Winter Tyres

[Beeping-Sleauty]

So have any brave souls among us ventured out into the white stuff....on their bikes..?

how did your tyres cope ?

i know some folk were trying out new tyres in the snow, it would be helpful to know which ones worked, and which ones did not.

please share your experience with us.

In the meantime, Happy Xmas everyone.

beeps

edit: simply can't believe it's been 4 Xmas's i've been 'electric'

 

[Fecn]

I just couldn't resist going out when it was snowing really heavily yesterday. My Agattu's tyres are useless on the snow, but my crap lead-acid bike has big knobbly tyres which grip like a mountain goat.

I went round the block a couple of times for a look around after all the cars ground to a halt yesterday. I've always regarded my red bike as a bit rubbish, but in the snow it's really in it's element. I'm now considering upgrading it to a halfway-decent battery and hoping for some more snow.

 

[barrycoll]

coming off on black ice is too painful for a repeat performance....

but I DO recommend golf shoes for walking...quite amazing what some studs do for your confidence, black ice, what black ice????....sportsdirect.com for some cheap ones

go well everybody

barry c.

 

[Straylight]

My Continental top contact winter tyres seem fine on ice with a little care, the one thing they don't like is slush on top of ice - makes them slide under braking. Even so, if you keep your speed down, it's ok. I've swapped my pedals to the non spd Wisper originals in case I need to put my feet down in a hurry . The tyres are fine for tarmac as well, and will happily wiz along at 18mph without noticable drag, so I think they're a good comprimise.

 

[Mussels]

My Continental top contact winter tyres seem fine on ice with a little care, the one thing they don't like is slush on top of ice - makes them slide under braking. Even so, if you keep your speed down, it's ok. I've swapped my pedals to the non spd Wisper originals in case I need to put my feet down in a hurry . The tyres are fine for tarmac as well, and will happily wiz along at 18mph without noticable drag, so I think they're a good comprimise.

That's pretty much what I found. I can ride on ice that I can't walk on, shame I can't stop and put my foot down. They work well in snow and I only came off in slush over smooth paving slabs. Take my weight off the bike and the tyres slide very easily, in my head the tyre shouldn't work but in practice they are almost as good as full studded tyres.
They do slide a bit but manage to regain grip before it's too late, wheelspins are interesting.
It was much fun riding past lines of cars and past the one at the front with it's wheels spinning madly. Not so much fun finding the Woolwich ferry closed and having to carry my bike down and back up a hundred steps for the foot tunnel under the Thames.
I almost had a close call with a double decker bus fishtailing up a slight hill, another had crashed just down the road causing a big problem. There was hardly any snow on the road, I hope they take the buses out of service quickly next time.

 

[z0mb13e]

Has anyone tried the Marathon Plus Winter? Better still anyone tried both Marathon and TopContact Winters?

It might well be a pointless debate as a quick google doesn't throw up many suppliers for the Marathon Winters, but these are the two I am considering.

I am leaning towards the Marathons as the last time I used a Top Contact (not the Winter) I got punctures both front and rear within a few weeks. But before I part with the cash, I beg the wisdom of the forum...

 

[Mussels]

Has anyone tried the Marathon Plus Winter? Better still anyone tried both Marathon and TopContact Winters?

It might well be a pointless debate as a quick google doesn't throw up many suppliers for the Marathon Winters, but these are the two I am considering.

I am leaning towards the Marathons as the last time I used a Top Contact (not the Winter) I got punctures both front and rear within a few weeks. But before I part with the cash, I beg the wisdom of the forum...

I used the Schwalbe Snow stud tyres last year and the Topcontact this year, the studs give me more confidence but I can't decide which one gives better grip - it's close. The big difference is in the ride quality on normal roads, the Topcontact Winter is much better.

 

[monster]

check out my winter camoflague!

skidding is fun on snow and ice. like having your own skid pan. front wheel skidding is a bit scary tho.

i've got marathon slicks on the back and no-name slicks on the front.

 

[daniel.weck]

16" wheels, Schwalbe Marathon at the rear, Marathon Plus at the front, human power to the rear, Bafang motor power at the front => lots of fun on the snow/ice Not particularly safe, but the 2WD experience is great !

 

[jkirkebo]

I commute 10 miles every day now on snow and ice. It's been around -12C these last mornings (if 5.30am is considered "morning"....)

Nokian WXC300's cope with snow & ice like it's clean tarmac, I go just as fast in winter conditions as in the summer.

2WD is perfect in snow, I would never go for a rear hub motor on a winter bike. Also hydraulic disc brakes is a big plus.

(bike is a heavily modified Ezee Forza)

 

[Northern Irelander]

still can't decide myself if it's Marathon winters or top conti type. For the latter there would need to be complete run in of the tyre on low pressure with no 'chicken strips' on the sidewall

For soft snow it is any type of full knobblies with 'tranverse rows' of tread,

I'd rather have a RWD ebike, easier when the back end of a bike slides out to control and put the foot down, counteract by shifting weight and power (speedway bikes being a classic example)
You tend to land on your backside, lower body first

When the front goes from under you, less you can do about it, also much more vulnerable fall angle, to the front and side.

 

[1967geezer]

Yes, black ice falls are painful. Twice in one day last year Bent pedals, bent derailleur, huge bruise on hip, limping for days...

So far, so good this year, fingers crossed. Yesterday we had rain fall on the laying snow, then sleet followed by more snow. VERY slippy.

