Winter Tyres

[steve.c]

Hi to all. As I have to use my Freego Eagle through the winter I was wondering what is the best tyre choice??. I have the standard gyres which are very good but was a bit worried about ice & snow! IE would the standard tyres be ok or would it be an advantage to put a mountain bike tyre on the front for control or put them all round ???, I know that living in Devon it's warmer than other parts of the Country but last year it went down to -14c and had lots of snow. Any advice would be great. Steve.

 

[andyh2]

Schwalbe marathon winter studded tyres are well regarded. Not cheap mind , but very practical for commuting safely in icy / potentially icy conditions.

 

[Mussels]

I've tried Schwalbe and Conti and there's not a lot between them, Congti have a new type out this hear so I don't know what they are like. I will probably keep my Marathon Winters this year but wouldn't rush to buy them again as the studs fall out, they are however far better than the Schwalbe snow+ice tyres.

Standard tyres are pretty useless on ice, get something.

 

[103Alex1]

I'm about to do my first Winter on an eBike. Going to be on both rural lanes for a time and also on slush-heavy town roads if there's snow. Read up as much as I can and thinking of fitting these once the ice starts setting in, the gritting begins or things get lethal :

Nokian 40-622 700c Hakkapeliitta W240

Specs here : Studded Bicycle Tires

I'm in the far South West quite a lot of the time and ice/sleet is far more common than snow. Hard to predict if the Winter's going to be a cold icy one or a mild one - makes a huge difference to road conditions. Rest of the time near the Cotswolds and far more prone to snow, slush and icy ruts.

The Schwalbe Marathon Winters are apparently not great at getting you out of icy ruts so just don't think they're up to the job of what may come cycling on an almost daily basis through conditions which may involve these. Conversely, the Nokians above are probably significant overkill on mild Winter days when the temps usually go up considerably above freezing in the South West - and I'd be slowed down a lot, presumably, using them.

Really pretty apprehensive to be honest - does anyone have experience of using the Nokian tyres / advice as to the trigger point for fitting them (other than doing a skid in your regular ones !) ? Or any other recommendations for something that would be a better compromise ? I really don't want to take a fall on account of not having the right tyres on the bike !

 

[andyh2]

Last year I had the Schwalbe Marathon Winter and they were excellent when the roads were icy, but to be honest not so nice to ride when it wasn't icy. This year I've decided to try Continental Winter II tyres. Review here;
Review: Continental TopContact Winter II tires

I'm not expecting them to be as good on ice, because they don't have studs, but I am expecting them to be better in all other conditions, which will be most of the time.

 

[Caph]

If you're serious about getting a winter tyre, it's not worth opting for anything less than the full on Schwalbe Ice Spikers. You will sound like a tractor but they grip like superglue on ice. I just don't think it's worth shelling out big bucks for a halfway house. Don't worry about the lack of ice at the moment, they need hard tarmac to bed in anyway. No matter what you opt for they will be no good on deep snow with slush underneath although the tread of the ice spiker will be the best of a bad bunch.

 

[amigafan2003]

This year I've decided to try Continental Winter II tyres. Review here;
Review: Continental TopContact Winter II tires

I used those last year - thick ice and six in deep snow and they were REALLY good. In fact, almost unbelievably good - you'd swear they had spikes they were that good.

If it gets above about 12c though they get super soft and rolling resistance increases dramatically so swap them out for normal tyres when it gets warmer or we have a warm spell.

 

[Mussels]

Last year I had the Schwalbe Marathon Winter and they were excellent when the roads were icy, but to be honest not so nice to ride when it wasn't icy. This year I've decided to try Continental Winter II tyres. Review here;
Review: Continental TopContact Winter II tires

I'm not expecting them to be as good on ice, because they don't have studs, but I am expecting them to be better in all other conditions, which will be most of the time.

I had the original TopContact Winter tyres and preferred them to the Marathon Winters, I would try the TC Winter II tyres without hesitation. Marathon Winter tyres gave good grip in all but deep snow but the studs kept falling out.

