On Dec 4, 2008, at 11:52 AM, Eric Sundquist wrote:
I got studs for my bad weather commuter last year, but usually the ride in is partly snowy/icy and partly dry, so I've been reluctant to use them out of concern that the studs will 1) wear down on the dry parts, and 2) mess up the pavements there. I can see the studs wore down a little just in the two months I used them; I don't have any empirical evidence on the pavements, but you'd think studs would wear them out. But am I overthinking this?
1) Studs won't wear out if you get the ones made of tungsten carbide, which is an extremely hard metal. The Nokian and Schwalbe studded tires all use tungsten studs. The rubber will wear out on those tires (usually the sidewalls) before the studs will.
The less expensive Nashbar and Innova tires use a milder steel and the studs wear out in a season or two, depending on how much they're ridden on dry pavement. I think they're intended to be ridden exclusively on ice and snow. Don't know about the Kendas.
2) There are a fair number of people riding bikes with studded tires on the bike paths, even in dry weather, but there doesn't appear that they wear the surface at all. The speed and weight of a bike probably just aren't enough. Plus you can't just step on the gas and spin the driving wheel (well, maybe some of you can, but I can't.)
I say that if you can afford studded tires, get them and use them. Totally worth it for all the reasons India Rose mentioned earlier.
Michael Lemberger Madison _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
