weonot

Hi.

This will be my first winter, (in South Korea where the wether can be harsh and freezing with occasional snow) with my Dahon Mariner i7(which has a 20 inch wheel).

And I was wondering if getting a tire with a better grip will help me get through the winter riding, usually on asphalt roads.

Will it make a difference? if so, where will it be a good place to start looking for one?

Any comments, opinion related or unrelated to the topic is welcome.

Thank you in advance.

Best,

Chae, from Seoul.

(always wishing BIKE FORUMS members a safe ride)

2_i 

On our folders we use studded Marathon Winter tires (20" and 16") for ice and snow and they are reasonable. However, for occasional ice or snow, I am not sure I would bother. If weather turns rougher in our area, I usually try to ride for a day or two, to see whether it continues like that or not. Studded do not ride well until there is a thicker layer of ice or snow. I am unaware of any non-studded winter tires in 20" size.

BobbyG

weonot I commuted year-round in Colorado Springs for 28 years. For the last few I relied on Suomi Nokian W106 26x1.9 studded snow tires, and they made a huge positive, difference.
First of all, the studs allowed me to ride over icy stretches with confidence. Riding up icy hills that cars couldn't was very satisfying. The aggressive tread made riding through snow easy and secure. And even riding on wet, cold pavement was better because the tire compound was designed to stay soft and grippy below freezing. I rode these tires down to 5 degrees farenheit/-15C.

These are the only snow and ice tires I have experience with...but the design is genius! The key is tire pressure. For dry pavement it is suggested you use the maximum tire pressure of 65psi (I did 70psi). This ensures the tire is full and round which lifts the studs off the pavement for the most part, allowing the bike to ride on the less treaded center section. The overlapping tread design gives smooth straight ahead riding, with secure cornering. The only issue is transitioning over the studs which run down the shoulders of the tire. There is a brief moment when turning that the weight of the bike os over the studs which can mean a moment of less grip. But over all they ride well on dry pavement but feel a little heavy and slow.

For wet or icy situations 35-40psi is recommended. This accomplishes two things. Because the tire can deform more, it presents a wider contact patch with the road which aids in grip, and it brings the studs into play, allowing them to contact the road in straight ahead riding. And because they are already in contact with the road, cornering does't involve that moment of transition across the studs, so cornering is secure. However riding is now a little more sluggish still. And soft snow can still feel a little slick.

For soft, deep snow 25psi is called for and that allows for maxium grip, although the bike now will feel kinda dead and dull on dry pavement.

It looks like Schwalbe makes a studded snow and ice tire for 20" . The design is slightly different from the Nokian W-106s, but I have read good things from commuters who use the Schwalbe, although not in the 20" size, although I would assume it is also a good performer. I don't know how much altering the psi works with the Schwalbes, but they should have a good, soft, pliable winter compound, and that is important.

I will also add two more notes:

The first winter I rode with the studs I turned onto an icy street, the same time as another rider. It was a gutter-to-gutter sheet of glare ice. We were side by side afew feet apart and I asked him what tires he was on. He said, just his normal street tires, but deflated a great deal. Surprised, I asked, "no studs?". He said "No studs...those things will kill you on dry pavement...they have no grip!" I told him I was running studs and that I felt just fine on dry pavement. He said, he did not. Then the ice ended and he turned off onto a side street. To each his own, but I swear by studded snow and ice tires.

After three winters with the studded tires, I bought a 2nd wheel set so I could more easily change between regular and snow tires. I hadn't done it sooner because I had two other bikes I could ride when there was no snow. But my snow bike is also my utility/carry-all bike, and I wanted to more easily swap tires.

Hope this all helps.


Suomi Nokian 26x1.9 studded tires.

Schwalbe MArathon Winter HS 396 tires.


My Nokians:


commuting in the snow and ice:


And after my drop bar conversion:

2_i 

Marathon GT 365 surfaced in a parallel thread in Winter Cycling. They have no studs and come in 20" size.

weonot

Thank you very much for your comment.
I had to travel to a warmer climate(the Netherlands) this winter. So perhaps when next winter comes i think I should give it a try.
Best,
Chae.

weonot

Thank you for the detailed and unbiased information.(and your videos were amazing!)

Keeping in mind, that the pressure is the key, I think I should try the tires with the stud and see if if suits me.

I wish you a safe ride.

And thank you very much.

Best,

Chae.

Tourist in MSN

I have used Marathon Winters on one of my touring bikes for winter use in 26 inch size on a non-folding bike. Mine are 50mm wide.

Schwalbe makes this in two versions, one version has two rows of studs, the other more expensive version has four rows of studs that are further up the sides. The Marathon Winters have the four rows. I think the two row version on back is probably adequate when you are not leaning hard into turns, but the four row version on front might be a good idea. I have read on Peter Whites website that the four row version is better to climb up out of icy ruts, so if you have uneven ice then perhaps the four row version is best.

I find that they are fantastic on ice, but if there is deep snow, then the tire might not get down to the ice. If there is snow between the tire and ice, the snow will still slide on the ice. The studs only provide grip if they can dig into the ice.

There is a lot of rolling friction with these tires. If I am mostly on dry pavement I pump up the tires to higher pressure so that the studs that are off to the side ride a bit higher on the tire on the pavement. And at more ice, I use lower pressure so the studs get better grip in the ice as the tire flexes more with low pressure and the studs that are off to the side of the centerline will grip the ice better at low pressure.

Unfortunately I have trouble getting my rotated photos to stay rotated. In this photo, the bike is on very slippery ice, you have to be careful when you get off the bike as your feet will slide around.



I think on packed snow like the photo below, a knobby mountain bike tire might be better, as the studs did not provide any extra grip on packed snow.