Winter tyres

[Wowbagger]

Does anyone have any experience of these?

I've looked at the Marathon Winter, which seem rather expensive for tyres whcih might only see a few days' use each year, but I do want to get out and ride on icy roads which would dump me off on my Panaracer Paselas before you could say Anne Robinson.

Also, who in the UK sells them?

[David Martin]

Experience of Nokians. Absolutely excellent on ice. Not too shabby on non-ice (depending on the tread pattern).

..d

[Cyclops]

I use Marathon Winters. Rode all through last winter with no traction problems at all.

I tend to put them on the bike at the first sign of ice in late November/ early December and normally keep them on until February/ March and was I surprised how little wear the spikes suffered despite riding about 14 miles a day. I'm still using the same set this year and reckon they probably pay for themselves quite quickly as you don't have the cost of car/ public transport on days when you'd have been previously tempted to leave the bike at home. Like all studded tyres they're noisier/ slower (about 1-2 mph drop in average speed). I bought mine from Bike 24 in Germany as they were cheaper at the time even when factoring in postage.

[teethgrinder]

How do these tyres on ice compare to normal tyres on dry roads?
Can you stop or corner just as easily?

If not, is there a lot of difference?
If the last few days is a sign of what's to come this winter, then I might buy some.

[tonycollinet]

I use the marathon snow stud - which is available here, which the winters are not. I think the winters have more studs.

They make a huge difference to grip on ice - but although I haven't lost traction, I don't think I'd trust them like ordinary tyres on dry road. It's more a case that you can stay on the bike if you are reasonably careful, where ordinary tyres will simply dump you on your arse* in about a ms.


*arse if you are lucky - elbow if you are not.


EDIT - Dotbike list them, but they are out of stock. Not really surprising under the circumstances.

   Schwalbe Marathon Winter Performance Wire On Tyre - from £33.98 | Dotbike

[Cyclops]

How do these tyres on ice compare to normal tyres on dry roads?
Can you stop or corner just as easily?

I'd say stopping power is as good. If you do manage to lock a wheel up you'll come to a stop damn quickly as all those little metal studs dig into the road. I probably don't corner as aggressively with the winter tyres on but I've never had a slip or slide. Cornering does feel 'different' as you bring more studs into contact with the road as you lean the bike over.

Whether they're worth getting probably depends on how much bad weather you get and how much riding you do. I live in Scotland so get pretty good use out of them and have no qualms about cycling in snow or ice. I'm not sure I'd want to ride further than 20 miles with them on as the ride feels 'dead' and they're noisy

[David Martin]

What Cyclops said. You can ride up some quite dramatic stuff. I towed the kids in a trailer up a 1:10 on sheet ice with no worries. The thing to remember is that the studs tend to only contact the ground when the bike is upright. Leaning into corners can be interesting.

[simonp]

I've not had a proper try out with my Nokians.  But the roads outside at the moment are a skating rink and I'm just fitting them at the moment.  I'll report what I find tomorrow (still have to fit new dynamo front light so it won't be tried tonight (probably)).

[teethgrinder]

Whether they're worth getting probably depends on how much bad weather you get and how much riding you do.

As long as I use them enough to wear them out, then they're worth getting. They'd probably last a few years, but the idea of being able to cycle when it's icy and the roads and bridleways are quiet seems like too much fun to just pass by.
I also use my bike for utility too. I could walk, but I'd rather go and do some cycling in the winter wonderland.
I like the idea of some tourng in icy conditions too.

[mark]

I've been using the Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 for quite a few winters now. Very durable, and they make winter riding reasonably safe. I agree with tonycollinet, they let you stay upright if you're careful, instead of going down in a heartbeat on sheet ice, like you would with regular tires. A more heavily studded tire might let you ride more aggressively on ice, but at the expense of an even greater weight/speed penalty on dry roads.

I've found that the Nokians are at their best on ice or packed snow, in loose deeper snow the tread clogs up with snow and the tires lose grip.

[teethgrinder]

I agree with tonycollinet, they let you stay upright if you're careful, instead of going down in a heartbeat on sheet ice, like you would with regular tires.

So more like using normal tyres in the wet?
Or do you need to take more care than that?
I don't ride very aggresively anyway. I'm not after something that will get me around sharp bends at 30mph. Just something that will keep me upright and I can relax when I use. Extra effort isn't a problem, it'll keep me fit.

[David Martin]

I agree with tonycollinet, they let you stay upright if you're careful, instead of going down in a heartbeat on sheet ice, like you would with regular tires.

So more like using normal tyres in the wet?
Or do you need to take more care than that?
I don't ride very aggresively anyway. I'm not after something that will get me around sharp bends at 30mph. Just something that will keep me upright and I can relax when I use. Extra effort isn't a problem, it'll keep me fit.

Pretty much spot on. Bit like riding on wet leaves on a smooth road. No problem really, but if you had no studs you'd be on your side in an instant.

..d

[mark]

I agree with tonycollinet, they let you stay upright if you're careful, instead of going down in a heartbeat on sheet ice, like you would with regular tires.

