Schwalbe Marathon Winter (spike) tyres

Bordersroadie

Minus 8 this morning and my entire 12 mile back-road route was ice/frost/black ice (thanks to "grit-saving" no doubt). Have reset pressures to 70 rear 40 front and made very swift progress.

Still amazed that it's less stressful riding these tyres on ice than riding on the road bike on the usual tarmac plus mud film.

Just minus 5 on the way home just now, watching the ice twinking in the headlight. . .

No further stud loss, it seems to have ceased.

windbreaker

My stud loss has stopped too. I'm really enjoying cycling this winter. The added drag is a training bonus too!

AlanW

Used my Ice Spiker Pros for the first time today, Ive just noticed that I have lost five studs from the rear and one stud from the front.

Initialised

I've been running Snow Studs since late December and have had no stud loss.

I left them on as I figured it'd snow the day after I took them off.

Topaxci

Have now ridden about 100 miles on my Marathon Winters with no stud loss, however.....

I noticed last night that pretty much all the middle two rows of studs in my front tyres have depressed quite severely into the tyre, so they now only just protrude from the surface. The side ones are still fine, though they probably don't get much road contact.
Also the rear tyre doesn't seem to be so badly affected, while there is more weight there the front is my main braking wheel so this was my first thought.

Is this normal?

My commute is on normal road surfaces, no offroading and no kerb hopping. The roads have been fairly well gritted but I have some sideroads which are not and random patches of ice in other places.
Balance just about tipped in favour of road bike slicks this morning.

Could it be the way I am riding, normal settling for the tyres or a dodgy tyre?

Bordersroadie

I'd say it was normal, mine are similarly "bedded in", having had almost totally frosty hard tarmac useage, very little soft stuff. Remember the rubber compound of these tyres is very soft, so despite appearances, even a stud that's flush with the tyre will make good contact.

These studs are made from the same stuff as masonry drill tips so I think it'll be them wearing out the road not vice versa.

Topaxci

Bordersroadie wrote:

I'd say it was normal, mine are similarly "bedded in", having had almost totally frosty hard tarmac useage, very little soft stuff. Remember the rubber compound of these tyres is very soft, so despite appearances, even a stud that's flush with the tyre will make good contact.

These studs are made from the same stuff as masonry drill tips so I think it'll be them wearing out the road not vice versa.

Thanks, that's reassuring.
Wasn't worried about the studs, they're not deformed at all, just sunken into the rubber.

Bordersroadie

An excellent blog review by a battle-hardened Audaxer and commuter here:
http://mccraw.co.uk/schwalbe-marathon-w ... mment-1297

Talks about possible excessive wear rates but I do wonder if even well-bedded and rounded off studs may still work well for a good while since the rubber tread blocks are very soft.

CycleOfViolence

Dug an old thread up but it may be worth it for some.

I've wanted a pair of spiked tyres for the last couple of winters but am notoriously tight, however when Spa Cyles knocked them down to £30 each I bought a pair. They're on the Boardman MTB which will be in use for winter commuting soon, cheapest I've seen.

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s142p1942

Cycling-mad

Approx £142 a set here Thank god for CRC

IanLD

35 miles on mine today and no studs lost. Ran them at 70psi (700c size) and they were fine.

Incredibly noisy and hard work, but made wet leaves totally safe to ride on.

Reluctant to corner and a weird squirming effect going round a roundabout, but not the conditions they are meant for.

Taken them off now and Continental Top Contact Winter II tyres now fitted. Looking forward to some miles on them to see how they compare.

Mark01

28miles on mine today to bed in and no stud loss either. 26inch at 50psi.
Agree very noisy, like riding on Rice Crispies!
Swapped back to the Marathon Plus until the ice comes

IanLD

Just got a pair of 20" for my Tern Verge P18.

Will need to fir them and bed them in the same as I did for the 700 x 35 set a few weeks ago.

Looking forward to trying them on the folding bike as the lower position, step through frame and flat pedals should all lend themselves to making it easier to bale out in a hurry if I need to. Need some bad weather though which I'll happily pass on if buying the tyres has guaranteed a milder winter

bompington

Colder weather forecast...
I've been out a few times now on my Nokian a10s (700c X 32, actually fit on a road bike) in the milder weather, as I can't be bothered changing back to summer tyres, and apart from the noise and the feeling of pedalling a tractor, they're fine.

SaintMark

Thinking of getting some studded tyres to try if it gets really cold again this winter. I saw a blog post from David Hembrow (http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/) that suggested you can get away with just the front tyre, because that is the most critical for staying upright. Makes sense and would be cheaper too, anyone got any experience of that or are you all running pairs?

Kieran_Burns

I emailed Schwalbe before even fitting the tyres and got some spare studs sent to me. Quite a little bagful came in the post within 2 days

Now set up on the old tricross. I'm thinking about getting crud catcher guards cos the clearance under normal full length guards seems a little tight.

I call it my bubble-wrap bike now

rolf_f

Kieran_Burns wrote:

I emailed Schwalbe before even fitting the tyres and got some spare studs sent to me. Quite a little bagful came in the post within 2 days

Now set up on the old tricross. I'm thinking about getting crud catcher guards cos the clearance under normal full length guards seems a little tight.

I call it my bubble-wrap bike now

They sent me a nice large bag of studs - still can't get the wretched things in!

