@SRD Wonder if they just found a few in the storeroom of the branch which used to be The Bike Chain?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
The ongoing battle with studded tyres
(173 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
-
I've been riding 35mm Marathons on wee blue floofy for months, so the move to 30mm studlies has been oddly benign in terms of speed loss.
I have different rims on front and rear, the rear accepting the Winters very easily, the front being a bit more of a wrestle. I was wary of damaging the bead by tyre lever use like I did with Gatorskins recently, so I did the Spa Cycles wheel Yoda's trick of working the tyre right into the rim. This is a process that would be trivially simple with three hands, but was sufficiently hard with two that I had to lose layers halfway through in a room my thermostat assured was at 10.8C.
Pavements in Roslin were ice rinks last night and this morning, so I was very glad to have mildly overheated in the pursuit of traction. As is often the case, the hairiest moments were at icy junctions when I put my foot down and almost slipped.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"...so I did the Spa Cycles wheel Yoda's trick of working the tyre right into the rim"
This happened all by itself when I was installing my Winters.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Have any ones budget snow tires turned up yet? I ordered mine on wednessday evening wondering how long they will take.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I ordered to be colected from the Edinburgh shop and walked up last night. When I ordered there was only 700 x 38 in stock (also 26" x 1.9). Wish I'd ordered two pairs now (greedy).
I'm surprised most shops don't stock them. I have had a pair of 700 x 42 for a few years and they are a gold mine!
Posted 9 years ago # -
@DaveC - you're welcome to have my 700x38s (which I plan to collect today) if they don't fit on my cross bike, which is actually very likely having thought about it. £20 the pair - or offers :)
I think I'll order some of the 26 inch ones for my mountain bike and ride that in if it's icy.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Have any ones budget snow tires turned up yet?
aye, mine turned up last night
8pm delivery by DPD
Posted 9 years ago # -
@panyaqua, Cheers but lets see if they fit first!
Posted 9 years ago # -
Just fitted my new Genesis Longitude with the 700x40c Schwalbe winters that have been kicking around the garage for a year or so. They sort of flopped onto the rims and needed to be almost fully inflated before they pushed out enough for the bead to catch on the rim. Icy fun later.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Have any ones budget snow tires turned up yet?
Mine were left at the front door some time last night. They didn't bother ringing the bell.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Had to turn back today and commute by car :-(
My one speed steed doesn't have enough clearance for mudguards, so won't take a decent width winter tyre.
Anyone aware of particularly skinny (decent) winter tyres?
Posted 9 years ago # -
@Bikeability I think 30mm is as small as the winter tyres go, and they are more like a 32mm once stud clearance is taken in to account.
Posted 9 years ago # -
my new Genesis Longitude
According to the blurb, it's a "mid-fat" bike. Semi-skimmed?
Posted 9 years ago # -
I read it a reference to the rider and thought "that's the bike for me".
Posted 9 years ago # -
@panyagua I put 700x38's in the basket and neglected to actually checkout and I can't find them now, if @DaveC doesn't want them can I get first dibs after him please?
@DaveC, not trying to poach these from you, if you want them then please crack on and sorry for jumping in.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@kaputnik I do like the look af these fat and half fat bikes (I'd need a full fat)but I cannae mind the last time I rode on anything other than skinnies.
Mrs Bikeability has made it clear we are at the P-1 stage.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@condor2378 - have PM'ed you.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Posted 9 years ago # -
Small disappointment -
1.9's 150g more than 2.125s that came off.
Did a quick 'try' without inner tube. No tyre levers/problem. Mmm!
Posted 9 years ago # -
Have we converted even *you*???
Posted 9 years ago # -
Had my first proper run on spikes tonight although I had to go six miles up to the Dunfermline-Alloa cycle path to find good ice to try them on. Go figure - everywhere else is completely clear but the Sustrans route is solid, rutted ice. Still, great fun. No slipping at all although some of the ruts were like tramlines.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Planet X are not delivering my tires. I had an email today saying because my delivery address is different than my card address the security department wants more information I have to sent some documentation. I would rather pay a bit more and have the tires this side of xmas.