 

[103Alex1]

Well, saw some patches of ice forming last week and my imagination got the better of me. For better or worse went ahead and took a punt on some Nokian (Suomi) W240s which arrived today for a gut-wrenching £95 the pair landed from Germany, even with the good exchange rate. Almost makes you start praying for a skating rink to prove it was worthwhile ! They look very good and all the studs seem to be well set. Guess time will tell whether they stay that way.

Having only just run in my Marathon Plus Tours after getting the bike shop to tune and center the wheels properly following my first attempt at tyre changing rolleyes I'm a bit loath to fit the new ones yet. Any tips for getting the wheels properly centered after you have them off without the aid of a bike clamp/stand or a spare pair of hands ? I did fine with the tyres but made such a botch of re-fitting the wheels last time my rim brake pads were virtually touching the rims .

Had a bit of a job of it with that monster frame (or maybe I was just exhausted from squeezing 85psi in to the tubes with a hand pump) that an irrational fear of winding up with another bike shop labour bill is starting to take over and must be "dealt with" !!!!!

It's still more wet than icy (as usual !) but keeping an eye on the weather so if I have to go for for a slow 25-miler on the tarmac to run them in I'll hopefully still have time before it turns properly icy.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

To get the wheels off, you turn the bike upside-down so that it rests on the saddle and handlebars. I'm not sure what you mean about centering the wheels. They should go back exactly as they came off. I think you'd be better off waiting for the really cold weather before fitting those tyres. Studded ones are meant for snow and ice, and will probably be a lot worse than your MPs in normal conditions. They'd be better fitted to spare wheels so that you can do a rapid changeover when conditions dictate. Continental Top Contact Winter would probably be a more appropriate choice for our winters - except if we get a prolonged freeze like before.

 

[103Alex1]

To get the wheels off, you turn the bike upside-down so that it rests on the saddle and handlebars. I'm not sure what you mean about centering the wheels. They should go back exactly as they came off. I think you'd be better off waiting for the really cold weather before fitting those tyres. Studded ones are meant for snow and ice, and will probably be a lot worse than your MPs in normal conditions. They'd be better fitted to spare wheels so that you can do a rapid changeover when conditions dictate. Continental Top Contact Winter would probably be a more appropriate choice for our winters - except if we get a prolonged freeze like before.

OK on the bike inversion - thanks .. that may help ! Re : the wheels, the rear wheel in particular can quite easily be refitted slightly out of alignment as I seemingly did. Should be easier to avoid with the bike inverted. Don't have any prior experience of working on bikes - this is my first for over 17 years and ashamed to say someone else always did whatever was needed the last time I owned one !

Don't think spare wheels are an option money-wise - I'm pretty sure the rear one on my bike would cost an arm and a leg looking at what's sat in the middle of it, and the front wheel dynamo lights complicate the idea for the front. Most likely can't afford that luxury at the moment.

I looked at those Continental ones but my main worry is over prolonged snow/ice. The law of sod would dictate I'd be stuck without alternative transport about the same time as that happened. Basically 3 one-way taxis if I can't ride because it's frozen and the tyres have paid for themselves (no such thing as buses or trains in the sticks and taxis are out of all proportion on the cost front ).

No experience of Winter riding in Europe but untreated rural lanes with black ice and refrozen evening tyre tracks in what had thawed to slush in the day sound like a death trap to me with something other than a studded tyre. Am I being overly concerned or missing the point ? Not bothered about an extra 5-10 minutes over 15-20 miles or a couple of mph off the speed if conditions are swinging from treacherous to slush.

 

[Mussels]

OK on the bike inversion - thanks .. that may help ! Re : the wheels, the rear wheel in particular can quite easily be refitted slightly out of alignment as I seemingly did. Should be easier to avoid with the bike inverted. Don't have any prior experience of working on bikes - this is my first for over 17 years and ashamed to say someone else always did whatever was needed the last time I owned one !

