Considering getting some
recent weather and all + maybe needed for Strathpuffer

My Googlefu has failed me, only finding stuff in the states
nowt in the uk that I can find

all terrain cycles were emailign about studded tyres (26") might be worth a ring though.

Remember 29er is USA BLX for 700C. Sold the last of my Marathon winters last night. New stock not due until the new year. 20 tyres in at 3:45 last night 20 gone by 4:15pm.

i want these

59-644 best 29er option i reckon. can't find em for sale this side of the atlantic though!

who is the nokian importer?

Nokian used to be brought in by Windwave but they dropped them last year.

yeah just phone WindWave, and yep don't do them anymore 😥
could have been handy too as they're not far from Thom and I

I got some Schwalbe Snow Studs. At first they were ace, but after 2 rides they've developed some 'manufacturing defects'.
They're going back.

Thom might be easier to get some from Finland/Germany

See if Rich or James might want some too maybe get some for all of us.
thing is might not need 'em but if it's anything like this at the puffer then they'll bo worth their weight in gold

maybe homebrew is the way?

terra hawk where'd you get 'em from?
obviously not perfect but possibly an option I can't get hold of anything else

hmmm homebrew is an option too

keith ygm.

don't go for the schwalbe snow studs – 2 of mine have developed the same fault as terrahawk's.

one even rolled off the rim while i was riding, nearly throwing me in front of a car.

avoid, normal tyres would be safer.

alternatively – CRC have some studded conti's, which i shall be trying in the next few weeks

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=30211

So what went wrong with the snow studs? Mine are pretty new and so far so good.

One of terrahawks and one of mine had the wire bead snap and rip through the carcass, puncturing the tube. they tyre wouldn't sit on a rim afterwards (long walk home): you can just about see it sticking out in this pic

My second just popped off the rim while riding along a flat, straight bit of road – again the bead had stretched and it now simply will not stay on any rim. If you manage to get it to not pop off before inflating the tube, anything over 20psi just blows it straight off (anything under and it just flops off as soon as you try to ride)

Can't be a dodgy batch either, as I've had mine (sitting unused) for a year, terrahawk only got his a few weeks back.

what Dave said, basically. I'm sending these back for a refund. I've since ordered some Conti Nordics instead.

The Schwalbes just seem to be very, very badly made. The studs actually work when the rest of the tyre is behaving itself, so it's a shame really.

Avoid em.

I dont think you should be put off by a batch defect. Both sets of my Schwalbe Ice spikers and my Schwalbe snow tyres are about 4 years old and have never given a single problem.

I got my schwalbes 26" last week from stewart wilson cycles in stirling – 4 rides old now and still all OK

Chainreaction and Wiggle both sell Snow and/or Ice tyres. No idea what the stock levels are though.

ahem…

home brew….

Wonder if this statement has any bearing on the tyre failures mentioned above?

"Nokian non foldable tires can safely be rolled up into thirds without damaging the wire bead. We have found however, that the wire beads of Schwalbe tires tend to take sharp bends easily when being rolled, so we don't roll Schwalbes. If the bead in your Nokians does arrive with a slight bend in the bead, don't worry, just gently bend it back straight with your hands. If you mount a tire that has a sharp bend in the bead, there is a chance that the tire could blow off the rim while being inflated, so any tire should be checked to be sure the wire bead is fairly straight before mounting. Tire beads can also be bent by removing a tire from a rim with tire irons, so be careful there too. I've never had a Nokian take a bend in the bead that couldn't easily be straightened."

From the helpful website of Peter White cycles (USA)
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp