On Dec 5, 2007, at 1:48 PM, Troy Thiel wrote:
Speaking of Biking with Snow/Ice/whatever it is on the pavement....what do people recommend as tire choice? Knobbies or wider slicks? Air Pressure?
At risk of getting shot, I'll admit I rode to work today, though mostly on the SW trail. Tires with tungsten carbide (NOT steel) studs are absolutely essential under such conditions. For years, I've been using 2.1" Nokian Extreme tires. However, this morning when I got bogged down on Charter Street, one of my co-workers rode right by. Now he may be more skilled than I, but his NARROW studded tires may also have been better with loose snow on top of ice. The wide tires prevented the studs from biting into the ice below the snow. The narrow tires probably also offer a little less resistance when plowing through several inches of new snow, which is very hard work with the wide tires.
I think fairly high pressure is best for ice. It needs to be high enough that the studs bite into the ice. I lower the pressure a bit when there's no ice to save wear on the studs. That may also improve traction, as studded tires aren't great on ice-free surfaces. Like most everything, studded tires involve trade-offs. They're also expensive, but what is it worth to NOT break your clavicle?
Scott Scott Ellington Madison, Wisconsin USA _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
