Tyres for snow???

badly_dubbed
badly_dubbed Posts: 1,350
edited November 2010 in Road buying advice
My Allez currently runs slicks now after last night I'm changing them lol

What's the norm on the road for snow and ice?? Cyclo-x Tyres ?

Really don't want to walk to work if I don't have to
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Comments

  • mikey_748
    mikey_748 Posts: 108
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eissp ... ine_05.JPG

    These?
  • badly_dubbed
    badly_dubbed Posts: 1,350
    Possibly a tad extreme lol
    Inbred Rigid 29er Singlespeed
    On-One Lurcher 29er Race Build
    2012 Kharma Race
    2013 Zesty 314
    Strava
  • ian@srb
    ian@srb Posts: 8
    schwalbe CRX 700C are perfect for snow.
    The Geordie Bike Mechanic
  • ian@srb
    ian@srb Posts: 8
    sorry cx pro
    The Geordie Bike Mechanic
  • Brian B
    Brian B Posts: 2,071
    Mountain bike for snow if you really feel the need for it. Get a turbo or a set of rollers.
    Brian B.
  • badly_dubbed
    badly_dubbed Posts: 1,350
    Well yea, dont have a mtb annnnd I can't get to work on the rollers :)
    Inbred Rigid 29er Singlespeed
    On-One Lurcher 29er Race Build
    2012 Kharma Race
    2013 Zesty 314
    Strava
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Firstly, you're unlikely to be able to fit anything much bigger than 25mm on a road bike - most CX tyres are 32mm and simply wouldn't fit. Last winter I had plenty of time to enjoy two extended 'snowy' periods - whilst the cross bike was fine in the light, fresh fluffy stuff - once consolidated or icy, they simply didn't offer enough grip. Whilst the MTB was better when it got heavier, rubber in whatever guise offers naff-all grip on ice. When it gets icy, simply stay off the road unless you have carbide-tipped studded tyres. The chances of breaking a collarbone, elbow or hip becomes significant on ice
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • andrew_s
    andrew_s Posts: 2,511
    You don't have much choice on an Allez.
    Cyclocross tyres would be good for snow, but you probably won't find any narrow enough to fit under your brakes - 700x30c seems the limit. Similarly studded tyres stop at 35mm and won't fit.

    You'll probably have to use pro3 grip or such, and take care.
  • fearby
    fearby Posts: 245
    One fall on the snow or ice, broken pelvis and thats it for 3 months. Is it worth that risk?
    Frost yes but ice and snow NO!
  • Cycloslalomeur
    Cycloslalomeur Posts: 349
    I've found the Schwalbe CX Comps (foldable) to offer adequate grip on packed snow here in Finland. I even managed to squeeze them (30mm if I recall correctly) into a Bianchi ML3 road frame after wearing them down a bit in a fast hybrid first. Obviously if you want grip on ice you need studs, but they are heavy as 'eck and offer heaps of rolling resistance. Just keep your eyes peeled for patches of ice and coast over them with one foot gracing the tarmac.
  • Cycloslalomeur
    Cycloslalomeur Posts: 349
    Cycloslalomeur wrote:
    I've found the Schwalbe CX Comps (foldable) to offer adequate grip on packed snow here in Finland. I even managed to squeeze them (30mm if I recall correctly) into a Bianchi ML3 road frame after wearing them down a bit in a fast hybrid first. Obviously if you want grip on ice you need studs, but they are heavy as 'eck and offer heaps of rolling resistance. Just keep your eyes peeled for patches of ice and coast over them with one foot gracing the tarmac.

    Sorry CX Pros not Comps.
  • pb21
    pb21 Posts: 2,171
    fearby wrote:
    One fall on the snow or ice, broken pelvis and thats it for 3 months. Is it worth that risk?
    Frost yes but ice and snow NO!

    QFT
    Mañana
  • amaferanga
    amaferanga Posts: 6,789
    I guess it depends on your commute, but for my commute in Sheffield I'd say that even last year there was no more than a week when it was a bad idea to cycle. I had to take a different route at times, but could still cycle.

    The winter before last I don't think the snow stopped me commuting at all.

    Lets not get too carried away - last winter was an exceptional one and its unlikely that we'll have one the same this year (though its obviously possible and the media are doing their best to whip everyone up into a frenzy even with the piddly little amounts of snow over the last few days).
    More problems but still living....
  • Cycloslalomeur
    Cycloslalomeur Posts: 349
    pb21 wrote:
    fearby wrote:
    One fall on the snow or ice, broken pelvis and thats it for 3 months. Is it worth that risk?
    Frost yes but ice and snow NO!