Don't think spare wheels are an option money-wise - I'm pretty sure the rear one on my bike would cost an arm and a leg looking at what's sat in the middle of it, and the front wheel dynamo lights complicate the idea for the front. Most likely can't afford that luxury at the moment.

I looked at those Continental ones but my main worry is over prolonged snow/ice. The law of sod would dictate I'd be stuck without alternative transport about the same time as that happened. Basically 3 one-way taxis if I can't ride because it's frozen and the tyres have paid for themselves (no such thing as buses or trains in the sticks and taxis are out of all proportion on the cost front ).

No experience of Winter riding in Europe but untreated rural lanes with black ice and refrozen evening tyre tracks in what had thawed to slush in the day sound like a death trap to me with something other than a studded tyre. Am I being overly concerned or missing the point ? Not bothered about an extra 5-10 minutes over 15-20 miles or a couple of mph off the speed if conditions are swinging from treacherous to slush.

For me the option of two sets of tyres wasn't happening so I had to settle on one set to last the four months of winter. Studs aren't great as they always fall out, then you are left with a patch of tyre that can't grip ice. The TC Winters (original ones) didn't fill me with confidence and I tried to avoid ice until I reached a stretch alongside the Thames where the wind and waves had polished a large stretch and it was impossible to walk across without crampons, I rode across it with no problem although I wasn't brave enough to attempt sharp turns. From experience I know a normal tyre would have stood no chance there.
The only time I've fallen off on ice with winter tyres on the bike is when I put my foot down to see if it was as slippery as it looked.
I have fallen off aquaplaning on slush and I've lost drive in deep snow but generally Schwalbe and Continental winter tyres have been excellent.

 

[103Alex1]

Thanks for all the replies and info - this is the one area where my lack of experience coupled with the unpredictability of British weather has really left me flummoxed for a trouble-free plan and pay a bit more to do everything fine in all conditions solution. It looks like there really isn't one.

Taken note of peoples' experiences and ordered some Continental Winter IIs. I can see from the construction that logically they should be the best compromise most of the time - from my memories of typical British Winters in any event. If things get really bad I guess the Nokians are there as an insurance policy just in case, or else will be going on e-bay next Autumn to hopefully cheer up a bidder in the Scottish Highlands. Though he/she might prefer searching for one of these ! :

Bike Snow Plow - YouTube

 

[103Alex1]

Fed up of waiting for Winter to fit my Winter tyres ... put on the Continental Top Contact Winter tyres I got from Ribble Cycles and decided to give them a run in. They don't say "II" anywhere on them so hope they are the right thing.

Have not inflated to full 85psi (set them at the "recommended" pressure of around 58). Not sure if that's best or not. What I will say is that there seems to be noticeably less rolling resistance than the Marathon Plus Tours. Protek Max inner tubes looked perfect so reused them. Caught myself doing an easy 19.5mph up a moderate hill in town which I used to change down for and hit 17.5ish ... and they seem to be better on cornering at higher speeds with no grazed elbows yet. So either I've got fitter or the tyres are great performers even in recent very wet conditions. Thanks for the recommendation. Will try to report back after using them in proper Winter conditions when the freeze turns up.

Still struggling with the rear wheel though, but it's getting easier with practice. Getting the chain tight really pulls the wheel into the left (rim) brake pad so you almost need 4 hands - one each to pull the hub back in the dropouts on both sides at once to achieve chain tension with central wheel alignment between the brake pads and another two to simultaneously tighten the nuts. Otherwise it's very fiddly !
Still haven't cracked those Alfine hub gears either. They're slipping after having the wheel off and I've no clue how to get them smooth again

 

[Pedalo]

I used Schwalbe Marathon winter tyres when it got icy last season. As commented earlier in this thread, losing studs can be a problem though I only lost a few over the season. I sent Schwalbe an email and they kindly sent me an envelope full of new studs. I cycled on narrow untreated roads in really awful conditions and the tyres performed briiliantly though they are very noisy on tarmac (like very loud rice crispies). I did have quite a few scary moments though as other road users didn't have anything like the traction I did and on a couple of occasions skidded out of control quite near me.