sknhgy 

The main reason I bought my Nokian M+G's was to be able to ride my bike on the nearby backwater lakes once they froze up. I finally got my chance today and it was awesome. Where I live there are several miles of backwater lakes that are designated as wildlife refuges. You can't hunt there or drive a powered vehicle there, so hardly anyone goes there. I went in today and had a blast. It was the first time I really had a chance to see what the nokians would do on slick ice. I probably spent an hour doing figure 8's on a small pond. It was like ice skating on a bike. I found out that the bike handles similar to a car. You had to start and stop very gradually, and I learned how to control the fishtailling. I only wiped out once when I tried to make a quick steering correction at about 12 mph.
Then I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring several miles of lake and swamp. You can really cover distance on the ice. The hardest thing was to not get cocky and wipe out.
I am definitely going to do some more of that next weekend. The problem is going to be getting through 4 days of work till then. They are predicting cold weather between now and the weekend. That is good news.

Portis

If you like the Mount and Ground's you will absolutely LOVE the Extreme 294's. The mount and grounds are minimal and slip fairly easily. I don't know if i'll ever use mine again on serious ice since i got the 294's.

sknhgy 

I noticed how easy it is to break loose either the front or rear tire. I can easily spin the rear even with my weight on the seat. The front will break loose with just a squeeze of the brake lever. Still, I found almost all the skids to be easy to recover from. Almost all your braking has to be done with the rear.
My mtb is set-up with the studs. I use it only for fun. I don't think I would like to do any serious commuting at speeds over about 10 mph where there is much slick ice. I don't mind wiping out if I'm playing. It would be different if I wasn't expecting it.
Without a doubt, I would get the Extremes if I was going to do it again.

thdave

Sounds like a blast!

jeff-o

I've got the M&G on the rear wheel of my recumbent trike. It works great for commuting. I can actually power through pretty deep powder, though it's tough work when you're pushing three separate tracks through the snow!

vtjim

You guys are making me want to get the 294's. (I'm using the 106's which are more of an icy-road tire.)

sknhgy 

Actually, the M+G's get me around pretty well as long as I don't get too wild. I just want the Extremes because, as you know, more is better.

Ken Cox

I started out with 106's, then 240's, and this winter, 294's.

With the 294's I finally feel safe under all conditions, and I enjoy snow and ice more than I ever thought possible.

Additionally, the 294's have less rolling resistance the the 240's, and, possibly, less rolling resistance than the 106's.

I think tire manufactureres have made some advances in recent years.

ghettocruiser

The next step is the 330s (Freddies), if you ever fall off the wagon again.

JeanCoutu

For real?

sknhgy 

I still love the studded tires. Went for a ride today in the 20F weather. We had snow and ice. I came up on a bobcat while riding a path through a swamp. We starred each other down at 50 yards for about 20 seconds. I've never seen one before. They are very rare here in Illinois.
I'm pretty well satisfied with the M+G's at this point.

geoGraphicFTD

ok, I'll put my ? in here instead of starting a stupid n00b thread.

I came into this forum looking for info about studded tires, cus I just moved to Montana and am going through bike withdrawal. I want to be able to do short rides to the drug store and such, but other than the 1/2 mile of main road I'd be on, no other roads are salted, so it's all packed down snow for the most part.

I've never heard of any of the brands and models in this thread...any suggestions?

Cyclist0383

You want a tire with carbide studs as they last much longer than non-carbide ones. Nokian seems to be the brand of choice, and despite their high cost they are an excellent value. I'm on my third winter with mine and they show little sign of wear.

Chris_F

Second the mention of Nokian. I'm new to winter biking and have some Nokian 294s on my Mountain Bike and they work just awsome! If you are in to mountain biking then you can use them to ride pretty much any trail as long as the snow is packed down enough (snow mobile trails work well). Street riding is no problem with these tires, and they work just fine on glare ice (I'd imagine a frozen pond would be an awsome place to ride.

Like I said, I'm new to riding in the winter so I can't say how long the tires last but everyone seems to say they last a LONG time.

Roody

I totally agree with you. Riding on the frozen lakes and rivers is probably the most fun I have all year. I have studded tires, but sometimes I ride with a friend who doesn't. I think he has even more fun than I do. He'll pedal fast, spinning his tires in one place with no foreward movement whatever. Of course, he's younger than me and doesn't mind falling down every two minutes. I use the studs and stay upright--most of the time.

A few years ago, I saw a bobcat on the Grand River within the Lansing city limits. He had come out on the ice about 20 feet in front of me. When he saw me, he spun around and dashed back to the brush on shore. He slid on the ice, looking like a giant house cat sliding on a freshly waxed kitchen floor. That sure was exciting--and funny!

bnelson

agreed the nokians will allow you to ride all winter.The cost scared me but I am definitely glad I got them

pinkrobe

An alternative to Nokian is the Schwalbe brand. They have carbide studs as well, and are ever so slightly cheaper. My wife and I have been using them with great success for the last three winters.

Chris_F

The cost was tough for me to justify as well. I figured I wasn't really buying tires, I was buying 5+ months of riding per year.

sknhgy 

This is what makes them very well worth the $$. Best money I've spent in a long time.

white_feather

Would you put these 294's on a cruiser like my Kona Eighty-Eight for daily commuting on paved roads with car-tire ruts, some ice patches and a great deal of slush?