suncruiser

So I finally got irritated with my walfart fixie being a winter attempt. I moved the studs over to my trek district 8. Had to remove my fenders to fit the aggressive tires, which kinda sucks.

Tomorrow will see how well the bike rides on the ice. My lt1 tires were all but worthless on the snow and ice

Robert C

I am not so sure why you would wan to ride a walmart fixie when you have a much better bike; that being said, it is approaching the time of year that I am considering taking my studded tyres off.

Of course, I am not in Fairbanks (however, my daughter did go to the university there).

suncruiser

Last picture is the LT1 tires on the bike and the fenders still attached

suncruiser

the walmart fixie was a buffer in its own right. It was purchased and set up so i could accustom myself to riding on the ice and snow without caring if I laid the bike down. did that several times, both with the studs and without.

Plimogz

So, no fenders w/studded tires? for commuting? Sounds like a hard compromise. I assume that they abundantly salt the roads up there, correct? Did you treat the insides of your new steel frame with something to keep it from rusting there?

Otherwise, nice bike. Though it looks better configured for lots of ice than for salty slush.

suncruiser

It is configured for lots of ice haha. They don't salt the roads up here because the temperature normally falls below the point where salt's effective. It has been a warm winter apparently (I wouldn't know, just moved up from AZ) so I haven't yet seen those temperatures. The dealership I work at has a good 2" of ice on top of the pavement though, and they use fine gravel / sand to maintain some small amount of traction.

BobbyG

This has been my first winter with studs and I love it! go, Go, GO!

fietsbob

my Ice on the street bike is a 26" old MTB, Studded tires from Finland ..

Built it up in 1990 ..


For the front mudguard, I cut it at the L bracket, then moved it up. front part I fit with another L bracket, held with the bolt thru the fork ,
put a cork in the bottom of the steerer tube to plug it from wheel spew ..






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PaulRivers

That's really to bad about the fenders - fenders are the most useful for winter riding. The purpose of fenders is to keep your wheel from throwing road gunk up onto you, road gunk is the most prevelant (think melting snow, iced sanded and chemically treated roads) in the winter and the nastiest.

What tires did you go with?

If all you needed was ice protection there are definitely skinnier tires. If you wanted a tire good with both snow and ice, I think the skinniest I know of is a 38c 45nrth Gravdal.

I don't have fenders on my summer bike, I just deal with it, but I do put fenders on my winter bike.

suncruiser

The tires I have are Suomi Nokian W240 700x40 tires. not my first choice for this bike in particular, and I agree on the fenders being necessary, but the fenders I have are for 35s max, and I don't have $$ lying around to get a set that fits better. the rear rack will keep most of the crud from the rear tire from nailing me though I think. Once it starts getting slushy next month I'm reverting to my cruiser most likely. full fenders, indestructo bike

Craptacular8

I went with the Nokian Suomi Hakkapeliitta A10 which are 700x32. I normally run 700x38, but this is the studded tire my lbs ordered in to mount under my longboards. I forgot to ask if a wider tire with studs wouldn't fit under the fenders, or they were mostly trying to get me a studded tire with not too terrible of a rolling resistance. I was running the original, clunky tires that came on my commuter, so weight-wise/rolling resistance, the studded tires are about the same weight, and roll as nicely as the original non-studded ones. I thought they did fine on ice, but where there was 2+ inches of snow, which was crusty from melt/re-freezing, it was still squirrely...this might not bother some, but after wiping out last year, I'm a little gun shy.

alan s 

My bike only has room to carry one stud.

Arcanum

You might look at some mountain bike-style mudguards. They'll give you some protection.

fietsbob

where the clearance with the frame or fork is tight cut the mudguard and make the 2 parts go on either side
od that low area

My front mudguard is attached to the Back And Front of the fork , but it doesn't pass underneath the fork crown.


Its OK if they're not wide as stuff is slinging off the center of the tire . predominantly..

Mine sit well above the tire with a good 1nch or so Gap so stuff wont pack Up under the mudguards so easily

PaulRivers

Yeah, the skinnier (30c-35c) tires are a better choice for plowed streets/trails where there's ice but not much snow.
The wider (38c-40c) are better for dealing with pitted rutted roads or snow. All trouble have trouble with to much snow, but the wider sizes are a little better at handling it.
If you're on a lot of snow only a fatbike will do, and even a fatbike has a limit.

The A10's are particularly bad with snow, their tread pattern leaves the tire clogged up with snow rather than shedding it. It's really only meant as a "snow is gone, might run into a little ice somewhere" kind of tire.

