First commute on studded tires

I found a pair of studded tires at one of the swaps a year or two ago and put them on a bike in the midst of general tire changing and patching a few weeks ago.

Today was the first day it really seemed to make sense to take that bike out (9 miles round trip.)

Pretty sure these are the tires:

http://www.amazon.com/Innova-Studded-Black-steel-studs/dp/B001CK2IXY

I may have paid $30 for the pair . . .slightly used I think.

In situ:

Impressions:

They definitely work. I tried torquing down and braking on various ice sheets (put my foot down to check that they were indeed slick) and it seems to be close to impossible to get any slippage at all to happen.

I was a bit wary of losing studs after reading reviews of people losing some percentage of their studs with each ride, but I was unable to find a single missing stud.

That's the good news. The rest of my impressions are less positive. Here they are in descending order of gravity (or ascending order of piddliness.)

-If you're looking for maximum rolling resistance, this is the way to go about it.

On dry pavement it takes about twice as much effort to get from A to B per my totally subjective assessment. I'd guess I was able to cruise along at about 10 mph without going anaerobic.  If I had to move quickly for a short period I doubt I could get much above 16-18 mph, and I doubt I'd be able to hold that for much more than 1/2 a block.

-If you rely on your hearing to any extent to know when cars are coming up behind you, you may be in trouble with these as the sound of the studs on asphalt is loud, and very similar in pitch and timbre to the sound of an approaching car.

-the bike will only go in the direction the front wheel is pointing.  I few times I got a bit of a start by trying to make a subtle course correction by leaning (wasn't even aware I do that) and noticed that the bike does not respond to the input, but continues to stubbornly follow the front wheel's alignment. A little like being on a track.

-on dry pavement (which is most of a ride even on icy days) you feel the entire time like you're wearing the studs down second by second, which is kind of an icky feeling.

-by about 1/3 into the first leg I had gotten comfortable with the idea that I could just  ride on over ice patches and cast my worries to the wind . . . but I wonder if that's such a good thing to habituate to?

I think there was more but I'll update as it comes to me.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on January 30, 2012 at 5:04pm

You are to be commended on riding such knobby tires! Those have more friction going for them than the 700c Nokians I ride with. I have a fairly smooth center tread whilst you have mtb tires with allot more studs hitting the ground. Must make a cool sound as you ride...


h' said:

I took studly to work today because I was running late (first  time for everything!) and it was ready  to go, and on the way here the perfect analogy came to me: Like riding a bike on a giant glue trap.

Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on January 31, 2012 at 11:26am

I enjoyed reading your findings, but I have to say that my own experience with studded tires over the past couple of years are completely different. I am using Marathon Winter tires, which have a much less aggressive tread. They ride roughly like not-very-aggressive mountain bike tires, or better, and the noise is limited to a crunching sound like riding on gravel. I don't notice any problem with turning or leaning, as you did. While they don't really fly like bald road tires, they don't grind to a halt very fast either - maybe adding only a little effort or time to my commute. They are rock solid on frozen ice, don't skid on pavement, but are about like a regular knobby on 2 inches of slush, which keeps the studs off the road.

Permalink Reply by djm on January 31, 2012 at 6:00pm

I am also running a Schwalbe Marathon Winter on the front.  As Allen says, theres a crunchy, pea-gravel-like sound on dry roads and a bit of a buzz.  I dont think they are that much slower than a similar non-studded tire of the same construction at the same pressure.  Handling is fine for commuting, although they are much more nervous on steel grates than my summer tires.

Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on February 1, 2012 at 6:41am

My experience with the Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires (front and back) is very similar.  I feel a marked increase in resistance when I put the Marathon Winters tires (from my normal Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires), but not nearly as much resistance as I've experienced on other studded tires.  Still, the added resistance is enough that I only put the studded tires on when I know that I am going to want the added traction.  I've not broken them out this year, and am hoping that I won't have to.

I definitely agree with the comment about studded tires on steel grates or, worse yet, those steel plates sometimes used to cover large holes in the street.  Wowza!

I previously used Nokian A10 studded tires, but found that I get better traction with the Schwalbe Marathons.  Rolling resistance was about the same.