So more like using normal tyres in the wet?
Or do you need to take more care than that?
I don't ride very aggresively anyway. I'm not after something that will get me around sharp bends at 30mph. Just something that will keep me upright and I can relax when I use. Extra effort isn't a problem, it'll keep me fit.

More care than that. Again, my experience is with Nokian's W106, which only has 106 studs. For more money and more weight you can get tires with up to 300 studs, but it sounds like the W106 is about what you need.

This is the best explanation I've found:
Studded Bicycle Tires

[teethgrinder]

More care than that. Again, my experience is with Nokian's W106, which only has 106 studs. For more money and more weight you can get tires with up to 300 studs, but it sounds like the W106 is about what you need.

This is the best explanation I've found:
Studded Bicycle Tires

Thanks. That was a good read. I like the look of the Nokian 240s and the Schwalbe Winters.

Did you buy yours from Peter Whites, or can you get them from the UK?

[simonp]

I bought mine (Nokian 106s) in the UK but I don't think the retailer does them any more. 

Just been out trying them on the ice covered in snow.  They work. Back light doesn't though, but I'm going to bed now so fixing that can be tomorrow's additional task.

[mark]

Thanks. That was a good read. I like the look of the Nokian 240s and the Schwalbe Winters.

Did you buy yours from Peter Whites, or can you get them from the UK?

I went through Peter White since I live in the US. Here's a list of Nokian distributors world wide:
rollspeed

[andrew_s]

Marathon Winter are listed by Dotbike, but are showing as Out of Stock
on backorder. If the importer are out of stock too, it's probably easier to go to Germany than the US
eg starbike.com or http://www.starbike.com/php/product_info.php?lang=en&pid=8803

[Greenbank]

I did two days commuting on Schwalbe Marathon Winters last week. Only one journey involved riding on snow where I overtook a wheelspinning car up a hill.

With 85psi in them (max pressure marked on the sidewall) they're only one or two mph slower than normal tyres on the same bike. With proper ice and snow I'd drop them to 50psi (30psi for deep snow) to get more of the studs in contact with the ground.

They're a faff to fit but I rarely ever use the hackbike so I just leave them on and that bike only ever gets used in icy weather. If I used the bike more regularly I'd probably get a spare set of wheels to fit them on to save me having to swap the tyres each time.

Bought mine (35x700 for 34,99 EUR each) from Germany (Bike24) last year as I couldn't find anywhere in the UK with stock.

[Biggsy]

Are there any studded tyres in 700x28?

[David Martin]

Are there any studded tyres in 700x28?

Nokian A10 are in 700c though I am not sure how wide they are.

..d

[simonp]

My Nokian W106s are 700x35.

[simonp]

I cycled into Cambridge to do shopping today.  I rode on Nokian W106 studded snow/ice tyres with a Burley Nomad trailer in tow, on my Dawes Galaxy.  I deliberately chose a largely snow/ice covered route (minor roads and cycle paths) in order to test it out.  Apart from ruts caused by previous bike traffic, I had no real trouble.  Where someone had dug a diagonal channel in the road and I hit it and everything went a bit sideways for a moment, once I'd crossed it, it all sorted itself out and I continued, no problem.

On the way back, I took the cycle path alongside the river.  Again, ruts were the issue.  One section had had very little traffic, and I wasn't even sure I was on the path at all, but it was fine.  Whilst riding on sheet ice on the road I almost lost it due to being distracted by a loose dog, but as the wheel moved to the left and my weight went right, the studs dug in, and I found myself just a bit further out into the road and cycling along normally.

However I finally had to admit defeat in deeper snow on Airport Way.  I think I might have had a chance without the trailer, but the combination of uneven surface due to foot prints and the rolling resistance etc were too much, so I got back onto the (entirely clear) road.  It was all pretty slow, but it would have been impossible on normal tyres.

[andygates]

Nokians are outstanding.  I recall riding them on utter glass ice on a curving slope, not even noticing until I'd stopped, done a little jinky trackstand, and got off (when I immediately fell over like Bambi!).

Off ice, they're just really heavy, dead-feeling tractory tyres. 

Regular knobbies can't compete; they're fine on snow but ice needs bite.  The ghetto approach is to get an old knobby tyre and a bag of screws or pop rivets and Make A Monster.

[David Martin]

Andy has it in one.. I fitted my Nokians last night in anticipation of a bitter frost. As per ususal it was a damp, not icy, road this morning.

Oh well, too much faff to take them off so I'll keep them on until it warms up a lot.

..d

[Wowbagger]

Given that the Marathon Winter and the Nokians are rather wider than the 26*1.5s I'm currently using, I've been faffing around trying to fit some Marathon Plus 26*1.75 tyres to my Thorn.

It's a right pain in the arse because whoever set it up in Bridgwater cut the mudguard stays too short to take the bigger tyres. Fortunately I've found an SKS mudguard, complete with stays, lurking in the garage, and the correct size for a 27 or 700c, so the stays are rather long.

Why is nothing ever straightforward?