Studded tires

[consularrider]

The best selection I’ve found (not necessarily the best prices) is Peter White Cycles. It looks like BikeTiresDirect is now carrying a wider variety at lower cost than Peter White.

[mstone]

I ended up getting mine from wiggle because they were cheaper (including free shipping from England) than I could find domestically. I in no way understand the new economy.

[Dirt]

As of yesterday, Bikenetic had Innova 700x45cm studded tires in stock. They’re a good all-round tire… good ice traction, but also good tread for loose snow.

We also place orders on Tuesdays which normally arrive on Wednesday. This week we had customers purchase studded tires from Nokian, Schwalbe and 45Nrth.

I’m partial to the Nokians if your intent is to ride in loose snow, hardpack and ice.

Keep in mind a few things about studded tires. 1) It is a good idea to break them in a little before heading out on the ice. Riding them on pavement for 15-20 miles at a mellow pace to help set the studs into the rubber casing of the tire. 2) Studded tires don’t instantly make you a superhero on snow. There is technique to riding on ice and snow that will make you a better rider even when you’re on dry pavement. 3) Practice makes perfect.

Have fun!

[KWL]

@Dirt 104553 wrote:

I’m partial to the Nokians if your intent is to ride in loose snow, hardpack and ice. … Keep in mind a few things about studded tires. 1) It is a good idea to break them in a little before heading out on the ice. Riding them on pavement for 15-20 miles at a mellow pace to help set the studs into the rubber casing of the tire!

Of the 3 sets of studded tires I’ve owned, I’ve found the best to be my current Nokian Hakkapeliita W240’s.

Peter White addresses the stud seating issue in his unique style:
Q: Why do Nokian tires have a tag stating that you should ride the tires on paved roads for 30 miles before using them on ice?

A: It’s because Nokian is very sloppy in how they install the studs, and doesn’t take the time to ensure that every stud is fully seated in the tire tread before shipping it. With some studs partly hanging out of the tire tread, if you ride them hard, the studs can easily fall out. Riding them “easy” is supposed to help seat the studs. Of course this as all just bovine excrement, and those half seated studs can still easily fall out.

But don’t worry. Before we ship any studded tire, Nokian or Schwalbe, my staff carefully check every stud on every tire to be sure they are all correctly and fully seated in the tire tread. Any tire with studs that are not fully seated, or missing, are given to me and I, Peter Jon White, then seat or replace any missing studs personally. We’ll ship no tire with missing or partially seated studs. That means you don’t have to fool around riding slowly. Ignore the silly and misleading message from Nokian when you buy tires from me.

[cyclingfool]

@Dirt 104553 wrote:

Keep in mind a few things about studded tires. 1) It is a good idea to break them in a little before heading out on the ice. Riding them on pavement for 15-20 miles at a mellow pace to help set the studs into the rubber casing of the tire.

Is there anything other than a mellow pace on studs?! For all my efforts, I never seem to achieve such a pace…

[Subby]

@cyclingfool 104567 wrote:

Is there anything other than a mellow pace on studs?! For all my efforts, I never seem to achieve such a pace…

I feel like I top out at about 11.5 mph on my 32s inflated to about 45-50. Anything faster and I have to start breathing heavy and that’s just no good for anyone.

[dkel]

@KWL 104564 wrote:

Of the 3 sets of studded tires I’ve owned, I’ve found the best to be my current Nokian Hakkapeliita W240’s.

I have studs for the first time this year, and I have been able to do things I’ve never done before as a result. Rode the W&OD to the happy hour tonight, and felt confident on really nasty stretches that would have stopped me without studs. I have the Nokians in 700×40, and they are wicked. The price is pretty good at REI. They appear to have only 40s, which might not work on everyone’s frame.

[dagamon]

Thanks for the tips. One more question then. Do you have a 2nd set of wheels, an ice bike, or do you just swap tires all the time?

Obviously, the best solution is to have a different bike for every possible contingency, one bike when it’s 70 and sunny, another when it’s 75 and overcast.

[consularrider]

@dagamon 105180 wrote:

Thanks for the tips. One more question then. Do you have a 2nd set of wheels, an ice bike, or do you just swap tires all the time?

Obviously, the best solution is to have a different bike for every possible contingency, one bike when it’s 70 and sunny, another when it’s 75 and overcast.