 

djm said:

I am also running a Schwalbe Marathon Winter on the front.  As Allen says, theres a crunchy, pea-gravel-like sound on dry roads and a bit of a buzz.  I dont think they are that much slower than a similar non-studded tire of the same construction at the same pressure.  Handling is fine for commuting, although they are much more nervous on steel grates than my summer tires.

Permalink Reply by Rudolf G Burger on February 2, 2012 at 2:53pm

Just out of curiosity, do any of you folks have any snow out where you live?  I haven't had any snow to ride in and test the studs since I put both on the Bigfoot. We had a warm spell and then rain and all the snow and ice melted.  It's like a spring day, complete with mud.  The good part is that now I can ride the cyclocross.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on February 2, 2012 at 6:22pm
Palmer square abouts.



h' said:

Nobody WYoming



ants to play "name that bike rack?"

Permalink Reply by Rudolf G Burger on February 2, 2012 at 10:57pm

Quite true, but I'll settle for snow right now.  After you get the bike all geared up with the tires, fenders and all, it would be nice to be able to use them.  I've only been able to use it on ice once, and that was with the studs on the front tire.  And the comment about riding in slush is true - still gets slippy.  I put the second studded tire on and the weather went all balmy on us.  There have been people walking around here in shorts. 

h' said:

I'm not actually sure studs would help riding on snow. They're more for ice, no?

Rudolf G Burger said:

Just out of curiosity, do any of you folks have any snow out where you live?  I haven't had any snow to ride in and test the studs since I put both on the Bigfoot. We had a warm spell and then rain and all the snow and ice melted.  It's like a spring day, complete with mud.  The good part is that now I can ride the cyclocross.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on February 3, 2012 at 7:53am

Milwaukee and Logan Blvd!

h' said:

Bzzzzzzzzt!
Palmer square abouts
h' said:

Nobody WYoming



ants to play "name that bike rack?"

Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on February 3, 2012 at 8:16am

Howard is right.  Studs don't really help in the snow.  However, most studded tires also have tread that is helpful in snow, particularly if your "regular" tires are essentially slicks.  My regular commuting tires - Schwalbe Marathon Plus - actually handle quite well in snow, even when busting through several inches.  But when there is ice involved, then I break out the Schwalbe Marathon Winters.

Another reason I liked the Schwalbe Marathon Winters better than the Nokian A10s is that the Schwalbe tread seemed better able to handle snow than did the Nokian tread.

h' said:

I'm not actually sure studs would help riding on snow. They're more for ice, no?

Rudolf G Burger said:

Just out of curiosity, do any of you folks have any snow out where you live?  I haven't had any snow to ride in and test the studs since I put both on the Bigfoot. We had a warm spell and then rain and all the snow and ice melted.  It's like a spring day, complete with mud.  The good part is that now I can ride the cyclocross.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on February 3, 2012 at 9:09am

Thank's for the info. I might invest in some Schwalbe Marathon winters. I just hope they fit my Mavic CXPs. I'll have to put up with my Nokians one more year perhaps.

Joe Studer said:

Howard is right.  Studs don't really help in the snow.  However, most studded tires also have tread that is helpful in snow, particularly if your "regular" tires are essentially slicks.  My regular commuting tires - Schwalbe Marathon Plus - actually handle quite well in snow, even when busting through several inches.  But when there is ice involved, then I break out the Schwalbe Marathon Winters.

Another reason I liked the Schwalbe Marathon Winters better than the Nokian A10s is that the Schwalbe tread seemed better able to handle snow than did the Nokian tread.

h' said:

I'm not actually sure studs would help riding on snow. They're more for ice, no?

Rudolf G Burger said:

Just out of curiosity, do any of you folks have any snow out where you live?  I haven't had any snow to ride in and test the studs since I put both on the Bigfoot. We had a warm spell and then rain and all the snow and ice melted.  It's like a spring day, complete with mud.  The good part is that now I can ride the cyclocross.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on February 3, 2012 at 1:30pm

University of Chicago campus Midway Plaisance park!!

h' said:

Bzzzzzzzt!!!!

Juan said:

Milwaukee and Logan Blvd!

h' said:

Bzzzzzzzzt!
Palmer square abouts
h' said:

Nobody WYoming



ants to play "name that bike rack?"

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