Studs on bikes
In the not-too-distant future those of us in more northern climes will be back into the cold heart of winter. If you have ever driven a car in the winter with studded tires you will know that there is just no substitute. All-season tires can't compete with regular snow tires, and regular snow tires can't hold a candle to studs. In the past I've spent many long dark winter months in northern Sweden testing cars as part of my day job and the transportation vehicles we used to get back and forth to the test track often had studded tires. Studs are to snow and ice what a good high performance tire is to asphalt.
I was checking my friend Laura's blog this morning and spotted an interesting item. Laura doesn't have a car and uses a combination of bicycle and bus to get to work. She is a hacker of the best kind is now planning adding studs to her bike in preparation for the cold season, If you ride a bike instead of drive in the sloppy weather, check out the link for instructions on added studs to you tires on your own.
[Source: Carfree Ann Arbor]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ted 11:16AM (9/23/2006)
I have commuted on studded bike tires for two winters. They work well but are significantly slower than the summer slicks. Don't waste time making your own when Nashbar sells them for $35 each.
The best thing for winter cycling though is the Shimano Nexus 8-speed internally geared hub. Expensive but totally weatherproof!
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Scott 5:26AM (10/05/2006)
Ted,
To defend our DIY studs, they are bigger and last longer than those the Nashbar factory-made tires. All of our studs wore flat (over two cold seasons) before any were ripped out. I hear factory studs have a tendency to rip out on skids. Even with frequent clear pavement travel, the DIY studs lasted a long time.
I have to add that having more old tires and tinker-time than cash was the motivating factor for going the DIY route. $70 is a big hit for some, especially when you probably have all the parts laying around the garage.
The Nexus internal hub is probably the most under-rated bike part on the market, especially for all-weather riding. If only we could get these on more production models, the price might drop a little.
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