Hello Sean, I just wanted to add my personal experience with 2 studded tires. I'm on my 3rd winter with some Nokian Hakkapeliitta's (W106) and the studs still have good bite. I leave them on my daily cyclomuter from the beginning to the end of winter. This winter I tried an Innova studded 26" in the rear (due to a wheel size change) and the studs are already worn down and useless (in use for about 3 months now). I recommend sticking with a brand that uses a hardened carbide stud.
I ride in Salt Lake City through the winter and recommend studs. As mentioned above, conditions are always different and the best I hope for to not to lose control every time I hit the inevitable ice patch. 4 inches of fresh Utah powder over a clean path is a blast to ride through... no matter what the tire. Winter is not a time not to ride your bike. Cheers, BykMor On Jan 30, 10:59 am, fenderbender <[email protected]> wrote: > Lot of good info here! Were I live the temp change so frequently that > I usually ride on frozen and badly plowed bike path and roads in the > morning and in snow slush back. Like mentioned studded tires are a > must here so another vote for the Nokian Mount&Ground. They are heavy > and with the extra resistance far from swift. But the studs sit in a > four row configuration, cheaper tires have only two, so they bite in > corners making them great for MTB-ing too! > Studs sit slightly off to the side so inflated to 3,5bar dry roads > don't wear them down too fast (mine are 3-years and still have great > bite!). The more severe conditions are the less air I use, going as > low as 1,85bar. > For road bikes I think the new Marathon Winter are a great tire. Four > rows of studs, tighter thread and a lower weight. From what I heard > they use the same make of studs as Nokian. Tried a set of studded > IRC's in the 90's but they were crap as the studs disappeared into the > rubber! > > On 30 Jan, 18:09, John McMurry <[email protected]> wrote: > > > On Jan 30, 11:01 am, Sean Whelan <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > I was never a mountain biker, so most of my attempts to ride in the snow > > > usually end up either with me staring up at the sky from a cold an > > > painful landing on the street, or teetering on the verge of collapse at > > > less than 5 mph. > > > > What do you folks do? > > > > What tires at what pressure? > > > IMO, there is no winter tire that excels in all conditions. I find > > the Nokian Mount & Ground tires to be generally very good winter tires > > for most winter conditions that I cycle in. They're sized 559x45mm > > and I run them between 35-45psi, depending on conditions. They > > perform very well when temps are very low (15F to -25F), with up to a > > 4" snow layer, dodging (and hitting) snow cookies, the occasional > > sidewalk detour (when conditions warrant), and on light snow covered > > ice. In a few other conditions, they're overkill: so smaller tread > > blocks, a narrower profile, and less studs would perform better. > > > When snow is sticky, thickly rutted, and has a slimy base, (temps from > > 20F to 35F on an unplowed, paved surface) I prefer a slightly narrower > > tire at a higher pressure and less and/or negative tread. The wider > > tires I've used (including the Mount and Grounds) tend to half float, > > half sink in that stuff and your wheels constantly drift. > > Additionally, the snow packs up into the tread, making pedaling much > > more difficult, and traction minimal. These tires excel at most other > > conditions though, and so, I'll continue to use them on my commuter. > > > I've also had the following experiences riding these tires in the > > winter: > > > Panaracer Pasela 622x37mm and found them to be a great winter tire for > > when roads are better maintained, but no studs meant cornering was > > tricky and sometimes dangerous. Not so great getting up steep, icy > > roads. > > > Continental Town & Country 559x57mm and really liked that they didn't > > pack full of snow and provided pretty good traction, but again, were > > unstudded and found they floated a bit too much in the loose stuff. > > > Nokian A10 584x36mm and find them excellent tires on most winter > > rides. They're better than the Mount & Grounds when roads have been > > plowed, they're worse when AOT is on strike. > > > Regarding winter bicycle riding, the best advice I can give if you're > > having problems getting going is to: keep pedaling. > > > Momentum will get you through most everything, except corners. > > > John McMurry > > Burlington, VT --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
