Studded Tires & Fenders
 

This is probably a really stupid question: Will having fenders on a bike be a problem when using studded tires? I started commuting to work a few months ago and want go year-round. I was lucky to find a decent Bianchi 26" mountain bike & some studded Continental tires on Facebook and the whole set-up was only $100. I plan on using this bike on the few winter days that is snows around here and don`t want to be surprised by anything. Thank you for your insights.
John
PS The tires are 26x1.75 if that makes a difference.

I can't imagine running studded tires without fenders. Just make sure you have enough room between the fender and the tire.

It's not a stupid question -- you don't want mud or freezing slush to jam your wheels and cause a crash.

The first set of studded tires I tried on my bike (Kenda Klondike 2.1") were indeed too big to run safely with fenders, so I took the fenders off for that winter. I downsized (and upgraded) to Suomi Mount & Ground 26"x1.9", and I have clearance again. :thumb:

I’ve never had issues with studded tires and my fenders. But there’s usually enough of a gap so it doesn’t matter. Tires will kick junk up in the winter, and the fenders help keep it off of you and your bike. I just need to get a second set of rims because I get tired of putting them on and off each year. Some bikes are easier than others.

I run SKS fenders on my "winter" bike, which has Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires. Never had a problem.

For my old winter commuter, I ran SKS fenders front and rear. They won't keep you as clean as full fenders, but in the winter you're wearing enough layers that the slush spray isn't much of an issue. OTOH if you have the clearance and mounting option for full fenders, I'd say go for it!

FYI - this picture is the winter commuter running Top Contact Winter tires front and rear, great winter tires without studs. After riding a few tire combos, I ended up with a Top Contact Winter on the rear wheel and a Mount & Ground (studded) on the front for better breaking and steering on icy patchs.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...404b1286bb.jpg

not a stupid question. but hard to answer, maybe, too may variables for us to predict. try them & see. you might need to tweak the fenders. I've had fenders on several bikes w/ studded snow tires. I'll guess an old school 26" MTB will have room for fenders & studded snows. but if you'll only have a handful of days that require such gear, you might be better served, skipping the headaches & expense & use alternate transportation on those days

Aside from the obvious need for some extra clearance (usually 1-2 tenths of a inch) because of the studs (compared to similarly sized non studded tires) I've found it helpful to occasionally spray the inside of the fenders with WD40 which seems to help prevent snow/ice build up and keeps the surface cleaner. Dirty slush can be bad news as it dries to a hard lumpy surface that additional ice wants to stick to and builds up causing clearance problems.

It takes work and skills, but principally fenders can be moved away if there is not enough space, by cutting them by the fork crown and bridges in the rear and displacing them outwards. This requires making mounts beyond what comes standard with fenders. However, then the fenders are taken out of the fit consideration.

Late to the party. Here are my studded Suomi Nokian W106s with fenders. I'd say it's about a finger breadth and a half of clearance. No problems in 6 years.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f7ebf38728.jpgWell...looking at it now it looks like snow is packed at about 3 o clock on the front wheel...but it is not a problem.

Bobby,

Love that long front fender (and the whole Nishiki for that matter). Do you have any issues with front fender wobble at higher speeds?

I have almost that long a front fender on a very similar bike setup (Surly Bridge Club with 27.5" Kahva 2.1" studded tires and BridgeStone 60mm fenders) and I had to add another mounting strut (tied to one of the original ones) to stiffen it and reduce the harmonic vibration (and the rubbing of the tire lugs/studs on the mounting brackets). The fenders were fine at a reasonably close spacing when the rubber extension was removed (lowering the weight at the end of the fender and reducing the pendulum effect), but with the extension in place the fender mounting needed to be stiffened.

Mark

I have added mounting points for fenders to racks, both rear and front. That highly reduced the instances of fenders cracking due to vibrations and also allowed to extend the fenders beyond their original lengths.

yes but a lot of work!
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b501c4ae53.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...be45360976.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2d86a305b0.jpg

my MTB has gobs of clearance
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...58763d5995.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...139b1c3c5e.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...158382be72.jpg

Is it ok to run studded tires on pavement when there is no snow or ice?

It is not good for the tires and for the studs and it makes the riding inefficient. However, you obviously cannot avoid riding on bare pavement from time to time. Besides variations along the route the weather may change during the day and changing the tires or wheels from one day to another can be a pain too. Keep in mind that it is not good, limit such riding if you can, but do not agonize over it either.

No fender wobble at higher speeds. There was a long sweeping downhill on one of my commute routes where I would regularly hit 36mph, and no wobble. (41mph once). However that was on dry pavement with slicks.

I think I hit 30mph on the studs on dry pavement and maybe 25+ in the snow.

But in any case I never had fender wobble on this or my other three fender bikes.

I have had a fender crack while riding, but without any wobble leading up to it. And I did have a rear fender collapse after the tire picked up a long nail.

Just lucky about avoiding fender wobble, I guess.

avoid it if you can but can you? why do you ask? 1 bike? deciding whether or not to get them? sometimes you need them, sometimes you don't. sometimes hard to predict. this is me riding to a place that definitely needed them. but the ride there didn't need them

Its fine. I put mine around november and they just stay on until spring.

Thanks. We're using different fenders and tires, and I guess you might also be running slightly more clearance. I have to say that for me after first installing the Bridgestone fenders it was an obvious and immediate problem at anything over say 10-15kph or on rough roads at any speed. The wobble by itself wasn't the problem (all fenders move a bit), it was the sudden and increasing buzzing as the studs (or lugs) kept touched both edges of the fenders (or the riveted mounting hardware) at any spacing small enough where you couldn't see through the opening between the tire and fender when viewed from the side.

I had never experienced this problem with similar but narrower fenders on a Hybrid bike with 700 x 32 tires. These newer wider 60mm 700c Bridgestone fenders (over the 27.5 x 2.1" (55mm) studded tires) were also not a problem when I removed the extension (mud flap) ... there was still some movement but it wasn't enough to be a problem. As I mentioned above the wobbling appeared to be enhanced because of the extra weight of the rubber extension sitting farther away from a pivot point (where the mounting hardware attached to the fender) ... once the wobbling started the extra weight seemed to enhance it because of a harmonic oscillation. I initially reinforced the mounting point at the fork crown to help stiffen the fender ... this helped but didn't completely fix the problem but it did point to the need to change the harmonics by stiffening either the fender itself or it's mounting. The simple fix was to stiffen one side of the mounting rods by doubling it up with another rod.

Here's a pic with the summer tires in place. Notice the doubled up mounting rod and the camouflaged (painted black) second crown fender mounting hardware (there's a mirror of it on the front side of the fork).
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...dbfab3aa99.jpg

Yes, I never had a "buzz", so I must have more clearance.

you can clean the stuff off your fenders without removing the wheels if you have a nice gap in there.

no big thing unless you ride along a path with pine needles coated with contact cement like the have up here in the PacNW.


anybody see small white moths flying at night in the cold rain? i don't get it.

we have similar in cold weather. think it's a "winter moth"

yeah, one doesn't want any contact, that's for sure!

The first thing I was asked after I told my mechanic that I'm winter commuter was "where are your fenders?" Yes, it is possible to have fenders. You want to be careful not let the studs rub against the fenders though

studded tires & fenders
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...52a831440d.jpg