi when it’s bad) but pump them up to about 60 odd when it’s not. Just be careful on the corners as I’ve found the studs do reduce grip in normal conditions but are a complete godsend at other times.

The look on car drivers faces as you overtake them uphill when they’re revving the cr@p out of their engine and going nowhere is priceless.

I work in the countryside though and have to go down roads that never get gritted and always have standing water which turns them into a skating rink in the winter.

I commute 20 miles each way and I just use an alternative way to get to work on the very few days its too icy to ride.

hope you arent heading back over the Moor tonight Gary – mental up here already with the wind 🙁

I’d say its worth getting them, the tyres should last for years if they only get used for a few weeks in a year, plus it’s ace being able to ride over polished compacted snow with mega grip. Far better to ride the bike than getting public transport or sitting in traffic

Bedding in is standard for all spiked tyres, unless you want to end up with some very expensive spike-less tyres.

hope you arent heading back over the Moor tonight Gary – mental up here already with the wind

Thankfully no, son plays football after school on a Tuesday so we all travel in together and I pick wife and son up after work. But I think I’ll be doing the rest of the week as I’m 357 miles off my 6000 road miles target for the year – too close not to hit it!

So how sluggish and noisy are spiked tyres?

It’s like riding on bubblewrap 🙂

I’ve used Marathon Winters and Schwalbe Ice Spikers (for commuting into and out of Edinburgh). The latter will give better grip and traction in snow as well as ice but are obviously a bit more draggy too. The version with just the outer spikes work well for mixed conditions.

Thanks for replies. My plan would be that once the tyres are on they stay on until temps rise, I have another MTB so no need to keep swapping….. might also consider another wheelset though too so I can take the inbred off road

Planet X until midnight have them for £11.99!!!!

HERE

Marathon winters are great. I wish I had chucked them on before a nervy trip out the Water of Leith path yesterday afternoon. A few don’t brake, don’t steer, don’t breathe sections 😯

Have had mine on my commuting bike for the last four winters and they have held on to all of their studs and have plenty of tread left.

I would say they are well worth it even if it just keeps you riding on a few days over the winter. Have had a few situations where I just hadn’t realised there was ice on the ground until I stopped and put a foot down.

Have used Conti Spike Claw 120 stud (just on the outer edges like the Ice spikers scotroutes mentions) tyres on my mountain bike too. A good offroad all rounder, but would go with the Marathon Winters for a road/cycle path commute.

Nice timing on the PSA hammy 🙂

Cheers Hammy, bought a pair already! Happy to give those a go at that price, they’re not Marathons but should do the job

The Snow Studs are perfectly adequate, just roll a bit slower and not quite as grippy on proper sheet ice in my experience. For that price it’d be silly not to.

Bedding in is standard for all spiked tyres, unless you want to end up with some very expensive spike-less tyres.

Not necessarily – they’ll probably be OK without (mine were) but this advice is basically the manufacturer covering their arse in case the studs haven’t been installed properly at the factory.

More info here: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp (I seem to end up posting this link every year, but it’s quite an interesting read and contains more info than you’d ever want re. studded tyres!)

FWIW I can’t recommend studded tyres enough. I’ve been using 26″ Ice Spiker Pros for he last few years (permanently installed tubelessly to a spare set of wheels).

I got some Ice Spiker Pros that I fit when we have proper snow and ice down here in Derby. Never bothered bedding them in, never lost a stud yet.

Not used last year, but got used for 2-3 weeks the three winters before that. Expensive, slow, craggy and noisy.

But they save me £25 a week in petrol, I don’t get stuck behind sliding cars, I don’t need to ride anywhere near sliding cars, and I don’t have the horrendous feeling of sliding along the road headfirst towards an oncoming car that I hat before I bought them, so saving me tbe cost of damaged clothing and helmets.

Priceless!

And they make icy snow rides a hoot when out for fun as well.

