Winter tires?

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BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
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Maine
Hey all, it's gettin' to be that time of year again and I'd like to ask yer advice.

I'm gonna ride till I freeze, till I just can't take it anymore. I know full well that living in Maine - it's damn unlikely I'll be riding the whole winter long. Some winters... sure it'd be fine, others not so much.

So my question for you is, what tires do you recommend? Studded, unstudded? I'd assume a soft, aggressive dirt tire for the snow and ice - but does anyone have a favorite? Links?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated! I used to ride motorcycles year round, although a bit further south lol and the right tires make ALL the difference in such conditions ;)
 
Blakenstein

Blakenstein

Member
Sep 15, 2009
561
2
16
Alta. Canada.
BarelyAWake said:
Hey all, it's gettin' to be that time of year again and I'd like to ask yer advice.

I'm gonna ride till I freeze, till I just can't take it anymore. I know full well that living in Maine - it's damn unlikely I'll be riding the whole winter long. Some winters... sure it'd be fine, others not so much.

So my question for you is, what tires do you recommend? Studded, unstudded? I'd assume a soft, aggressive dirt tire for the snow and ice - but does anyone have a favorite? Links?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated! I used to ride motorcycles year round, although a bit further south lol and the right tires make ALL the difference in such conditions ;)
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ooooooyezaaaaa.if its one thing i know its winter tires-for once i can finnally help you.I have big time winter ridding experience.dont really need studded tires if you kow what ur doing.for the back;-Tioga/phsyco2 or Panaracer pyro tm suspention x c .....for the front;german Continental Premolar 1.aand reverse the grip direction for front.these tires are the best.
 
BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
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Maine
Thanks guys - this is awesome info!

filestyle - Cool link, but as I'm more worried about glare ice I dunno... and at the speeds our MBs go I bet they'd be prone to the probs the one negative reviewer bemoaned. Thanks tho - as I always have a pack of zips in my pack if I run into drifts I'll know what to do ;)

UncleKudzu - those ARE great tires... I'm far too lazy to build a bike for 'em tho lol

fairracing - I shoulda done a forum search first lol - ofc this topic has been covered before v.v but thanks for diggin' up those great threads!

Blakenstein - I googled those tires and I'm diggin' the Panaracer Pyros a LOT Panaracer Pyro and Panaracer tires
but I haven't found pics for the Continental Premolar :( (hail Blakenstein lol)

edge150 - If ya read down the comments on that zip tie article there's one guy who tried it and hated them, either he was jus cranky - or he was the only one who actually tried it o_O Ya mebbe wanna give it a read *shrug* He made sense to me...

Yeah... I dunno about studs. The jury seems to out on that one, I figure they gotta help some with glare ice (my biggest worry) but ofc they don't help with snow. I don't think snow will be much of a prob, not deep stuff anyway as I'll be riding "plowed" roads.

The "do-it-yerself" technique seems... drastic and I wonder about longevity. However given they want $80 a tire or thereabouts for factory studded I don't think I'll be buyin' those lol
 
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Blakenstein

Blakenstein

Member
Sep 15, 2009
561
2
16
Alta. Canada.
you saw that?lol. here we call that black ice wether it's black or not and is everyones worst nightmare,in the relm of road transport. studded tires are great and i saw some one whom made his own by running sheetmetal screws up from the inside out and using rubber to protect inner tube.they were great.I'm thinking of cleating mine like old school snow mobile tracks [steel cleats] .will be alot of work but will be worth it.
 
Salty Gator

Salty Gator

New Member
Aug 3, 2009
672
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0
Florida
BarelyAWake said:
Hey all, it's gettin' to be that time of year again and I'd like to ask yer advice.

I'm gonna ride till I freeze, till I just can't take it anymore. I know full well that living in Maine - it's damn unlikely I'll be riding the whole winter long. Some winters... sure it'd be fine, others not so much.

So my question for you is, what tires do you recommend? Studded, unstudded? I'd assume a soft, aggressive dirt tire for the snow and ice - but does anyone have a favorite? Links?

Any suggestions would be much appreciated! I used to ride motorcycles year round, although a bit further south lol and the right tires make ALL the difference in such conditions ;)
Click to expand...


I wish I could help.....but I live in Florida.......cold to me is 60 degrees.....sheltered life I guess



Sorry,
Salty.shft.
 
B

bandito

New Member
May 22, 2009
783
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colorado
A good tread design works better in snow than a slick or semi slick type tire. I know Im going to get beat up over this next statement but here it goes. Steel snow studs are a waste of money and dont help period! I could write a whole page as to why but I wont. Either your treads going to give you grip or your going too fast in snow. Even if its just snowing the paths vehicles take on the road will be icy due to compaction of the snow by the vehicles weight and the frequency that it occurs. Nothing but common sense and slow speed will help you control your vehicle on ice unless you have 1in steel spikes protruding from your tires. Apply this to bicycles too but we dont follow in cars paths normally.
 
