Tyres that can handle a bit of ice?

daniel_b

Morning all,

Shortly to be going out on my Marin with 23mm Continental ultrasport tyres I think they are.

A little nervous about the icy conditions though, had some wheel spinning last week, but luckily uphill, so kept upright.

Can anyone recommend a tyre that might give more grip?
I have canti brakes on this bike so could go to cx tyres.

Here are some I have found on a quick browse of planet x:

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYSCULTZX/schwalbe-ultremo-zx-folding-tyre
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIOCECXII/vittoria-open-corsa-evo-cx-folding-tyre
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIOPCOEVKX/vittoria-open-corsa-evo-kx-folding-tyre
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVIZAFPRO2/vittoria-zaffiro-pro-2-road-folding-tyre

itboffin

You're in Hungerford right?

then dont go out unless you want to be sliding along the road

I'm 10 miles away in Burbage and everywhere is like glass, my wife walk out the front door to go running an d could barely standup, needless to say she came back in.

veronese68

What about a proper winter tyre? Not studded, but more appropriate tread and rubber compound. I'd be tempted, but I'm too tight to buy them for the limited use they'd get.

desweller

Nothing consistently works on ice apart from spiked tyres e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Winter.

meanredspider

Unless you're prepared to get studs, you are probably not going to get proper traction. Veronese's suggestion is probably ok but more suitable for snow than sheet ice. I wouldn't risk sheet ice without studs myself and, even then, I'm only truly happy with Ice Spiker Pros that are only available in MTB sizes

ugo.santalucia

DesWeller wrote:

Nothing consistently works on ice apart from spiked tyres e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Winter.

+1

These or the Nokian...

roger_merriman

forget 23/25mm sizes, even with a slightly softer compound, it's not going to cut it, for ice you do need studs.

at the 35mm size you can get studded tyres.

I did find last year that MTB could cope with snow and ice, but it had very soft compound, with a massive contact patch at low pressures. ie DH tyres. but even so for ice you need studs.

Is this for a pleasure ride or commute?

other option is to go down some of the bridleways, over mud/grass etc you tend to break though the ice rather than sliding over it on tarmac.

e999sam

What's best if your frame will only take a 23mm tyre ?

meanredspider

e999sam wrote:

What's best if your frame will only take a 23mm tyre ?

A new frame

roger_merriman

meanredspider wrote:

e999sam wrote:

What's best if your frame will only take a 23mm tyre ?

A new frame

or at least N+1!

as above their are no studded tyres at 23/25mm and even the racest sportiest use comparatively harder compounds than CX let alone MTB tyres.

desweller

Maybe you could experiment with whacking some stainless M2.5 screws through a cheapo tyre or two if you can't go over 23c.

daniel_b

itboffin wrote:

You're in Hungerford right?

then dont go out unless you want to be sliding along the road

I'm 10 miles away in Burbage and everywhere is like glass, my wife walk out the front door to go running an d could barely standup, needless to say she came back in.

Newbury ITB, but did head out that way - I left it until 10, and roads were fine by that point, granted some ice at the sides, but the central part was fine - only did 22 miles, as decided to cut it short so my gf could get out for a run before it started peeing down.

Ok, so the concensus is that you either go studs, or REALLY wide, or I guess do not get out, or just go on the turbo.
I guess the issue with the first 2 options, aside from expense, is that the studs will wear out pretty quick, and both will be pretty slow - this is leisure/training rides only, no need to commute in my current job.

daniel_b

Daniel B wrote:

itboffin wrote:

You're in Hungerford right?

then dont go out unless you want to be sliding along the road

I'm 10 miles away in Burbage and everywhere is like glass, my wife walk out the front door to go running an d could barely standup, needless to say she came back in.

Newbury ITB, but did head out that way - I left it until 10, and roads were fine by that point, granted some ice at the sides, but the central part was fine - only did 22 miles, as decided to cut it short so my gf could get out for a run before it started peeing down.

Ok, so the concensus is that you either go studs, or REALLY wide, or I guess do not get out, or just go on the turbo.
I guess the issue with the first 2 options, aside from expense, is that the studs will wear out pretty quick, and both will be pretty slow - this is leisure/training rides only, no need to commute in my current job.

roger merriman wrote:

other option is to go down some of the bridleways, over mud/grass etc you tend to break though the ice rather than sliding over it on tarmac.

