rumrunn6

had to replace 6 studs

after the work I put everything back the way it came. hope I can find this when I need them again

box-o-studs

guess I never wondered what they looked like before

the tip of the tool. you put the stud in, face in. it sits in there a little loose

thought there were only 1 or 2 to be replaced but it was 6! all in the rear tire, if that has any significance

it looks like all the rest

was not difficult. you just push & wiggle. the more I did the better I got

Daniel4

Nice job.

When I first started cycling in the snow and ice, I had purchased a pair or Continental Spike Claw 120s. They had studs only on the edges of the treads. When I kept on slipping, I purchased spare studs from BikeStuds and converted my 120s into Spike Claw 240s. After you get the hang of it, it was easy. But after inserting 10 studs, you really need to give your hand a break. Overall, I think the time you need to reserve for this kind of work would be around 30s per stud.

Then last spring, I noticed that my rear tire had a gash in it. So I purchased one Schwalbe studden winter tire. Works great. I still have the old tire planning to see if I can remove all those studs and save them for future use.

rumrunn6

maybe with a small tip locking pliers you could grab one & wiggle it out

wolfchild

Loosing 6 studs is a lot, especially on new tires. It's a good idea to do about a 30 mile ride on bare pavement to set the stud in before venturing out on snow and ice.

gecho

I bought my Bontrager Gnarwhal tire studless and fully populated the pockets with studs salvaged from worn out marathon winter tires. Hard on the hands.

Daniel4

I'll try it in the spring when I don't freeze my fingers.


Update: Feb 9, 2023

It took me about 1.5 hrs to remove all 240 studs from my old tire.

UnCruel 

The tool you use to insert them does fine to remove them as well. Just pry them out sideways. They come out easier than they go in.

I just put 504 studs into my 27.5" Dillinger 5s that I removed from my 26" Dillinger 5s. Once you have the hang of it, you can do quite a few in a short time. My hand was pretty sore afterward, though. This is the tool I used.

rumrunn6

oh interesting! I guess that makes sense
that is a lot of work!

canalligators

Thanks for all of your advice. I haven’t lost many studs, but this shows me my options.

noglider 

The guy who calls himself Shifter says he rides (in Calgary) with a studded front tire and a regular rear tire. Would anyone else do that? If it can only be one tire, sure, it should be the front, but I think I also want good traction in the rear.

canalligators

It’s easy enough for your rear wheel to go out sideways, especially on rutted packed snow. I would never ride with one studded tire. At my age (71), my bones break easier and take longer to heal.

2_i 

This has been relatively common for me, as one of the tire stages as conditions evolve. A bit of sliding in the rear, when the conditions are not yet overwhelming, is just a nuisance, not a major issue. Aside from going intermediate on the tires, an important restructuring of handling winter traction issues was in rewiring the instincts and letting the bike go without clinging to it when a recovery is not possible anymore. The need for studs is then just generally reduced.

gecho

I went to put the studded tires on my mountain bike today and noticed the one I had been using in the rear is in rough shape. The rubber has worn down enough that the studs take a real beating from the pavement. The aluminum base probably started making contact with pavement and wore quickly allowing the carbide insert to break off / fall out. There is still what I would call a lot of tread left, but once enough is gone that the studs stick too far out its game over (at least as a rear tire). I used up the last of my harvested studs to fill in the gaps and will use the tire in the front until I replace it. With much less weight on the front wheel it should be good for quite a while.

rumrunn6

took the same bike/tires out for a good 2 hr ride in a nearby forest a cpl days ago. rode over wonderful hard compacted snow & ice. got in a about 3 miles on pavement riding to & from the forest, about 10 miles total. lost 2 more studs on the rear. on the front tire, the only casualty was this one that got turned sideways. fixed all three up, easy peasy w/ the tool

noglider 

Hmm, very good points! I ride gravel on slick tires (because I ride gravel only occasionally), and sure, my rear tire slips, and no, I don’t panic. Thanks for pointing that out. Next time I get the urge to try my studded tires again, I might just put one on the front. Thanks!