Doug, I agree with Frank, get studs front and rear. There have been many times when I simply wouldn't have have made it home with studs on the front only. Going up hills is especially a problem without studs on the rear. After the last ice/snow storm, Tokay was a mess and I was slipping some even with the rear studs going up the hill eastbound from Segoe Rd.
Wednesday coming home from the PBMVC meeting via the Missing Link and SW paths was made much easier with the rear studs. The Missing link was especially bad with half frozen ponds several inches deep, uneven ice, and smooth ice. Having the traction of studs mad it possible to bike that section without getting stalled or falling. As for cornering, far from making the corners more dangerous, the rear studs provide extra stability. If you are going so fast that your front tire will wash out with front and rear studs, you aren't going to have a chance with just front studs. My point is that you can do the same corner at higher speed with front and rear studs than you can with just front studs. Like Frank, I ride fast and the front and rear studs are a necessity in my opinion. I add another trick which helps with a lot of snow. I reverse the tread direction on the rear tire as compared to the front tire. Again this really comes in to play on hills. Mark On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 5:48 PM, Doug Adler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I've thought about it a lot actually. Of course the weight distribution > and braking matters, but most riders don't shift their weight forward on > every corner. The big difference in ice vs. dry pavement is the larger > drop in sliding friction on ice once a skid starts. On dry pavement you > can actually slide your front tire through a turn and stay upright, as > the friction just before slide is only a little higher than the friction > while sliding. On ice the friction drop is much larger, so once the > front tire starts to slide it's gone. The reason studs on both is not > the same as summer is that with wet or dry pavement the friction is > nearly constant at each point on the road surface, while with a stud on > ice you get big variations depending on the ice at the point of contact > and where the stud is. So you could still bust loose and wash out. If > you only have studs on front the back tire will go first. > > But like I said, try both and see which you like best, for your riding > style and your typical conditions. I ride fast, don't coast on ice, and > my back wheel doesn't slide out. But if I rode more ice I'd probably > get rears. I just think it's a matter of personal preference, not one > is inherently better. > > -Doug Adler > > > > Frank Hassler wrote: > > > On Feb 29, 2008, at 2:54 PM, Doug Adler wrote: > > > >> Most winter cyclists I know haven't tried only front.:-) To me > >> having studs front and rear can be more dangerous if you take a > >> corner too fast. If you have the same amount of traction front and > >> rear the front washes out first, while the rear slide I can deal with. > > > > > > Think about this a second, does this logic carry through to the summer > > riding as well? Its the same basic physics. Which tire looses > > traction first depends on your weight distribution on the bike and the > > friction between each tire and the ground.... and how much brake you > > grab per wheel. > > > >> If you tend to ride slowly and cautiously get both, cause the rear is > >> more likely to slide out when you go slow. But if you have the > >> occasional slick ice along with pavement and hardpack, just front > >> will probably suffice, and you'll get lots less drag on the pavement > >> because most of your weight is over the back. > > > > > > I like to ride quickly and aggressively (at least when I have the > > energy to do so) so I have studs front and rear so I don't NEED to > > ride slowly and cautiously. Or you could just ride however and > > continue riding however. There is extra rolling resistance with > > studded tires, but its more then made up for when you don't have to > > coast over every patch of ice you hit because when you pedal your rear > > wheel slides out from under you. Also, stopping can be very dangerous > > if you can't get any traction with your rear tire. I think Peter > > White brings up some good points in his discussion of the subject. > > > > Frank Hassler > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Guard it well, for it is far more precious than money... once > > destroyed, nature's beauty cannot be repurchased at any price." > > -Ansel Adams > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies > -- Mark N. Shahan ------ __o 607 Piper Drive ------- _`\<,_ Madison, WI 53711-1338 ---- (*)/ (*) (608) 274-9367 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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