no traction is no traction, knobbies or not. the type of tire i rode never helped me on ice, but then again, i’ve never had carbide-studded tires. I find the best strategy is to keep a straight line until you find a patch of pavement.
My preferred rain/snow tire is the Michelin Pro Grip #. Only comes in 23. I’d run em all year if they didn’t wear so fast.
This link is a big help for choosing the proper winter tires:
http://www.icebike.org/Equipment/tires.htmWho knew it was all about rounded sipes and lugs?
Here is my new winter bike:
42/18, steel chainring, Planet Bike Hardcore fenders, Framesaver, BB drain hole, sealed headset top-nut, frozen driftwood spokecards. Brazeons were removed with a Dremel and the bare metal spots were covered with nail polish. Rides like a dream, the American dream that is. Except it’s not all foreign parts and I didn’t have to go into debt.
I’ll be taking my 35c Randonneurs out in the ice/snow for the first time tomorrow, so we’ll see how I do. As well, it’ll be my first wet ride with my new fancy Giles Berthoud stainless steel fenders. It’ll be cold as a witch’s titty, but I’m looking forward to being on the bike again for the first time in two weeks.
That page is outdated tho, check here:
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.aspMarathon winter look very desirable to me.
Also, SuperVillain, I’d totally hit it.
pics plz, bonechill.
So you dudes don’t have problems with the snow filling up full fenders? I always sort of thought that MTB style fenders would be better so you don’t get a bunch of crap stuck between the tire and the fender.
When I’ve ridden in the snow (not often), I’ve noticed that riding a fixed gear and staying off the brake has been a big help regardless of tire type.
Nah, the snow just gets pushed through and out the sides. And full fenders are way better, as most MTB fenders don’t do much to protect your feet or the bike itself.
I concur, and a low gear ratio (60-65 g.i.) helps a lot.
It’ not a big problem.
True. I was thinking irrationally because the prospect of falling in a corner in front of moving vehicles got me all jazzed up. I was riding with some buddies on Saturday, and a guy riding a pugsley went down when he unexpectedly hit some glare ice on a curve in the trail… Keeping a straight line is the way to go, and avoiding these iced-over side roads as much as possible is even better.
Knobbies do not really help on ice, just the contrary. They do help on certain snow types. What really helps is a soft rubber mix found on some of low temperature CX tires. I had good results last several winters with Barums:
and more recently with low temperature (yellow mix) 30mm CXTufos (last spring image):
Gah! Tufos are bucks.
I have checked before responding - you are right, they are expensive now. I bought 3 of mine over 2 years ago at BikeTiresDirect for $50ish each.
One died on me, other has another year in it ( barring tearing it earlier) the third is unuse