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Permalink Reply by Marc A. Irwin on November 16, 2014 at 4:23am

I put them on my touring bike so I would have one prepared all the time.  I usually put them on my city/commuter but will wait so I have a choice for a few weeks.

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Permalink Reply by Josh L. on November 16, 2014 at 4:26am

My perspective - which has been offered 500 times every time this question is asked :) - is that if you ride the well maintained City streets (in my case Clark, Dearborn, - studdded tires are not necessary.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on November 16, 2014 at 5:09am

Thanks. I tend to ride side streets between Evanston and the north end of LFT (which often seem unplowed and icy from the compression of car tires), and a few side streets between LFT & Fullerton and Clark & Wells.

I had a scary ride home one time last fall without studded tires when the streets iced unexpectedly (below freezing temps, and an I think unexpected rain). On that day I did try Clark, thinking it would be okay and that LFT would be bad, but it was scary enough that I bailed out halfway and threw my bike on a #22 bus.

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Permalink Reply by Josh L. on November 16, 2014 at 2:20pm

Funny you mention that night. I believe it was last November and there was black ice. I remember it because I too took a fall - on Franklin street.  In three years of winter biking that's the only fall I have taken.  That night was an exception...since then I haven't come across black ice.  

I am not sure the downside to studded  tires. Besides  cost I'm assuming you slow down a little?  

Skip Montanaro 12mi said:

Thanks. I tend to ride side streets between Evanston and the north end of LFT (which often seem unplowed and icy from the compression of car tires), and a few side streets between LFT & Fullerton and Clark & Wells.

I had a scary ride home one time last fall without studded tires when the streets iced unexpectedly (below freezing temps, and an I think unexpected rain). On that day I did try Clark, thinking it would be okay and that LFT would be bad, but it was scary enough that I bailed out halfway and threw my bike on a #22 bus.

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Permalink Reply by Marcusn on November 16, 2014 at 2:37pm

For me, not yet. I ride in the suburbs on MUPs that don't get plowed if less that 3" of snow. Still, this early cold is not consistent with usual temps. Typically, I wait until early December, then mount the Nokian's. Killer.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Grossman on November 16, 2014 at 4:12pm

Marc, your Hunq is awesome!  

I am mounting them after Thanksgiving.  I remember the day that Skip was talking about and I wiped out on some black ice that day.  It was raining but ice was on the ground.  The worst of conditions. Almost took my hip out.  A bad fall makes you very cautious the rest of the winter.

Marc A. Irwin said:

I put them on my touring bike so I would have one prepared all the time.  I usually put them on my city/commuter but will wait so I have a choice for a few weeks.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Montanaro 0mi on November 17, 2014 at 3:36am

I decided to go ahead and mount my studded tires (45Nrth Xerxes - the higher stud count variety) yesterday. I needed to fix a flat anyway, and the Paselas I took off had 4k-5k miles on them. I swapped them front and rear from the way they were mounted last year to help even out the wear a bit, and used new tubes.

They make an interesting sound. Obviously, when the studs come into play (really only on turns), they make a clicking sound. However, the Xerxes have a bunch of "hair," little cast-in protrusions, which in my case rub on the fenders, so there's a continuous swishing sound.

I'm sure the slightly lower pressure, the swishing of the "hair" and the clicking of the studs slows me down a bit, but that's a small price to pay for the peace of mind when I encounter ice.

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Permalink Reply by JeffB on November 17, 2014 at 6:15am

I found a lot of useful information on this page: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

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Permalink Reply by djm on November 17, 2014 at 7:27am

 I most need the studs when I dont expect to need them.

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