Winter tyres ?

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geomannie
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Joined: 13 May 2009, 6:07pm

Re: Winter tyres ?

Post by geomannie »

SimonCelsa wrote: 31 Jan 2023, 5:17am These are the 700 x 30 article and weren't that expensive. I think the designation is Schwalbe Winter HS396. Maybe a duff batch as a friend bought a pair shortly after I obtained mine and his are also displaying similar incidences of studs presenting at awkward angles.
Anyways, it's made me think twice about buying any more, unless super cheap. Maybe they are designed to be renewed annually!!
FWIW, my pair of Schwalbe Winter HS396's are on their third winter & show no sign of stud degradation. Admittedly I only use them on frosty/icy days, perhaps covering only a few 100-200 miles a year.
geomannie
mig
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Re: Winter tyres ?

Post by mig »

have used schwalbe winter studs for a few years too but never at the low pressures mentioned (30-40psi.) i can see that making the studs too draggy with a heavy carcass and damaging the tyres.
as you have used them for years then i assume that they were 'run in' according to their recommendations.
whilst not over inflating them i think that any studded tyre needs fairly high pressure to resist the stud coming 'inwards' and also to bite into the ice. if i were to run them for extended periods on clear roads then i'd inflate them quite 'hard' and run them like that
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Cugel
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Re: Winter tyres ?

Post by Cugel »

mig wrote: 31 Jan 2023, 10:47am have used schwalbe winter studs for a few years too but never at the low pressures mentioned (30-40psi.) i can see that making the studs too draggy with a heavy carcass and damaging the tyres.
as you have used them for years then i assume that they were 'run in' according to their recommendations.
whilst not over inflating them i think that any studded tyre needs fairly high pressure to resist the stud coming 'inwards' and also to bite into the ice. if i were to run them for extended periods on clear roads then i'd inflate them quite 'hard' and run them like that
I've had and used the same pair of Schwalbe 36mm wide studded Marathons now for six winters. They're on the winter bike now. I'm 80kg and blow the tyres up to 55psi, front & back. They do around 3-500 miles per year, perhaps, through the worst winter weeks when frost and ice are most likely, although most of the riding is still just on wet and slippery roads rather than frozen roads.

There's no obvious sign of wear to studs or tread or sidewalls. There is a 6mm flap of the reflective band a bit loose on one side of one tyre. I must stick it down, although it's been there for a couple of years now. :-)

The things do feel very ponderous compared to even the 45mm wide tubeless Schwalbe G-One Allrounds I have on when the worst of winter's gone. Very ponderous. But how pleasant it is to get on the faster boots as Spring hoves into view.

I do keep these studded tyres well-cleaned, especially of the salty grurk they pick off the roads in winter. A swift hose-off after every ride or the steel casing around the TCT studs shows rust.

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
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SimonCelsa
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Re: Winter tyres ?

Post by SimonCelsa »

Yes, possibly I've assisted in these tyres demise by running them at too low a pressure. I would normally run them at 60 - 70 psi when the roads are ice free but drop them down to a fairly low pressure when temperatures are at or around freezing. I'd say in the region of 30 psi but sometimes it's just guess work and I let the air out until they feel 'soft' by squeezing. This January I've probably had them at 'soft' for the duration, it's been icy up here in the Highlands for around 10 days this past month so I really should have re-inflated them on the 20 or so days the roads have been good. At higher pressures the studs should hopefully be held firmly in the correct orientation, common sense really.......!!

Anyhow, I've still got 2 'good' studded tyres left so have just inflated them to 80 psi for good measure, 5 degrees today and double figures forecast soon. Still a bit early to take them off though.
mattsccm
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Joined: 28 Nov 2009, 9:44pm

Re: Winter tyres ?

Post by mattsccm »

What ever is on the bike. Just drop the pressures a bit. Studs don't make tyres useful in winter. Only in snow or ice significant enough for them to bite . (which doesn't need to be much)
gregoryoftours
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Joined: 22 May 2011, 7:14pm

Re: Winter tyres ?

Post by gregoryoftours »

I also use the marathon winter plus with the extra rows of studs over the plain winters. The latter is fine too but I prefer the extra studs. Often I just have a spare front wheel to swap over already fitted with a studded tyre. Studded tires aren't great in slush but are still better than non studded with same design of tread. They offer vastly superior grip on ice and frosty roads.
Phileas
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Joined: 18 Feb 2009, 6:12pm
Location: Bristol

Re: Winter tyres ?

Post by Phileas »

I have a second bike I can put Marathon Winter Studs on. I tend nowadays only to put one on the front since that’s by far the most important for safety.

Unusually, commuting in the recent “cold” spell, I persevered with my unequipped normal road bike but I walked the short distance over the one severely icy section at the bottom of a steep, un-gritted, valley river crossing.

Most of the roads I use are gritted but that by no means guarantees they are safe - I’ve had a few unexpected slips, so in general I recommend studded tyres.
gregoryoftours
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Joined: 22 May 2011, 7:14pm

Re: Winter tyres ?

Post by gregoryoftours »

SimonCelsa wrote: 31 Jan 2023, 5:17am These are the 700 x 30 article and weren't that expensive. I think the designation is Schwalbe Winter HS396. Maybe a duff batch as a friend bought a pair shortly after I obtained mine and his are also displaying similar incidences of studs presenting at awkward angles.
Anyways, it's made me think twice about buying any more, unless super cheap. Maybe they are designed to be renewed annually!!
Wow, they're really awful! I wonder if that damage is more likely with the tighter curvature of a narrower tyre? Maybe they don't bed in as well with a narrower tyre, so are less stable. I've used loads of Schwalbe 26" studded tyres (1.75" minimum) and never had anything like this.
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