Actually, it’s the snow studs I have rather than the marathon winters and, aye, at that price they are well worth giving a shot.

Dropping the pressure a touch on days when you know there’s a lot of ice about helps with grip on sheet ice and running them at higher pressure they roll better but still have the studs there if you run into unexpected slidey bits.

At that price I picked up a set as soon as the email came in!

I bought a pair from px. Can’t go wrong at that price. I’ll keep them on one of my bikes and I’ll switch to that if it is an icy commute.

With those edge-only spikes you might want to practice adjusting tyre pressures to ensure some contact when not canted over.

I’ve used my Icespikers occasionally but it’s a bit like riding on buzzsaw blades, noisy and draggy, you’d only want to choose them when you know it’ll be bad- snowmelt fundamentally or long seriously cold spells. (but I do cut a dash with my 26er Icespikes fitted in my 29er hybrid, it’s quite the look, as long as I remember not to pedal while going round corners)

The Snow Stud like Scotroutes says needs to be run at low pressure, otherwise the studs don’t touch down in a straight line. I think the idea is that they’re fairly normal in normal weather, then if it’s icy you let them down low and they become ice tyres. No good for offroad imo but could be a decent option for a commuter.

(incidentally, Schwable sell spare studs and a fitting tool, should you tear any out.)

Rode mine for the first time today (700×30 version). Only a bit of black ice my street and they did the job. Was able to ride at normal speed including negotiating a roundabout (slight crisis of confidence at that point).

The rest of the ride and the ride home was completely clear. On normal riding they can feel quite sketchy at points so I wouldn’t push it on the corners (white lines where also interesting).

You notice the weight when cornering too, definite resistance to change direction. Checked them when I got home and no studs missing.

I will just be fitting them on the icy days (only takes about 15 minutes to swap them over) so they should last a good few years.

Regards

p.s definite rice crispy sounds when riding!

Living in Balerno, that was more often than not during the winter. If it was mild in the morning, it could be freezing on the way home – and vice versa.

rumour has it that studs are required for dealing with jaguars in blackhall traffic jams..

Snow studs are good to catch a slip, generally stop you falling – but traction on 100% ice is iffy. You have to run very low pressures. Perfect for commuting as they should prevent crashes on black ice.

Ice Spiker pros are amazing. They grip on everything…
They work fine on roads – but they do make a bit of a noise.

Anyone used schwalbe winters (not marathon winters).

spangelsaregreat – Member 

p.s definite rice crispy sounds when riding!

I like to think of it as sizzling bacon; either way I’m more hungry than usual when I finish the ride.

I’ve got a set of Ice Spikers. Sound like a Sherman tank when riding on tarmac 🙂

I like to think of it as sizzling bacon

I’ve got the Snow Studs fitted and it definitely sounded like that on the way to work today! I have the 38x700c and they roll really quite well, I thought they’d drag

I ran my 38s at 45psi and skidded on some ice.

Do I need more pressure?

I’d have thought you would need less?

Less pressure Al, to get more of the spike in contact with the road

i just fit them at first ice and leave them till mid march on the commuting bike.

waste of time doing anything else – unless your south of the watford gap and get 3 sub zero days a year 😉

Anyone used schwalbe winters (not marathon winters).

I just fitted some to a Brompton – haven’t tried, but seem very well made.

waste of time doing anything else

I’m not riding 40 miles a day on 38mm studded off road if I don’t need to.

yep you can spend the time saved from the lower speed changing one tire….

then change the other in your spare time.

I detest changing tires for no need – its a bit like washing dishes by hand when you have a dishwasher

its a bit like washing dishes by hand when you have a dishwasher

Why would anyone do that.

If we had a very, very long spell of icy weather as we had in 2010 then I might fit studded tyres and leave them on otherwise I can use an alternative way to get to work.

Anyone just use a studded tyre on the front as a bit of a grip vs speed compromise?

of course – maybe its warmer where you are ….

for me once the frost comes – its here to stay.