The Nokian w240's are a good choice for what the OP's conditions sound like - ice and snow don't melt on the road, lots of ruts and stuff on the road. I would not go with a skinnier tire for those conditions. A 45nrth Gravdal is also another good choice, but if you already own one and money is a concern there's no reason to switch, they should both be good for those conditions.

For you though, it sounds like the A10's are a bad choice of tire for your conditions. The rolling resistance is a little worse on the wider tires, but the skinnier tires are only worth it if your streets/trails are fairly well plowed like mine are. (skinner being 30c-35c, wider being 38c-40c).

PaulRivers

I don't know if these would fit on your bike, but I would just point out that fenders that fit your tire size (38c-47c) from a reputatable company are available for $30 on amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/SKS-Commuter-B...ywords=fenders

I don't have a link handy, but there are also other fenders that split in the middle by the fork or brake bridge so they don't take up space when you have tight clearance.

To me it's worth the money because it's not about keeping me personally clean, in the winter it's about keeping the bike in good shape so salt and sand are not thrown into the gears and wear them down much sooner. My concern is about stuff nailing me, it's throwing salt and sand into the chain, rear derailler, etc, so it's worth more cost now to avoid higher replacement cost later. Fyi, good luck either way.

scoatw

I use a set of Planet Bike fenders on my Gary Fisher with a pair of Gazza 294's mounted to the rims. And the clearance is just fine.

Look at what others around town have done. I'm sure you can find a bike shop that has a pair of fenders that'll fit your tires.

suncruiser

I'll have to look into it a bit further when I have a chance. These aren't the permanent set of studs for this bike, probably going with Marathon winter x35s next year, that way I can keep my fender set on. I may just run this set up like this for the rest of this winter. Not like I have more than a month or 2 to go anyways, and I don't get to ride in as often as I'd like anyways.

suncruiser

Oh, and I honestly stay on the Shiney ice anyways. I get better traction up there. Most cars out here are running some version of a studded tire (the mercedes in my stall today had nokians. Made me laugh a bit) or a decent winter tire (personally run Cooper Mud+Snow tires. I slide a lot, but I have traction where I need it)

Craptacular8

Most of the time, I don't have snow to contend with, the roads/paths are mostly kept clean. I'm a few hours north and west of you, commuting around Fargo. I think early last week, with temps projected to be upper 30's - low 40's the city just figured they'd let the melt take care of it.

suncruiser

Well, that didn't last long. the weather warmed up QUICK out here. the underside of mu bike turned brown in th 1.5 miles from work to home fromt he melting snow/ice. nice and slushy. mounted my new Conti contact IIs and my fenders, seems to do all right on the snow/ice

Plimogz

Fenders+Contacts II sounds like a nice combo for the thaw.

After your recent time with the W240s (which I have ridden a good bit) I would love to hear more about your thoughts on the Contact IIs (never ridden those, but sure am curious).

edit: I just realized I confused Contact II for Top Contact Winter II. It is the Contact Winter II which has me curious. The straight Contact II looks like it would not be particularly safe to ride on my winter commutes.

suncruiser

I'll post a bit of a review on friday, gives me a chance to ride em to/from work on the cruddy surfaces. already feels faster though. those W240s felt like riding through sludge. jittery, sh***y sludge. seriously, the bike would jounce side to side with the tread. NEVER. AGAIN. I'll likely be running 45nrth Xerxes next winter

us338386

Suncruiser et al - resurrecting this great thread and would love to hear your experiences over the last 2 winters. Specifically around studded tires and fenders on your District.

I just bought a new District IGH specifically for Minneapolis winter commuting duty (and spring rain). It came stock with 32 tires and the fenders appear to be pretty tight to accommodate anything larger. I had great luck with the following tires in a 26 x 1.75" version the last couple of winters and it appears they make a 30 and 35 cm version,

Schwalbe Winter Studded Road Tires (biketiresdirect, cannot post links....)

I've heard the Xerxes are great for cornering, but can be sketchy on straightaway flat/black ice conditions.

So my question for you - I would like the try for the 35cm tires. I'm wondering if they would fit a 35 or did you ever find bigger fenders to accommodate a bigger tire? We lay salt down THICK around here, resulting in toxic slush. No way I can go without fenders.

John

fietsbob

I just park the bike in the basement until its black ice on the street again. same tires have seen 27 winters .. still has all the studs.

last year it got down to 27, but was clear and dry.. going over the top of coast range
studded shoes would keep me from falling on my butt on the black ice at 1000 feet, in the rest area parking lot..





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