    QFT

    Are your pelves made of glass? Moreover, the "snow" you have in Blighty tends to be slush through which any tyre will just cut through.
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Cycloslalomeur wrote:
    pb21 wrote:
    fearby wrote:
    One fall on the snow or ice, broken pelvis and thats it for 3 months. Is it worth that risk?
    Frost yes but ice and snow NO!

    QFT

    Are your pelves made of glass? Moreover, the "snow" you have in Blighty tends to be slush through which any tyre will just cut through.
    A pelvis fracture is easier than you may think; if you fall hard on your hip it can punch through the socket (acetabulum) as it did with mine. I felt it go through :shock:

    7 weeks in hospital, a few days of morphine and / or agony, bed-ridden, only alowed to sit up 30 degrees for the entire stay, hospital food, muscle wastage etc. . . then 3 months on crutches. Avoided surgery only because the specialist in pelvic surgery was on holiday :?

    There is very little padding over your hip, little to dissipate the energy from being transmited through to the joint.
  • Cycloslalomeur
    Cycloslalomeur Posts: 349
    alfablue wrote:
    Cycloslalomeur wrote:
    pb21 wrote:
    fearby wrote:
    One fall on the snow or ice, broken pelvis and thats it for 3 months. Is it worth that risk?
    Frost yes but ice and snow NO!

    QFT

    Are your pelves made of glass? Moreover, the "snow" you have in Blighty tends to be slush through which any tyre will just cut through.
    A pelvis fracture is easier than you may think; if you fall hard on your hip it can punch through the socket (acetabulum) as it did with mine. I felt it go through :shock:

    7 weeks in hospital, a few days of morphine and / or agony, bed-ridden, only alowed to sit up 30 degrees for the entire stay, hospital food, muscle wastage etc. . . then 3 months on crutches. Avoided surgery only because the specialist in pelvic surgery was on holiday :?

    There is very little padding over your hip, little to dissipate the energy from being transmited through to the joint.

    I felt it too when my femur wanted to explore my body beyond the confines of the acetabulum, but then again this was because I rammed a Focus estate at 30kph. The point I wanted to get across was that if one takes care on slippery surfaces and is braced for a wee tumble in the first place it is fairly difficult to break anything apart from a wrist. Obviously if one thunders along without precautions when it's slippy serious fractures are more than likely.
  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    I take your point Cyclo, but I think it is so instant that even at 0mph one could fall sideways right on the point in question, and 80kg (me) drops 1m onto road with a lot of force.

    Nevertheless, I commuted 18 miles each way along roads and railway paths in January's snow . . .
    snow.jpg
    Schwalbe Marathon Supreme's 700x32 - on the fairly loose snow of the railway path I was constantly regaining control of the front wheel, but it was do-able, and my skills improved a lot. My falls were at 1mph on the road where a rut of snow had been polished into hard ice.

    The biggest problems on the path and road were where the camber was quite pronounced.

    So I suppose I am a fool and a hypocrite - don't do as I do . . . etc :oops:
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    There are some people on here who would have you believe that road cycling on ice is perfectly safe, don't listen to them, they are fools.
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • 52Teeth
    52Teeth Posts: 67
    Continental 215/45 R18 on each corner.
  • vorsprung
    vorsprung Posts: 1,953
    badly_dubbed wrote:
    My Allez currently runs slicks now after last night I'm changing them lol

    What's the norm on the road for snow and ice?? Cyclo-x Tyres ?

    Really don't want to walk to work if I don't have to

    To reiterate what other people have said

    On an Allez there is no clearance for tyres larger than 25mm. There are no ice or snow or off road tyres as small as this. So you cannot fit suitable tyres

    On firm, unfrozen snow tyres with tread work ok. The more tread the better. So off road cyclo cross or MTB tyres are ideal. On ice, you need special ice tyres with metal studs in them. There are "snow and ice" tyres with tread and studs

    As one poster pointed out, slick tyres can "cut through" a shallow layer of frost or light snow. But anything more than that and you are out of luck

    In last years snow I had a similar experience to alfablue. I came off numerous times at slow speed. I had similar tyres to alfablue which have a light tread. When the snow was really bad I either didn't go to work or took the car. When it was really really bad of course I couldn't get to work!

    This year I have a pair of "Schwalbe Winter Marathon" tyres on order, should arrive later this week from Germany. They have 240 metal studs in each of them and weigh about a kilo each.
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