Winter studded tires
 

Getting a set of Inova 26 x 2.25 studded tires mounted today on my Kona Caldera. Hope to be able to ride the RR trails - once a few snowmobiles pack it down. - as well as some of our less used rural roads. Anyone have experience with these or similar?

You got much snow up there yet?

yes

keep your expectations modest. snow conditions can vary so much. meaning sometimes a little snow is just enough to be fun. more & deeper snow can defeat regular bike tires, even those mentioned. it seems fat bikes rule the winters. but I can't justify one. so I ride what's possible & skip what's not

Studded tires are most useful for adding traction on ice. For hard packed snow, they don't make much of a difference - wider tires at lower pressure are your friends for hardpacked snow. For deep soft snow, either you have a fat bike or you're going to hike-a-bike.

I commuted all one winter on 26" studded tires. On every surface except ice they were worse than not having studs. Heavy and not very good as road tires. lol

On ice they allowed me to never wipe out - so they were faster than non-studs as they went forward not sideways.

I rode with them 100% of the time regardless of conditions because I never knew when/where the ice would be and studs were the only thing that kept me riding.

But as above - if you're into actual snow you're going to want a fatbike (or snowshoes)

My Bigfoot with 4.8" Jumbo Jims aired down to where I'm worried about the sidewalls (IE: valve stems removed to get maximum flattening) I can ride through any snow I encounter that still allows the cranks to rotate... crests of drifts are the biggest issue I've found that snag the cranks. The biggest problem for me at that point is the snow is often deeper than my legs are long so once I stop & hop off I am in seriously comical territory.

I have some unplowed country roads in my area that I always carry a pump with me... just so I can get air in the tires after the snow silliness ends so I can ride home rather than push the bike with FLAT tires.

I haven't bothered with studs on the fatbike yet as I don't tend to ride it on trails... but I also will NOT ride on frozen trails without studs

So there ya go.

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Spotted these on Amazon just now, this size has been hard to find.

about 4-5 inches . looks like more coming later this week.

11.30.2021 - Just put on the Inova studded knobbies for the winter. Hoping we get some more snow this weekend https://www.facebook.com/images/emoj...1/16/1f642.png
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I guess I'm repeating myself, but the studs aren't going to have much effect on snowy surfaces unless there's also a lot of ice.. If you find yourself having traction issues, lower the pressure on your tires.

Have fun.

looks awesome! ride where you can & try where you can't! hehe
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Yeah - got the studded as a bit of "insurance" on trail for ice patches under the snow. Will lower tire pressure as well - maybe 15-20psi

:thumb: on my 29er aka 700x2.25" I like 30 rear 25 front but also do go down to 25 rear 21 front for softer sandy roads & trails. I've gone too low & it feels worrisome. you just know when it's too low

I used Marathon Winters a couple of years. Both 26" and 700c. Be sure to ride gently the first 25 miles of the studs seat. As expected they're heavy tires and feel it when you ride but they do their job.

fwiw, my favorite snow depth, w/ my bikes, is 0"-3" inches of fresh snow. after that, things get difficult. my favorite is timing a ride at the beginning of a blizzard. after about an hour, maybe two, tops, I've had my fun & go home to watch the rest of the storm from inside

Rail trails are either the best riding or you walk. We dont have snow mobile traffic generally on any of ours mostly 4 wheelers, trucks, or fat bikes. I would imagine the snow mobile tracks would be the best to ride on since they are the widest... the studs wont matter much on the snow stuff they do most of their work on clear roads where ice is at.. 1 - 3" of dry snow will probably be where you enjoy those tires the most. Hard packed deep snow you probably cant air down enough to stay on top of it. Slow down on pavement down hills the studs dont grip great on clear pavement.

I winter ride in Winnipeg. It's the winter riders version of picnicking in Kandahar. Studs are good for ice and if you can get away with riding without them then by all means. Most times in a City there will not be ice on every road or sidewalk (usually sidewalks are the icey ones by comparison). This means you are pushing slowwww studs on pavement for most of your journey when the tires not need be studded. I usually try and ride a partially studded tire (studs more oriented on the outside edge of the tire) and right now am trying to manage with a non-studded arrangement but still a tire suited for winter (Marathon GT365).

The situation in which I find studs most helpful is when there's ice *under* a small amount of snow. Traction would be virtually non-existent otherwise.

That's only if the snow is soft, rather than hard-packed and a situation that is pretty rare around here. Also, soft snow of any appreciable thickness is mostly an issue of tire thickness not studs vs. no studs.

it's time!
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Home-made studded tire


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Carbide studded IRC Blizzard

I've got a new samsung phone, and I'm downloading photos from Flickr, including these, as "file photos".
Carbide studded tires are worth the extra money, I tried making my own and the screws wore flat after 400 miles.

musta been a fun 400 miles tho!

Studs are actually fantastic on hard packed snow, IME

That's what we have in the Twin Cities today - so though I said that it's rare here, it does happen. We have extensive refreeze with a thin veneer of unpacked snow on top.
Studs were essential this morning. I stayed up and rode with confidence on some surfaces that would have been highly treacherous without

Over here, experiences with SMWs have been varied. On one hand, the tread is very good for winter riding in areas with decent snow clearing. They do well on both bare ground, ice and hardpack. OTOH, quality has varied wildly. Studs wearing through the cord to chafe at the tubes after less than a season has been a fairly common complaint. (I had that).

Over here, there used to be a recurring debate WRT department store studded tires, DIY studded tires and the carbide core studded tires. Those who lived a bit further North, where winter and icy roads was a more reliable phenomenon used to say that DIY studs and cheap studs worked just fine. Then there were we who lived where winter would come and several times each season. For us, carbide studs were pretty much a must due to how fast bare ground would wear out the softer metals.