Big_Paul

SaintMark wrote:

Thinking of getting some studded tyres to try if it gets really cold again this winter. I saw a blog post from David Hembrow (http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/) that suggested you can get away with just the front tyre, because that is the most critical for staying upright. Makes sense and would be cheaper too, anyone got any experience of that or are you all running pairs?

Run the front only and the bike will go sideways like a speedway motorcycle and you will fall off if you hit sheet ice.

Getting the studs in requires a good set of pliers or mole grips, you have to grip the stud tightly and put the edge of the base into the hole like you are trying to open a bottle, then you sort of twist and push at the same time till it all goes under the lip of rubber. Having the tyres at room temp helps enormously or heat it up with a hairdryer to soften the rubber.

ademort

My commute is 16Kms and usually takes 30 minutes on my Giant Defy 4. However when the snow and ice come i have no grip and my commute can take over an hour, it really is a nightmare.In November i purchased some Schwalbe Marathon studded tyres which were on special offer. I intended to fit them to my hybrid bike and use that for the Winter when it,s icy or snowing.
Upto now i,ve had only one day with snow but used the hybrid, tyres set to 4 bar and they performed superbly. OK , my commute took 50 minutes that day and it was hard work.But on the positive side i felt that i was in control of the bike all the time, no slips or slides. Also the extra effort meant that i was warm at all times unlike the commute on the Giant in Snow i can only ride maybe 15Kms an hour or i,m falling on my arse and of course slow speed means that i,m freezing cold by the time i get to work. Would definitely recommend the Snow tyres and i,ve lost no studs even though i,ve kept the tyres on since i bought them and use the bike for shopping etc.
Ademort

jthef

used my Schwalbe Ice Spikers fot the 1st time in 2 years this morning.
no problem just nosiey and harder peddeling than the road bike.
It's snowing now so got to cycle home yet, so will find out how they are in the snow.
I would not of cycled in to work on a road bike today too icy.

Initialised

Had a race up St James Boulevard this morning we were both on studded tyres. Suprisingly my 20psi Snow Studs were faster than his Marathon Winters.

rolf_f

Initialised wrote:

Had a race up St James Boulevard this morning we were both on studded tyres. Suprisingly my 20psi Snow Studs were faster than his Marathon Winters.

That'll be more about you than the tyres! Once you are at a fairly constant pace, the weight of the tyre doesn't matter so much whether or not it has studs.

Initialised

Rolf F wrote:

Initialised wrote:

Had a race up St James Boulevard this morning we were both on studded tyres. Suprisingly my 20psi Snow Studs were faster than his Marathon Winters.

That'll be more about you than the tyres! Once you are at a fairly constant pace, the weight of the tyre doesn't matter so much whether or not it has studs.

Yeah, that's what I thought since I was running low pressure, heavy knobbly tyres for a couple of uphill traffic light sprints. His Winters looked new, I've been on mine since December so my legs are used to it.

ademort

Plenty of snow on the ground this morning will be using the hybrid and the snow tyres, can,t wait to be honest.
Ademort

meanredspider

Initialised wrote:

His Winters looked new, I've been on mine since December so my legs are used to it.

That makes all the difference. I noticed that my speed notched up in the second and third weeks of my Spikers this winter. 20psi seems incredibly low mind you - what width are they and why so low?

rolf_f

meanredspider wrote:

Initialised wrote:

His Winters looked new, I've been on mine since December so my legs are used to it.

That makes all the difference. I noticed that my speed notched up in the second and third weeks of my Spikers this winter. 20psi seems incredibly low mind you - what width are they and why so low?

Fat tyres can run pretty low pressure - I think the large volume knobblies on my MTB are normally only about 40psi when in scrabbling mode! Mind you, my Marathon Winters aren't that huge so I'd have thought 40 would be as low as I'd go on those.

Initialised

26x1.9 I set them low for a bit of mud plugging at the weekend but ended up sticking to fire road instead of actually riding any proper trails. I left them down as I was expecting ice as well as slow, seems to aid stability on ice. But sadly the actual conditions were a bit warmer than forecast.

meanredspider

Rolf F wrote:

Fat tyres can run pretty low pressure - I think the large volume knobblies on my MTB are normally only about 40psi when in scrabbling mode! Mind you, my Marathon Winters aren't that huge so I'd have thought 40 would be as low as I'd go on those.

Yes - I run my Spikers at about 40 - just 20 seemed incredibly low for road use - would have though you must be getting close to pinch-flat territory in the inevitable pot holes

Initialised

Not really, the side walls are pretty stiff and they're designed to run low. Snow Studs don't puncture, ever.

IanLD

Weather is not particularly cold here now that I've fitted the 20" ones. Surprised to find that size easier to fit (no problem mounting them by hand) compared with the 700C on the hybrid.

Have only done about 10 miles on them so far - 18 on way home later today but temperature in Glasgow area rising to about 2

Small patches of ice I've been over are fine and I'm running at 5 bar (maximum for the 20") while I bed the studs in. Know I've lost one before setting off this morning, so will check later.

Mudguard clearance was the biggest issue, but as I was fitting the mudguards I allowed a reasonable amount of clearance. Have had a small amount of rubbing on one plastic clip, but a quick bit of bending sorted that.

A bit slower than Schwalbe Kojak slicks but not as bad as the difference at 700C. That's probably due to the smaller tyre size meaning not as big an increase in rotational mass.

Looks as if it is going to stay cold, but dry, so no real ice to test them on. Wouldn't mind some so I can also see how good the Continental Winter Contact II tyres I have on the hybrid just now are... (Once I've tried them it can warm up as I don't like being cold )