General: Studded Tire Question

Dude, it's all conflict with studs.

If you're riding on plowed roads, I doubt you're going to see any benefit to uberstuds, not to mention the extra rolling resistance and weight they add. I've never heard anyone recommend more than 200 studs to a street rider. 200+ are really for super unploughed/unkempt snow trails.

There's a pretty handy article on PWC, in case you didn't already turn it up in your Google search.

i have 200 studs on the front tire and over 350 on the back. but i have them on a seperate 26" wheelset for when the snowpack freezes up in duluth. If you ride the studs on pavement they will dispear fast. the amount of studs doesn't really matter as it does with the pattern. for a front wheel you can scatter them, but for a back putting them in rows to create a paddle effect seems to be effective up here. if you have an old pair of knobbies or just thick tires its (relatively) easy to install your own studs.

Aaaaahh... you guys are gonna make me go count the studs in the tires.. Maybe tonight.

I lived up on the Sound in Washington state which gives you the yearly mix anywhere from black ice, ice, snow to a mix of it all. Riding with studded tires made my 13 mile commute go from truely harrowing to downright manageable. I believe I'm running IRC Blizzards which may be out of production, but I know that they are not heavily studded. I rode them all winter and didn't find that riding them on days when it was just pavement/sand proved to be any great challenge either as some folks will attest to. Theres a similar conflict with cages and studded tires which I'm also an advocate of. It's all in being aware of what you're doing and your surroundings. As and experienced cyclist, I don't think you'll have any problems riding a studded bike through the winter.

I used to ride all winter long also when I lived in Colo. Spgs (before studs), so I think that studded tires will make it very nice riding. I don't think you'll need the heavily studded tires.

I once created some homemade studded tires from two Specialized ground control 2.2” using machine screws & silicone window sealer. They worked extremely well on frozen lakes, but they were just stupid heavy! My advice is to be sure that you will get your money’s worth out of any tires you buy…

Posted By: RuffinitWell I just went out and counted the tires. They are IRC Blizzards which are 26" and they only have 56 studs per tire, so if you get more than that you'll be golden. I'll check around the bike library and see what I can find.. we don't send them out with the studs and we'll get spares in sometimes.
Iron, I understand the desire for the 29er, but why not find a good cyclo-cross bike and throw some 700x40 studded tires on it? Probably be much cheaper and they'll have cantilevers on it too..

Yah know I'm actually leaning in that direction. I thought a 29er would be kinda fun but the entry price, even used, is too much.

Kenda Klondike K1014 700x40 Snow Tire Black Steel 100 Studs

If you're worried about how well they'll last on pavement, find some tires with carbide studs. They're supposed to last a ton longer than normal steel studs. They cost more but you'll probably get a couple seasons out of them instead of just one season of the regular steel ones, depending on how much pavement they see.

Posted By: suicide_doorsThere's a pretty handy article onPWC, in case you didn't already turn it up in your Google search.

Posted By: Joshua A.C. NewmanBy the way,this siteis where I got my information when I started shopping around for studded tires.

Dammit, Newman.

Since you're here, and you looooove Cannondales, what is this? (Please follow the link, Joshua.)

Ha. He said the previous owner called it a prototype. It's a 2000 frame. I dunno. I need a new road frame...