Where can I buy the tires from, I see I can order some winters in evans for £62 for 2 the price of marathons on the web but nevertheless may be my best option.
Any other shops I can order some tires from in Edinburgh that may have a bit more competitive pricing than Evans?
Posted 9 years ago # -
I've had a couple of very slightly hairy moments on my Schwalbe Winters (the ones with just two rows of studs) on the towpath. It feels like I'm losing the back end of the bike. I've never come close to coming off, though.
In the link chdot posted above from Peter White Cycles, he says that studs on the sides help climb out of ruts. Certainly I never recall a hairy moment with my previous Marathon Winters. My guess is that the ordinary winters are OK on smooth black ice, but are a bit twitchier on the ruts and bumps, when you need the four rows of studs to keep complete control.
Posted 9 years ago # -
This is what I was on tonight (700x40c) and Rose deliver pretty quickly.
http://www.rosebikes.com/article/schwalbe-winter-reflex-spikes-tyre/aid:709896
And with four rows of studs
http://www.rosebikes.com/article/schwalbe-marathon-winter-spike-tyre/aid:707851
Posted 9 years ago # -
@Ed1 - do you have a local bike shop? Might be worth trying to see if your LBS can get you something. Failing that, you could try somewhere like The Bicycle Works, who I always found to be pretty reasonable. Or pick one of the many bike shops that gets a decent reputation here and see what they can do.
A glance through the websites of Halfords, Alpine, Decathlon, Go Outdoors and EBC suggests none sell studlies. Bit short-sighted.
Could you have the tyres delivered to Planet X though? I did this, saved postage and skipped the hassle of not being in when the courier rocked up. Downside is you have to go pick 'em up and they ship in a large (as in BIG) suitcase-sized cardboard box.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Bike coop apparently has some. Might be worth going in and asking.
Posted 9 years ago # -
In the picture above, the Planet X shop has them. @ed1 why not go there to join the craze?
I still haven't put mine on as stuck to main roads, will be checking Roseburn path and george St on Monday.
Posted 9 years ago # -
My front tyre on the folder is 35-406 and it's the widest we could fit on it. Pretty sure that means I can't fit studded tyres? But then I still do t understand tyre sidings despite chdot''s best efforts to educate me.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"tyre sidings"
*Like*
Big number rim diameter.
Small number tyre width.
BUT -
"
Competitive pressures have often led to inaccuracy in width measurement. Here's how it works: Suppose you are in the market for a high performance 700 x 25 tire; you might reasonably investigate catalogues and advertisements to try to find the lightest 700-25 available. If the Pepsi Tire Company and the Coke Tire Company had tires of equal quality and technology, but the Pepsi 700-25 was actually a 700-24 marked as a 25, the Pepsi tire would be lighter than the accurately-marked Coke 700-25. This would put them at a competitive advantage. In self defense, Coke would retaliate by marketing an even lighter 700-23 labeled as a 700-25.
"
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html
SO -
Be suspicious of width numbers, especially where clearance is tight, and (if poss!) try/measure a real one.
(This is perhaps more critical with spiky ones.)
Posted 9 years ago # -
My front tyre on the folder is 35-406 and it's the widest we could fit on it. Pretty sure that means I can't fit studded tyres?
I think the only Winter option in 406 is a 42mm width, and it sounds like you already tried that. I think even I might shirk at the prospect on your folder's narrow front rim. Though in fairness it was never designed for fat tyres.
Tulyar may need to correct me, but I think Brompton front hubs would be compatible with your folder's narrow fork spacing. You could have Laid Back build one into a Sun CR18 28h rim, which would be happy running a 42-406. You could then keep that wheel for winter as it would be heavier than the original.
Posted 9 years ago #
Reply »
You must log in to post.
posts