Traffic was completely at a standstill all the way home, over 2 miles. I could get no traction on the roads, which were covered in compacted ice, but I broke the habit of a lifetime and rode all the way home on the pavement

I did notice that the electric rear hub was a bit of a liability at times. On my wisper the power is not gently eased on from the pedelec sensor, it is more a quick and sudden surge. When you're carefully negotiating your way around an obstacle the last thing you need is a sudden and strong surge from the rear wheel. I can feather the brake lever to activate the brake cut-off switch, to keep on top of it, but a gentler application of hub power would be better.

Chris.

 

[jkirkebo]

I'd rather have a RWD ebike, easier when the back end of a bike slides out to control and put the foot down, counteract by shifting weight and power (speedway bikes being a classic example)

The problem is not on ice, but in a few inches of snow that have been plowed from the road unto the bike path/pavement or been driven in by cars. The front wheel of a standard bike will slide all over the place, the snow is too compact for even a narrow wheel to reach the pavement and too slippery to ride on top of.

A front hub e-bike will pull right through that stuff. I've biked through such snow on bike paths at ~15mph these two last days, with my old unpowered bike I'd have to get off or get into the (icy) road.

I think it works much better on ice too, the front wheel doesn't slide but pulls through the turn. Just like a FWD car works much better than RWD in the winter.

 

[fishingpaul]

I have not ventured out for a few days now on my bike,i would have to travel down a steep icy hill first thing in the morning which is a little bit worrying to me when i have to try stop at the bottom, but after reading other posters im not sure if it might be easier than i think,do you think a front hub bike handles almost as well as a car in the snow and ice downhill.

 

[Northern Irelander]

The problem is not on ice, but in a few inches of snow that have been plowed from the road unto the bike path/pavement or been driven in by cars. The front wheel of a standard bike will slide all over the place, the snow is too compact for even a narrow wheel to reach the pavement and too slippery to ride on top of.

A front hub e-bike will pull right through that stuff. I've biked through such snow on bike paths at ~15mph these two last days, with my old unpowered bike I'd have to get off or get into the (icy) road.

I think it works much better on ice too, the front wheel doesn't slide but pulls through the turn. Just like a FWD car works much better than RWD in the winter.

I'd have to disagree, FWD understeers, RWD oversteer,
A car behaves totally different to an ebike or motorbike. You can't shift your weight about or put the foot down.
You can't compare the two.

In short if FWD 2 wheeled bikes handle so well, howcome they arent mass produced for the off road market?

That's cos they don't handle well under loose terrain.

 

[z0mb13e]

This is an interesting read... Studded Bicycle Tires

My main concern is that I am going to be riding on dry roads most of the time. Ice occasionally and snow once in a blue moon. So I figured the studs would wear quickly. The above site suggests that carbide studs will last as long as the tyre rubber. That was why I was still looking at the Top Contact Winters.

Rather than narrow things down it has thrown the Nokian A10 into the mix - another studded commuter tyre.

Time to google for suppliers and prices again.

 

[Mussels]

still can't decide myself if it's Marathon winters or top conti type. For the latter there would need to be complete run in of the tyre on low pressure with no 'chicken strips' on the sidewall

For soft snow it is any type of full knobblies with 'tranverse rows' of tread,

I'd rather have a RWD ebike, easier when the back end of a bike slides out to control and put the foot down, counteract by shifting weight and power (speedway bikes being a classic example)
You tend to land on your backside, lower body first

When the front goes from under you, less you can do about it, also much more vulnerable fall angle, to the front and side.

I've only got the grit through on the centre part of my Contis and it doesn't seem to have affected the way it works, I am running on 30psi at the moment to get the full grip down. It works very well in soft snow as well so I think for most people knobblies are not required.

I have not ventured out for a few days now on my bike,i would have to travel down a steep icy hill first thing in the morning which is a little bit worrying to me when i have to try stop at the bottom, but after reading other posters im not sure if it might be easier than i think,do you think a front hub bike handles almost as well as a car in the snow and ice downhill.

I live at the top of a hill and it goes to a 1 in 4 at the bottom, there are regularly car accidents there this time of year. When I tried coming up it last night I found car tyres had polished two strips and my back tyre had no hope of gripping, the rougher ice at the sides was fine though. Unfortunately this morning I followed an ambulance down there as a woman had fallen and couldn't get back up.
I can ride down icy roads with the winter tyres but I wouldn't recommend it and certainly not with normal tyres.

I got a bit cocky and over confident today and the frost caught me out a couple of times sending my back wheel wide round corners, the way the tyres recovered grip and kept me upright makes me think they were well worth the money.

 

[HarryB]

The cheapo option...

How to Convert Bicycle Tires Into Studded Snow Tires - wikiHow

 

[john]

The main problem I am finding with FWD is that there is not enough weight on the front wheel, meaning that loss of traction and wheel spin is more likely than for RWD.

Also, steering is virtually impossible with a spinning front wheel.

 

[jkirkebo]

The main problem I am finding with FWD is that there is not enough weight on the front wheel, meaning that loss of traction and wheel spin is more likely than for RWD.

Also, steering is virtually impossible with a spinning front wheel.

I could see that being a problem with american sized front hubs, but on this side of the atlantic ? My geared Ezee front hub motor puts out ~800W peak (44.2v minus voltage sag=40V to the 20A controller), this is not enough to spin the studded tyres on even smooth ice.