Wore out my first studded tire
The rear 700x35 Schwalbe Marathon Winter tire on my touring bike seems to have reached the end of its useful life. I got it back in late 2010 and put about 3,850 km on it. I've had numerous flats on the tire since the tail end of last season including one today which is not something I want to deal with when its really cold.
A few observations of the current state of the tire. The carbide studs themselves are still in good shape even with a lot of riding on clear asphalt, they really do last longer than the tire itself so I pulled them out to keep. The outer row of studs are in excellent shape, judging from the condition of their tread knobs, those studs seem to rarely make contact with road. Center tire knobs have worn down but are far from worn off. Some cracking of the sidewalls and bead rubber. Steel bead wire has popped out. I think what did the tire in was due in part to the fact the studs wear so slowly. As the rubber wears down the studs seem to get pushed further into the casing. I noticed that water was able to get into the tire from outside via numerous stud pockets. In addition to getting pushed inward the studs can get pushed back and forth causing stretching of the rubber around the stud leaving gaps. Although the tire has puncture protection, it is only in the very center of the tire and not beneath any of the stud pockets. So the stud pockets without studs or pockets that have become deformed are an avenue through which the tube may easily be punctured. At the end of a season it might be worth checking over the tire and filling any gaps or empty stud pockets with something like Shoe Goo. Since the side studs didn't see much use I'm planning on replacing the rear tire with the Schwalbe Winter tire that only has center studs. |
Thanks for the information. I wondered the longevity of winter tires. I am now in my second year using Schwable Winter tires and the're showing little wear.
They seem to roll easier after using them for awhile. I run mine with Mr Tuffy tire liners just in case.Getting a flat on a dark frigid morning is not something I want to deal with. |
Very useful information in this report, thanks!
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Originally Posted by gecho
(Post 19262835)
Since the side studs didn't see much use I'm planning on replacing the rear tire with the Schwalbe Winter tire that only has center studs.
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Over here there are numerous reports of SMW studs wearing through to the inside. It happens to Suomityres/Nokian eventually too, but usually at a higher mileage.
You can eke out a little more life out of them by lining the tire with duct tape, if you want to put off buying new tires to next season. And while your center studs certainly sees most action, I'd be wary about trading down. It's like removing the compression bandage from the first aid kit based on "it's only the band-aids getting used anyhow". |
THanks for sharing I found that interesting. Would tire liners have helped?
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Originally Posted by Slaninar
(Post 19263371)
Side studs are important.
Originally Posted by BobbyG
(Post 19263591)
THanks for sharing I found that interesting. Would tire liners have helped?
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Since I live in Florida, I have a question for you cold weather guys. Are you using studded tires on the street or offroad. I won't ride in anything colder than 55, but you cray people do intrigue me.
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I ride in the street (public roads).
Rarely off road in the winter. Lowest I did was -20 Celsius. If it's fine for skiing, it's fine for cycling. |
What tire pressure are you running? I'd be interested to hear what pressures people recommend with 700c and 26" studded tires. This is my first year on studs and the 26x2.1 Nokain tires I'm using seem to work best at lower pressures. The outer studs appear to get more use this way.
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Originally Posted by Divebrian
(Post 19263774)
Since I live in Florida, I have a question for you cold weather guys. Are you using studded tires on the street or offroad. I won't ride in anything colder than 55, but you cray people do intrigue me.
http://s1060.photobucket.com/user/Ti...bo6hs.jpg.html But seriously, studded tires are usually intended for pavement. They keep you upright if you cross any ice. Ice is common when the snow melts during the day and re-freezes overnight. Studs don't do much off-road--unless the off-road surface is ice. |
Originally Posted by gecho
(Post 19263744)
Liners probably would have got me through the season, but since the sidewalls were cracking I decided to just replace the tire.
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With my 700x35 marathon winter tires I run my pressure close to the max rated. The sidewalls are so stiff that the rolling resistance noticeably increases when running it at lower pressures on hard surfaces. They are so narrow nothing is going to make those tires float on snow anyway. On my mtb I run the pressure just high enough that I don't get any tire flop while cornering.
