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Studded Tires

giantrider89

Monkey
Oct 16, 2006
423
1
P-town, MN
I figured this is a pretty general question, so thats why i put it in the lounge.....

So i'm tired of not being able to ride my bike around campus and town, since there is so much snow now......well i guess i can still ride my bike, but it's pretty slow going even with big 2.5/2.7 minions.....anyway, my tires are getting to the end of their life, and i figured it wouldn't be a big deal just to ruin them and run a bunch of short screws into the knobs....

Now simply putting really short screws (1/4" or 1/8") into the knobs, and running some tape on the inside of the tire (to protect the tube) seems really simple.....but is that all there is to it?

anybody have some experience with doing studs themselves?

should i use traction compound on the screws (traction compound is used for rc cars to break down the rubber slightly, and make it more tacky) so they wont fall back out?

:help::help::help:
 

skinny mike

Turbo Monkey
Jan 24, 2005
6,415
0
studs help for ice, not snow.

a set of narrower tires with a decent tread would probably work better than what you're currently running.
 

kev211

Monkey
Jan 22, 2008
320
0
San Diago
studs help for ice, not snow.

a set of narrower tires with a decent tread would probably work better than what you're currently running.
Not to contradict what youre saying, but wouldnt wider tires help more because they would float you on top of the snow like snow shoes? Whenever Ive seen snow bikes, theyve had really wide tires. Just curious. It just seems weird to me



See, wide tires??
 

CRoss

Turbo Monkey
Nov 20, 2006
1,329
0
The Ranch
Studs, narrow tires, wide tires all depend on the conditions. Studs are good for ice and rock hard packed snow. Narrow tires are for loose snow with hard pack underneath. The narrow tire cuts through the soft snow to the hard snow underneath for traction. Wide tires are for soft snow to allow you to float up on top.

For studded tires I use a mud spike tire with 6x3/8 sheet metal screws. Screwing the screw into the knobs using the head of the screw for traction. Doing this with a mud tire the knobs are large enough you do not need to do anything to the inside of the tire.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
like said above the studs shine on ice...I actually rode a pair for the first time this past weekend and it changed my thoughts completely. I will have a pair for next years ice season...
 

splat

Nam I am
Ok For my snow and Ice I use my Nokian Extreame 296's ( 296 Carbide studs per tire ) however they are expensive like a $100 each. I have also made a Set of home made that my son uses for riding on ponds , and those i t drilled a hole from the out side though each knob and then from the in side I put a sheet metal screw through, then ran several layers of duct tape to cover the screw heads . I used a 110 screws per tire andthe are all on the side ( none in the center ) point out a 45 degrees, gives great traction and ever beter control on turns.



Here the In side tires are a set of IRC Sno-mads , the outer tires areteh home made I just described .

 

giantrider89

Monkey
Oct 16, 2006
423
1
P-town, MN
sweet, thanks for the help guys.....i think i may get some wet screams for as cheap as possible, and try this out......

it should be fun to going flying down the hills on campus, and hope i dont fall :imstupid: :monkeydance: :biggrin:
 

giantrider89

Monkey
Oct 16, 2006
423
1
P-town, MN
Just thought i would show off my handy work.......just used a bunch of half inch screws, and stuck them through pre-drilled holes from the inside.....then covered the inside with duct tape......


the finished product......








they work well as a trash picker-upper! :lighten::imstupid:

but seriously....they actually work really well.....i could flip over forward if i wanted to where i would have normally hardly have been able to turn.......i'm quite satisfied/happy :biggrin: :biggrin::biggrin: :thumb: :weee:
 

syadasti

i heart mac
Apr 15, 2002
12,690
290
VT
the only problem I see with having them in the middle , is sometimes they will push back through the tire.

so when are you hitting a frozen lake ?
I did that a few years ago with my sister's Cannondale on the lake behind my house. I just bummed my homemade studded tires off my friend before he moved to AZ:

 
Just thought i would show off my handy work.......just used a bunch of half inch screws, and stuck them through pre-drilled holes from the inside.....then covered the inside with duct tape......

they work well as a trash picker-upper! :lighten::imstupid:

but seriously....they actually work really well.....i could flip over forward if i wanted to where i would have normally hardly have been able to turn.......i'm quite satisfied/happy :biggrin: :biggrin::biggrin: :thumb: :weee:
Check in again when you have a few hundred miles on them and let us know how it worked out long term.
 

giantrider89

Monkey
Oct 16, 2006
423
1
P-town, MN
the only problem I see with having them in the middle , is sometimes they will push back through the tire.

so when are you hitting a frozen lake ?
yeah....i thought they were sticking up a bit too high in the middle, for that reason.....but oh well, im just cruising around campus, and ideally not falling on our un-plowed roads or sidewalks and making an a$$ of myself......

although, now that i know how well they work.....i may have to have more fan than that with 'em.....
 

buildyourown

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2004
4,832
0
South Seattle
I've studded a few tires in my youth as a paper boy.
You need to start with the right tire. Larger square knobs are needed to support the screw. Get some short sheet metal screws. The self tapping kind with the heat treated tips.
Predrill the tire, then install the screw. Duct tape on the inside finishes it out.
Don't run them on the center. Otherwise they bend over and make the ride bumpy. If the screws are too long, bad things happen. You only want them sticking out 1/8"
Icy lakes are really fun.
If you need pure snow traction, chains work better, but are expensive and a pain to install. I still have some in my basement if you want them.
 

AiR2k

Chimp
Jun 13, 2007
58
0
Finland
I've studded a few tires in my youth as a paper boy.
You need to start with the right tire. Larger square knobs are needed to support the screw. Get some short sheet metal screws. The self tapping kind with the heat treated tips.
Predrill the tire, then install the screw. Duct tape on the inside finishes it out.
Don't run them on the center. Otherwise they bend over and make the ride bumpy. If the screws are too long, bad things happen. You only want them sticking out 1/8"
Icy lakes are really fun.
If you need pure snow traction, chains work better, but are expensive and a pain to install. I still have some in my basement if you want them.
Hmm, chains?! Can you show me some examples?