M

marts1

New Member
Sep 18, 2009
391
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0
Oshawa Ont CA
I'd say there is nothing you can do that would be even close to riding safe on ice. I have seen motocross races on ice but they are on a track. If I had to I would be thinking more about what I could do to a pair of boots rather then the tires.
 
Salty Gator

Salty Gator

New Member
Aug 3, 2009
672
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Florida
bandito said:
A good tread design works better in snow than a slick or semi slick type tire. I know Im going to get beat up over this next statement but here it goes. Steel snow studs are a waste of money and dont help period! I could write a whole page as to why but I wont. Either your treads going to give you grip or your going too fast in snow. Even if its just snowing the paths vehicles take on the road will be icy due to compaction of the snow by the vehicles weight and the frequency that it occurs. Nothing but common sense and slow speed will help you control your vehicle on ice unless you have 1in steel spikes protruding from your tires. Apply this to bicycles too but we dont follow in cars paths normally.
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I know I'm gonna get beat up for this.........I don't have a clue as far as riding in snow/ice....but it would seem to me to not to.......other vehicles are much more made to do so .....( I know....I know.....I live in Forida ).....But I DO have to give y'all kudos to the intrepid endeavors you perform.......



Laters,
Salty.shft.
 
bairdco

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
i lived in wisconsin when i was a little kid, and on our BMX bikes, we'd take a 20 x 2.125 tire and do the screw technique, then put holes in them around the beads, and mount them ON TOP of a 20 X 1.75 tire using coathangers through the holes in the beads and around our existing tires and rims.

then we'd go flail around all the ice rinks that pop up in the local parks and schools.

i remember them sparking on roads, which was cool, and obviously it was either coaster brake or no-brake, but hey, i was a kid, and it was fun...
 
Salty Gator

Salty Gator

New Member
Aug 3, 2009
672
0
0
Florida
bairdco said:
i lived in wisconsin when i was a little kid, and on our BMX bikes, we'd take a 20 x 2.125 tire and do the screw technique, then put holes in them around the beads, and mount them ON TOP of a 20 X 1.75 tire using coathangers through the holes in the beads and around our existing tires and rims.

then we'd go flail around all the ice rinks that pop up in the local parks and schools.

i remember them sparking on roads, which was cool, and obviously it was either coaster brake or no-brake, but hey, i was a kid, and it was fun...
Click to expand...
Ahhhhh....to be young again......we used to fly around with lit sparklers attached to our wheels.same effect just a different delivery...until one of us ran into the telephone pole guidewire......




Laters,
Salty.shft.
 
BarelyAWake

BarelyAWake

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
7,194
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Maine
Snow is great to visit - but ya don't wanna live there :p

Well - as it stands I've two sets of "aggressive" dirt tires, one with large lugs and one with small. I'm gonna stud the ones with large lugs in the best "do it yerself" fashion but ride the ones with lotsa lil lugs till it ices up a lot. I figure I'll get a good comparison that way.

bandito - I know ya didn't wanna start anythin' but I gotta say studs on cars & trucks are just about mandatory 'round these parts, being coastal we tend to get far more ice than snow. It's true studs won't help at all with snow - but they do help some while stopping and turning on ice.

They ofc don't "stick" to the ice, but they do in fact give you marginal traction, which is better than the none at all a wet rubber tire on ice is famed for. It may not be much without those 1in steel spikes ya mentioned - but there's a limit to how much vibration I can take heh


Salty - bfore you think I'm completely insane :D My commute is a mere 1/4 mile (usually) so this debate is somewhat academic. I could walk/drive/carpool but where's the fun in that? I for one love a good driving challenge, for years every time we'd get the first snow I'd be out in it with any vehicle I could get my hands on, usually motorcycles with regular ol' street tires on 'em.

I drove nothin' but motorcycles as daily drivers year round till I was 24yo, which was when I first moved to Maine. I made it one last winter and got a car lol Although I had lived in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Massachusetts previously and those places do actually see snow and ice, Maine... well... it's an overachiever o_O

*shrug* mebbe we'll have a mellow one this year, but Murphy is watchin' so we'll prolly have record breakin' lows JUST cause I don't wanna stop playin' with my bike ;)
 
B

bandito

New Member
May 22, 2009
783
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0
colorado
Barely this is just my opinion remember.......after 25 miles or so aproximately those lil steel studs usually are rounded 3/16ths fasteners on the tread of the tire. I just dont see them giving traction to a 2000lb, 3000lb vehicle or a bicycle. Anyways Im done.
 
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