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Originally Posted by Divebrian
(Post 19263774)
Since I live in Florida, I have a question for you cold weather guys. Are you using studded tires on the street or offroad. I won't ride in anything colder than 55, but you cray people do intrigue me.
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Originally Posted by Divebrian
(Post 19263774)
Since I live in Florida, I have a question for you cold weather guys. Are you using studded tires on the street or offroad. I won't ride in anything colder than 55, but you cray people do intrigue me.
I can ride in any temperature I can ski or skate in. Only problem is the risk of mechanical issues. The bike is more likely to suffer a mechanical issue than the skis or skates. |
Originally Posted by gecho
(Post 19263899)
With my 700x35 marathon winter tires I run my pressure close to the max rated. The sidewalls are so stiff that the rolling resistance noticeably increases when running it at lower pressures on hard surfaces. They are so narrow nothing is going to make those tires float on snow anyway. On my mtb I run the pressure just high enough that I don't get any tire flop while cornering.
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Originally Posted by Divebrian
(Post 19263774)
Since I live in Florida, I have a question for you cold weather guys. Are you using studded tires on the street or offroad. I won't ride in anything colder than 55, but you cray people do intrigue me.
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FWIW Suomi Nokian studded tires use a quite long wearing harder (even when it is warm out) compound..
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time to shop!
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com...8254d1d16e.jpg |
I use the Marathon winter 26" on a Long Haul trucker. I weigh about 160 pounds and I run pressures like this:
55psi - little to no chance of ice, just too lazy to change wheels - no stud contact 35psi - below freezing, good chance of ice - this leaves the center row of studs in contact with pavement 25psi - below freezing, definite ice or significant hardpack - both rows of studs contact pavement for max grip I've gone four seasons with 2-3 12 mile roundtrip commutes and the tires show no wear on the outside. I have never flatted, so I don't know what the insides look like. I've been super happy with them and would replace them in a heartbeat. |
Originally Posted by gecho
(Post 19262835)
Since the side studs didn't see much use I'm planning on replacing the rear tire with the Schwalbe Winter tire that only has center studs.
This quickly gets really bad. Bike goes 90 degrees, front tire wanting to go left, rear straight. Bike lays down. You scramble off and don't get hurt - until that car bumper or right front wheel hits you because he cannot stop and that is where you now are. I did virtually this with the same dynamics on smooth ice. Fortunately the car wasn't there. I lost it, had to counter steer to the left to stay up. Got my front tire over the painted bike lane stripe successfully and thought I could keep the bike up but lost it when the rear tire slide out on the same stripe. I ended up well into the car lane. I have also (in fact just a week ago) had to deal with auto ruts in the bike lane in traffic, same (good snow/ice) tires front and rear and has to do the first scenario above, but the rear tire behaved and climbed out also. Put me two feet closer to the cars but parallel, upright and in control. If you pass on the side studs both front and rear, you will do more crashed but generally, your tires will not get very far from the rut that took you down so your body and head only get so far toward the line of cars. Yes, rear tires that slip more make for (in general) "better" crashes. Fewer broken bones, etc. But swerves into cars makes for a much worse outcome and the odds are that their ABS brakes aren't going to cut it. Not if they are on the same stuff you are. And drivers will NOT be expecting your sudden near right angle turn. I have always ridden identical tires front and rear in the winter. They have served me well (for the most part - there was always the one ride where the tires were "wrong" when I crashed three times on the same street). But that paint stripe crash stood out as the one that put me into traffic and it was the rear tire not following the front that did it. Ben |
If you know what kind of tyres you have, you won't try such manoeuvres. Even with both studded tyres, moving out of a rut with a car close behind is a dangerous thing to do.
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I kept all the studs from the old tire so I can always put them in the new tire if needed.
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I wore out a pair of Nokian Extremes 294's few years ago. The sidewalls ripped and the centre studs and treads wore out. I also pulled out all the side studs which were good and keet them as spares.
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I have almost always run home made studs. I first studded tires in 87 with roofing nails. They pushed back out quickly.
I now use self drilling hardened K-lath screws. I put an old inner tube I have sliced around the inside over a thorn tube. I run these at max psi for the tire. Tire selection makes a big difference as I run the stud up through a tire stud. |
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