rgconner

I saw these on Kickstarter, I honestly can't see how this is a good idea... zip on treads for tires?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...e=51dsa.fnd.to

Juan Foote

I read a review on these talking about that not only was getting the tire shell on and off just about as hard as just changing a tire the old fashioned way, but that with that shell on it was really squirrelly/squishy feeling and did not instill confidence. They negatively mention weight and price as well, but did say that the inner shell rides decently.

124Spider

If (i) it is easy to take off and put on, and (ii) it is seamless, in the sense that it doesn't make handling squirrelly, it would be kind of nice to be able to do that (a heck of a lot cheaper than having a second (or third) set of wheels.

livedarklions

So tires deform when they're rolling. That's their basic job. The zippers have to make the fit very tight. Strikes me that is putting a lot of repetitive variable strain on a zipper, and that really isn't what zippers are built for. Even the best zipper is going to wear out fast with this use.

Also, how hard is it to change tires anyway? This "solution" seems worse than the "problem". Zipping on a tire is going to be about the same amount of effort as changing out the tire, and if I zip one over the other, I have the disadvantages of carrying 2 tires on each wheel. I'm no weight weenie, but doubling the tire weight sure sounds like I might notice it.

rgconner

It has the feel of a college design class project taken a little too far...

Metieval

I have zip on tires too for $1 a bag!

zip ties around the tire and rim, and go.... lol

Gresp15C

They could eliminate the zipper by just having you deflate your tire when you install the skin.

spinnaker

How hard is it to change a flat the conventional way??? Another solution looking for a problem.

CliffordK

Interesting concept. It looks most useful for something like commuting, where one could do a quick swap between studs and slicks.

I'm not sure any of my bikes would do well swapping sizes from say 30mm to 40mm. Certainly not the road bike.

Plus, I wouldn't be happy with the rotating weight of riding two tires on the bike at once. Nonethless, I could imagine the narrow niche where these would work.

Running two distinct different sizes at the same pressure?

grayEZrider

Looks like a business school trying to hand out engineering degrees.

sdmc530

GCN did a sort of review too....they had the same sentiment if I recall....a problem that doesn't really need addressing.

Ironfish653

The slicks-to-studs is pretty cool, if you live somewhere that snow and ice is a frequent occurrence, and you are one of those people who ride no matter what.

Kinda like snow chains, you can put them on and off as conditions warrant.

However, I do not live in one of those cold places, nor am I a guy who rides because i have to, so not for me.

indyfabz

I have enough trouble remembering to zip my fly. Don't need the same problem with tires.

livedarklions

I think anyone who rides much at all has experienced damage to the side of a tire, so what happens when the zipper scrapes against a rock or something? Sounds like a good way to destroy 2 tires at the same time instead of one.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't really see a likely scenario where I need studded tires for just part of a ride.