That's a good call - I need to sort the brakes on my MTB, I have loads of canal paths nearby, and Greenham common just up the road too - would keep the fitness up.

meanredspider

Daniel B wrote:

Ok, so the concensus is that you either go studs, or REALLY wide, or I guess do not get out, or just go on the turbo.
I guess the issue with the first 2 options, aside from expense, is that the studs will wear out pretty quick, and both will be pretty slow - this is leisure/training rides only, no need to commute in my current job.

Really wide doesn't help on ice - just studs. Only trouble is, ice tyres tend to only come in wide sizes. And proper studs don't wear down very quickly. My current set of Ice Spiker Pros have done well over 1000 miles - maybe nearly 2000 - on Tarmac roads. I also bought a new pair at something around £16 each at the end of last winter.

JayKosta

When I did winter commuting I used beach cruiser style single speed, coaster brake, full fenders, with 26X1.75 tires. Use a piece of iron pipe for seat post to get extra height.
It's a woman style Rollfast from the 1960's (bought cheap at garage sale in 70's) - I still use it for early rides after Winter when the roads are covered with debris.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

daniel_b

Just stumbled on this if anyone is interested:
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/the-best-winter-tyres-for-road-cycling-38889/

desweller

Daniel B wrote:

Just stumbled on this if anyone is interested:
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/the-best-winter-tyres-for-road-cycling-38889/

Not really commuter-centric? More for road training, big winter miles and all the rest of it. They'd all be the same on ice.

I'd throw the Conti Gatorskin into the mix. That said, I'm happy on GP4000S on winter roads as long as it's not freezing.

pblakeney

Daniel B wrote:

Just stumbled on this if anyone is interested:
http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/article/the-best-winter-tyres-for-road-cycling-38889/

I took a look at that report to see which tyre I should consider when my 4 Seasons need to be replaced.
Strangely enough, grip was only mentioned once, and that was for the 4 Seasons.
I can only conclude that I will remain a satisfied Continental customer.

I would rather risk a flat than a slip.

Please take note that I only consider a winter type tyre for the times that you are accidentally caught out. I am too long in the tooth to consider intentionally heading out onto icy roads.

bompington

I managed to squeeze 30mm nokian A10s on the rusty Raleigh - but only just, and if I didn't have the wheels perfectly lined up they were definitely dodgy.
I would seriously agree with the consensus that only spikes work on ice, spending a fair amount of time on ice is part of the game round here if you don't like turbos, and no road or MTB tyre I've ever used works.

DrLex

There's a certain degree of schadenfreude to be had when grinding along on Marathon Winters and watching pedestrians behave like novice skaters. One just has to be very wary of other vehicles, at bends & junctions in particular.

Simon.Thornton

Get something with at least 3 wheels ...............

Initialised

DrLex wrote:

There's a certain degree of schadenfreude to be had when grinding along on Marathon Winters and watching pedestrians behave like novice skaters. One just has to be very wary of other vehicles, at bends & junctions in particular.

True, last year I had a short Silly Commuter Race in the snow, he was on Marathon Winters 26x35 iirc at relatively high pressure, I was on Snow Studs (26x1.9) at 20 PSI, I won, but it was his first time out on studs and I'd been riding them for a while. I've got Maxxis High Roller (26x2.35) on the MTB at the moment and they are harder work than the Snow Studs on the road and packed trails. So get Winters, Nokians, Spikers or Studs if you want to ride in ice and packed snow, it's great fun, especially on the first day when the roads ar clogged. iirc the smallest studded tyre I've seen in 700c is 28mm but go as big as you can and for ice and snow go low pressure. Yeah you'll be slow and it'll be hard work but it's worth it.

The Rookie

I once found my self on sheet ice on my stock 1.5" slicks, I could ride just fine but the instant I touched the (rear only) brake to slow for a junction the bike just dropped me faster than a premiership team dumping it's manager....

roger_merriman

The Rookie wrote:

I once found my self on sheet ice on my stock 1.5" slicks, I could ride just fine but the instant I touched the (rear only) brake to slow for a junction the bike just dropped me faster than a premiership team dumping it's manager....

yup on the roadie and it's 25mm slicks similar, my road often gets icy if it snows.

