Your latest bike purchase?

[cyclingfool]

@creadinger 94219 wrote:

To get ready for winter, I just ordered:

A set of 700 x 33 knobby tires

No studs?

[cyclingfool]

@dkel 94225 wrote:

I’ve been thinking hard about ordering some Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires. I have a good alternate route to work on relatively quiet streets, though, and since streets tend to get plowed, that makes riding frozen MUPs unnecessary. I also have some nice knobby 41s that would probably be pretty good on those same winter streets. But taking the trail on studded tires, without constantly obsessing about conditions, would be simpler. What to do?? The good thing is that any of those tires will fit under my huge VO fenders. 😎

Studded tires might still not be such a bad idea. Streets do get plowed, but that only takes care of snow. After one or two thaw-melt cycles, there can be some gnarly black ice out there, even if the road looks clear. Schwalbes and Nokians have good long-lasting studs that can survive riding on pavement w/o ice or snow for longer distances.

[hozn]

I will put in a plug for Schwalbe Durano tires as a good winter option. They are nice and grippy and still reasonably fast — roll faster than Conti 4 Seasons, according to bikeradar tests. Best price I have found is: http://www.probikekit.com/bicycle-tyres/schwalbe-durano-clincher-road-tyre/10776888.html I used these in 28mm last winter and was very happy with them. I generally find knobby tires to be more terrifying in slippery conditions, though they are a bit better in snow. Really, you want studded tires. http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp I use the Nokian A10 tires and they are sufficient for most of the snow we have to deal with (not for deep snow, but then most of the tires wouldn’t be). They also fit under my SKS Urban Velo 42 removable fenders. Bonus.

Right now I’m just using 25mm GP4000S tires with reflective sidewalls. Those are also pretty nice winter (or at least wet-weather) tires. Grippier than Gatorskins and roll faster. (I’ve crashed a couple times with Gatorskins on wet pavement, so I don’t use them anymore. Of course, it’s very possible I would have crashed with any tires, but [knock on wood] have had no slipping with GP4000S tires.)

[creadinger]

@cyclingfool 94227 wrote:

No studs?

I’m not a bike commute 100% of the time guy. I pick and choose which days to ride based on conditions. So if there’s a period where ice is a persistent problem, I won’t be riding. However, for the nicer days the knobby tires will at least off a bit more traction in the places that may still be muddy, slushy, snowy.

Besides, I’m all the stud my bike needs

[Crickey7]

Speaking of which, I stuck my hands into the pants I’d packed this morning and found some used charcoal hand warmers, which reminded me that this was the year I would replace my pathetic toe covers with right proper shoe covers.

[ebubar]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001AYML7K/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=35078873724&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7604123795465439583&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_4bu0j0drsl_b

If your thumbs are weak or just need to be preserved for your videogaming, I recommend this for mounting RIDICULOUSLY tight tires.

[peterw_diy]

@dkel 94225 wrote:

I’ve been thinking hard about ordering some Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires. I have a good alternate route to work on relatively quiet streets, though, and since streets tend to get plowed, that makes riding frozen MUPs unnecessary.

Buy them. Plowing doesn’t clear everything, and salty sub-32F slush is not great to ride on. Sometimes, especially commuting, you have to ride routes before the plows can “clear” them. Buy studded tires (Schwalbe Winters are great for fairly smooth routes), put them on right after Thanksgiving, and keep them on through St. Patrick’s day. Your bike will gain 4 pounds, your commute will take more time, but you won’t have to worry about tires slipping.

Also, you won’t have to use your bell as much, as the tires will announce your presence to any pedestrian not using headphones.

[hozn]

@peterw_diy 94301 wrote:

put them on right after Thanksgiving, and keep them on through St. Patrick’s day

I know this is what Peter White says, but seriously … ? This past winter was exceptional for us and yet there were only 13 days where I used the snow tires. On snow days I rode my MTB around a bit (with just knobby tires) and there might have been one or two additional days that I would have used them but didn’t commute by bike for whatever reason, but suffice it to say that it was a small fraction of the days that I commuted. I love having snow tires, but my advice would be to put them on a spare (cheap, if you like) wheelset and swap them in when you need them. They make the bike significantly (maybe 20%? feels like it, anyway) slower on dry pavement. And I am using the (fastest?) Nokian A10 tires.

The previous winter they were necessary only once — and that was with riding every day (freezing saddles).

[peterw_diy]

@hozn 94303 wrote:

I know this is what Peter White says, but seriously … ?

Yes.

[hozn]

@peterw_diy 94308 wrote:

Yes.

Well, OK, to each their own. I would rather default to using tires that grip well on above-freezing wet (and dry) pavement — which studded tires do not — than keep the studs on when there is no risk of ice.

[Harry Meatmotor]

Good middle ground

I’ve ridden studs (26″ MTB) and while it is a bit comparing apples to oranges with different tire sizes, I found the Top Contact Winters to be completely predictable on all but the worst conditions last winter. The only time I couldn’t either get enough traction in the back to get moving, or steer without washing out the front tire was on the 14th St. bridge, when it was a snow-plow induced icey-sand-and-slush-thrown-over-the-pedestrian-barrier hell hole. I could barely even walk through that shit. The nice thing about the Top Contact Winters is that you can run them down to about 27-30 PSI in the muck, and up to 60 PSI in the dry and they roll much better (and safer) than a set of studs. And they just barely fit under my SKS P45 28-37mm fenders.

[peterw_diy]

@hozn 94310 wrote:

Well, OK, to each their own. I would rather default to using tires that grip well on above-freezing wet (and dry) pavement — which studded tires do not — than keep the studs on when there is no risk of ice.

I believe I had read that studded tires don’t corner very well, but my current commute doesn’t feature any fast curves.

Even though my studded tires are on a dedicated wheelset** whose rims are only about 1mm different width, switching wheels also means fiddling with the brake pad adjustments and often the RD too — to say nothing of how dirty a job switching commuter wheels is. I’d much rather be a good, prepared Boy Scout and keep the winter tires on. Yes, to each his own.

Peter

** Highly recommended. Mounting & removing studded tires can be unpleasant with all those carbide studs.

[hozn]

Yes, they do not grip pavement well — neither do knobby tires. Especially wet pavement. I would rather be safer for the prevalent wet winter conditions — and have the ride be much easier / faster. But certainly the fact that I am using disc-brake wheelsets built on same hubs makes wheel changes an adjustment-free exercise exercise.

[Vicegrip]

Obvious answer. Ice bike.

[KLizotte]

The weather forecasters are predicting a colder, snowier winter than normal for the DC region. Time to book your Caribbean vacation now!

Mid-Atlantic: The Mid-Atlantic could even see a snowier winter than last winter and likely experience well-below average temperatures. This winter could rival some of the “snowpocalyptic” winters that occurred a few years back, which will likely end up making this a highly discussed topic throughout the winter. This will likely be a wetter-than-average winter for the Mid-Atlantic, and this region will likely feel the effects of low pressure systems bombing off the East Coast. This area will probably be impacted by several storms this season and may even feel the effects of a pre-season storm that may try to develop.

http://firsthandweather.com/283/early-2014-15-winter-forecast-region-region-breakdown/

[Author]

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