Right now I have two bikes and have two sets of wheels for the one I ride the most (Kona Rove). I currently have 700X35 cx type tires on one wheel set and 700×35 Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires on the other. Once the ice season ends, I will remount some slicks on the wheel set that has the studded tires. Unfortunately, there is just a little bit of difference between the wheel sets so I have to do a minor disc brake adjustment when I switch them.

My other bike is a disc brake hybrid that currently has 700×28 Schwalbe Marathon Greenguard tires, but I haven’t ridden it since late November.

I miss my Salsa Pistola road bike that is currently waiting for me in Kyiv!

[Crickey7]

I found unstudded fresh cyclocross tires with small block knobbies a reasonable compromise last week. They gripped anything short of sheer ice, and had acceptable rolling resistance.

[vvill]

My only concern with studded tires is fixing a flat! I haven’t gotten one yet but between the wire beads, cold outside temps and sharp carbide poking into your hands/gloves I can’t imagine doing a trailside fix.

@KWL 104564 wrote:

Of the 3 sets of studded tires I’ve owned, I’ve found the best to be my current Nokian Hakkapeliita W240’s.

Peter White addresses the stud seating issue in his unique style:
Q: Why do Nokian tires have a tag stating that you should ride the tires on paved roads for 30 miles before using them on ice?

A: It’s because Nokian is very sloppy in how they install the studs, and doesn’t take the time to ensure that every stud is fully seated in the tire tread before shipping it. With some studs partly hanging out of the tire tread, if you ride them hard, the studs can easily fall out. Riding them “easy” is supposed to help seat the studs. Of course this as all just bovine excrement, and those half seated studs can still easily fall out.

But don’t worry. Before we ship any studded tire, Nokian or Schwalbe, my staff carefully check every stud on every tire to be sure they are all correctly and fully seated in the tire tread. Any tire with studs that are not fully seated, or missing, are given to me and I, Peter Jon White, then seat or replace any missing studs personally. We’ll ship no tire with missing or partially seated studs. That means you don’t have to fool around riding slowly. Ignore the silly and misleading message from Nokian when you buy tires from me.

Interesting, never read that before. Can’t believe that they check every stud! FWIW I have a Nokian 240 and a 160 and am very happy with their handling on ice. The 160 lost one stud a year or two ago but otherwise they’re all still there.

@consularrider 105190 wrote:

Right now I have two bikes and have two sets of wheels for the one I ride the most (Kona Rove). I currently have 700X35 cx type tires on one wheel set and 700×35 Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires on the other. Once the ice season ends, I will remount some slicks on the wheel set that has the studded tires. Unfortunately, there is just a little bit of difference between the wheel sets so I have to do a minor disc brake adjustment when I switch them.

You could try these if you have 6-bolt rotors:
http://www.syntace.com/index.cfm?pid=3&pk=757

although they may be hard to find in stock. I used a couple sets across my disc brake wheelsets and I don’t have to adjust them now. It did take a lot of trial and error to get the right number of shims in there. (Also you may want to double check the bolts are in properly after a few rides, although I imagine since these by Syntace they should be ok if you’re not doing extreme MTB downhilling + braking.)

[Subby]

I bought a nice Mavic wheelset on the DC used bike marketplace (~$200) and put my snow tires on those. Worth every single penny not having to deal with taking the tires off and on and on and off depending on the whim of the weather.

[peterw_diy]

@Dirt 104553 wrote:

As of yesterday, Bikenetic had Innova 700x45cm studded tires in stock.

Does Innova use carbide-tipped studs now, or the same old cheap steel ones as in the past?
http://thegoldenwrench.blogspot.com/2010/11/replacement-studs-for-studded-tires.html

[GB]

I’m on the verge of buying some Marathon studded tires. My commute is 15 miles, so rolling resistance matters. Will I regret pushing 40mm over 35mm? How much extra stability will the 5mm give me? Will both fit on most cross bikes? (These are going on my MTB for now, but I’m hoping for a +1 in a year or two…

Is there a lower rolling resistance studded tire I’m over looking?

[hozn]

I have the Nokian A10 in 32mm; supposedly the fastest? But still a lot slower than anything else I have ridden.

Most true cross frames probably will not fit a 40mm, since the UCI max cx tire width is 33mm. Gravel frames more likely, though. Getting a cross/gravel frame that *can* fit 40mm is not an unreasonable requirement, though. Mine fits 45mm tires and I love that feature.

[Author]

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