Though the MTB has no problems with bigger softer tyres.

fossyant

Ice, you go studs, simple. Nothing other than them will grip on it.

I have Snow Studs on my MTB for when it's bad. The only bad day I've had this winter when commuting, I actually took the road bike instead - main roads were fine, side roads not.

meanredspider

The Rookie wrote:

I once found my self on sheet ice on my stock 1.5" slicks, I could ride just fine but the instant I touched the (rear only) brake to slow for a junction the bike just dropped me faster than a premiership team dumping it's manager....

Obviously not generating enough power

goonz

Gallywomack

Well, I can tell you that Conti gatorskin 25s don't work on ice, as I found out on Hogtrough lane just past the M25 yesterday morning. Luckily I wasn't going fast but I did land in an icy puddle, soaking my entire right side and making the rest of the ride rather enjoyable. I was already fairly miserable

Not to self, stick to the main roads next time.

mwalters

Schwalbe do a non-Marathon spiked tyre just called the Winter - fewer studs - that's available as 700x30 - see;

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/winter.html

I got a pair from bike-discount.de for under £20 each, but they seem to have disappeared at the moment. I put them on my Boardman CX over the weekend and the clearance is fine, even with SKS narrow (20-28) mudguards.

I reckon they're 10-15% slower than the the 28mm GP 4Seasons they replaced, but it's good exercise! Looks like the risk of ice has passed for the immediate future so I switched them back this morning but they'll be on again as soon as it gets cold. Having had a few hairy moments, and a fall, on ice I like the confidence they provide and I have fewer excuses to not ride.

Mark

meanredspider

mwalters wrote:

Schwalbe do a non-Marathon spiked tyre just called the Winter - fewer studs - that's available as 700x30 - see;

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/winter.html

I got a pair from bike-discount.de for under £20 each, but they seem to have disappeared at the moment. I put them on my Boardman CX over the weekend and the clearance is fine, even with SKS narrow (20-28) mudguards.

I reckon they're 10-15% slower than the the 28mm GP 4Seasons they replaced, but it's good exercise! Looks like the risk of ice has passed for the immediate future so I switched them back this morning but they'll be on again as soon as it gets cold. Having had a few hairy moments, and a fall, on ice I like the confidence they provide and I have fewer excuses to not ride.

Mark

Yes - the Marathon W***ers are unbelievably heavy - close to a kilo each! And with only 120 studs I think that's poor return for the weight. I tried them and then I fell off (on ice) and broke my rear mech hanger which took several weeks to replace. In the meantime I used my MTB with Ice Spiker Pros (600-odd grammes and 361 studs) and realised that it was both lighter and had much better grip. Never went back to the CXer and the Marathons. Never fell off again either

I hope the simple Winters are lighter...

roger_merriman

meanredspider wrote:

mwalters wrote:

Schwalbe do a non-Marathon spiked tyre just called the Winter - fewer studs - that's available as 700x30 - see;

http://www.schwalbe.com/en/spike-reader/winter.html

I got a pair from bike-discount.de for under £20 each, but they seem to have disappeared at the moment. I put them on my Boardman CX over the weekend and the clearance is fine, even with SKS narrow (20-28) mudguards.

I reckon they're 10-15% slower than the the 28mm GP 4Seasons they replaced, but it's good exercise! Looks like the risk of ice has passed for the immediate future so I switched them back this morning but they'll be on again as soon as it gets cold. Having had a few hairy moments, and a fall, on ice I like the confidence they provide and I have fewer excuses to not ride.

Mark

Yes - the Marathon W***ers are unbelievably heavy - close to a kilo each! And with only 120 studs I think that's poor return for the weight. I tried them and then I fell off (on ice) and broke my rear mech hanger which took several weeks to replace. In the meantime I used my MTB with Ice Spiker Pros (600-odd grammes and 361 studs) and realised that it was both lighter and had much better grip. Never went back to the CXer and the Marathons. Never fell off again either

I hope the simple Winters are lighter...

Weight sounds about right, normal marathons are close (ish) to that weight and pluses are that weight.

Doesn't sound that bad, but then last year I had DH/FR mud spikes which are 1250g each, the grip in snow/mud at 30psi (or lower) is tremendous, as is the rolling resistance!