BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

to look at the other way, i don't think there's any advantage to narrower fenders, so might as well go wider and keep your options open? I changed last year from commuting on 2.1" (55mm?) MTB tires to 35mm studded tires. I definitely miss the wider tires when I have to ride through actual snow (uncleared trails), though the studs are great for ice, and after wiping out on ice I won't go back to non-studded. Overall, I liked the MTB better because I like riding in the snow, so I might buy a set of wide studded tires and ride that this winter - although that means giving up disc brakes, which are also nice in the snow... or buying another bike.

i am thinking of studed tires id like to ride all winter what are the best kind to get or are studs all the same

Narrower for snow, you want more force / area to cut through to the pavement underneath. Floating on snow/slush = much worse...unless it's so deep that you're paddling through it, then you want to float on top, but you won't achieve that without fatbike tires.

Your first statement kind of disproves the last - if the tires aren't cutting all the way through, then they must be floating to some extent - it's not binary. Fatter tires will definitely float more, but you can still ride through deep snow (well, it also depends on the snow) with "normal" MTB tires - I've done it a lot. I've also sunk far enough into the snow that I couldn't make the pedals turn by standing up and pushing as hard as I could in low gear, so... It is a fair point, though - if you're sticking to roads then narrower tires are better. Still, that does give me an idea - a fatbike could be fun...

I really like the Nokian Hakkapeliitta tires -- made in Finland, where they probably know what they're doing.

actually... I was wrong about my clearance. :( I have a ton of room at the seat-stay, but the chain-stay is limiting at 48mm. Peter White has a really good write-up on his site. http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp For the most part, I agree with RR regarding narrower being better. Wider with lots of tread is better in the heavy snow, but then, why not just go to the fat-bike extreme if I want to do that sort of riding (when budget permits). The difference in traction between wide and narrow is probably negligible (for riding on a plowed, paved-road) with a dedicated winter tire while the narrow tire gives less rolling resistance. With a non-winter tire, I think narrow is the clear winner. I'll probably just go with what I find the best price on. Thanks!

this is good im learning about snow riding

Had an ice-based slow wipe-out and slide tonight on the little bridge that goes into the Waterfront by the trail They also had four or five cops on the Rankin bridge for the same reason with their lights on

May I throw in another parameter besides narrow-wide to the winter tire choice? Maybe for winter conditions, the best tire is one that won't be going flat - because changing flats in the cold really sucks. So there's something to recommend the range of tires that includes a nail barrier, like the Schwalbe Marathons or equivalent. Pierce, hope you're OK.

I've been delaying putting then on because they suck but it's time. Coming over the Parkway on Greensburg today I started to slip, but caught myself. Be careful out there. Btw I don't think i've ever had a flat with them. Too heavy.

@Vannear, luckily for some reason The Waterfront was completely packed and so traffic was backed up so I was only going about two or three miles an hour when it happened, so my bike fell more than I did, I kind of just shuffled along with it

For those who does not want to spend more than $100 per tire (Nokian)... http://thickbikes.com/blog/2011/01/how-to-spike-a-tire-step-1/ http://thickbikes.com/blog/2011/01/how-to-spike-a-tire-step-2/ http://thickbikes.com/blog/2011/01/how-to-spike-a-tire-step-3/ http://thickbikes.com/blog/2011/01/how-to-spike-a-tire-step-4/

One thing to keep in mind is that snow tires last a really long time, since you don't use them except in the winter and they have heavy tread. So you aren't buying a new pair of tires every winter. Also, there are directions on the web for making your own snow or ice tires. The basic idea is to take a heavy tire and screw sheet metal screws into it from the inside, inserting a liner to keep the screw heads from popping your tube. You can also put zip ties around the rim and tire for a tire chain like effect, though this won't work if you have rim brakes.

I think something like this would be a great snow tire option. I've contemplated a way to do this as a DIY project, but a method to prevent the "chains" from coming off the rims has always been a weak point. And since this would sit on top of a regular tire you would need to have a lot of tire clearance.

Dan Burton is biking 750 miles to the South Pole, solo, on a fatbike, and hopes to be the first person to bike to the South Pole his blog: http://epicsouthpole.blogspot.com/

I will say it again: fat bikes are the shit.

stefb wrote:I will say it again: fat bikes are the shit.

+100 stefb Fat Bikes roll where others fear to tread!

If I had a fat-bike, I'd OWN the golf-course next door. ... and it's not fear, per se, my non-fat bike just won't (I tried).