Which tyres for slippery winter commutes

beancounter

I commute on a Colnago CX bike currently on Vittoria Randonneur tyres

I have two spare sets of wheels, one of which has a set of knobbly cx tyres and the other has a set of Schwalbe Winter studded tyres (the lightly studded ones)

My question is which wheels/tyres to use this coming winter when conditions are either frosty or snowy or icy and I cannot be sure which roads/cycle paths have been treated. I would swap wheels/tyres on a daily basis if necessary (only takes a minute)

Also what tyre pressures to use for each set

Any advice from regular winter commuters much appreciated!

bc

slowbike

If it's rained or been wet in the evening followed by a clear night - then take the studded tyres - I've abandoned one commute after one such night when (on the main road) my rear wheel slipped 3 times ...

That said - I've also ridden back with bog standard semi-slick CX tyres on ice/snow - I did drop the saddle a bit and it did take a bit longer than usual... but the roads were reasonably clear because the cars couldn't make it up the hill!

bompington

Personally I cba to change tyres regularly, and I don't really feel like it justifies buying a new wheelset (including cassette), so I've regularly kept studded tyres on all winter. They run fine on bare tarmac, the grip is roughly the same as rubber on a wet road and they're just a bit noisy - of course the studs do wear out like this: you can actually replace them.
The bottom line is that only studded tyres really grip on ice - rubber tyres really don't, not even the chunkiest mtb tyres. Depending on what your roads are like - how often gritted, rural / urban, climate etc - you may get by just by being careful when you know the conditions are bad, but if you want to ride on ice, use studs or practise falling.

bendertherobot

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYSCSNST/schwalbe-snow-stud-wired-tyre

beancounter

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19746851#p19746851]bendertherobot[/url] wrote:

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYSCSNST/schwalbe-snow-stud-wired-tyre

Yes that's what I've got

Do you use them?

bendertherobot

Yeah. But only when really cold and icy

beancounter

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19748143#p19748143]bendertherobot[/url] wrote:

Yeah. But only when really cold and icy

What pressure do you use?

Thanks

seajays

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19746355#p19746355]bompington[/url] wrote:

Personally I cba to change tyres regularly, and I don't really feel like it justifies buying a new wheelset (including cassette), so I've regularly kept studded tyres on all winter. They run fine on bare tarmac, the grip is roughly the same as rubber on a wet road and they're just a bit noisy - of course the studs do wear out like this: you can actually replace them.
The bottom line is that only studded tyres really grip on ice - rubber tyres really don't, not even the chunkiest mtb tyres. Depending on what your roads are like - how often gritted, rural / urban, climate etc - you may get by just by being careful when you know the conditions are bad, but if you want to ride on ice, use studs or practise falling.

Same here - we had snow on Monday, and ground frost this morning. Although forecast is for it to be a bit warmer for the next week or so, winter studs went on last weekend, and will stay on now until spring when the frosts stop.

bompington

Yep, first heavy frost of the winter (on a day where I've been commuting - not overall) here this morning - as in full on sparkly roads and frozen puddles. I'll need to get the studs out, the only problem is that the Rusty Raleigh has now officially bitten the dust, or at least rust, so I'll need a new bike to put them on! Bummer, but a man's got to do..

mtbcommuter

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19748371#p19748371]beancounter[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19748143#p19748143]bendertherobot[/url] wrote:

Yeah. But only when really cold and icy

What pressure do you use?

Thanks

During the winter I use my Giant MTB to commute with the Schwalbe studded winter tyre as above. The tyre wall states a minimum of 60 maximum of 70 psi so I simply aim for middle of 65 psi.

The commute is currently 50/50 road & through a park where the paths are never gritted (at least not until the parkies have had their morning cuppas) & these tyres are great.

Having said all of that, it hasn't been icy enough up here yet, but they say we're about to get the worst winter in history (didn't they say that last year as well?)

seajays

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19749435#p19749435]mtbcommuter[/url] wrote:

Having said all of that, it hasn't been icy enough up here yet, but they say we're about to get the worst winter in history (didn't they say that last year as well?)

Pretty sure they say that every year!