mplsbiker

I didn't think they existed until a coworker pointed me to this local vendor: https://midwaybike.com/midway-27-x-1-38-studded-tires/

This is an awesome find for anyone wanting to keep their vintage bike on the road all year round here in the north (without a 700c conversion as I had to do with my vintage winter beater).

rumrunn6

very nice. they can use slightly better photos tho. hard to tell from the one small side view, but it looks like the tire has just 1 row of studs right down the middle of the tire tread?

mplsbiker

Two rows, is what my co-worker said.

rumrunn6

nice, they look thick too!

tjspiel

They're made by Innova, which isn't great news. They use mild steel studs rather than carbide tipped. They'll last less than a season if you ride them on the roads.

Onyxaxe

That is strange, you'd think they'd use better studs since their tires are pretty expensive. Do you know if other carbide studs are compatible with Innova?. I'd hate to diy tires just for this reason.

tjspiel

I didn't see a price so I'm not sure what they cost relative to other studded tires. The ones I have had a list price of $99 a piece. Though you can certainly find them for much less than that, studded tires aren't cheap. I got mine at a 2 for 1 sale in April after the season was over. This was a few years ago.

There are a lot of people who'd like to find an affordable 27" studded tire for an old road bike they could use as a winter beater, so I understand the interest. The problem is that a decent studded tire is going to cost you some money and it's going to be tougher to find good ones under 35mm. That being the case, there's a lot to be said for converting to 700c. Not only will you have more tire choices, you'll get more clearance.

I had an 80's 700c road bike that I put 35mm studded tires on and with fenders it was just too tight. I later put these same tires on a 27" bike converted to 700c and it was much better.

jfowler85

Wow, nice find. Although studded tires can be found cheaper, it would be 700c thus requiring another wheelset and possibly different brakes, so that point is negated.