Tyre choice for intermittent black ice?

[gaz]

My Nokia A10s are likely to go on imminently for utility riding, based on wintry forecasts.

72 studs, which IIRC is similar to Marathon Snow Stud, shrug off heavy frost, light ice and fresh snow, handle compacted ice and snow admirably with care.

Once on they will most likely stay on until the end of Feb, too much faff to keep swopping back and forth. The confidence boost is worth the additional drag, it's a joy to return to the smooth rolling of M+ in the spring .

[jimlews]

I'm also wondering if studded tyres are effective on frost or black ice.
Surely, for the studs to be able to gain purchase they have to be able to penetrate the surface.

I have vivid memories from my youth of having a cobbler put studs in the back of the heel of my shoes to stop them wearing.
They made a nice clicking noise as I walked along, but caused me to slip and fall over.

I wonder if the same applies to studded tyres ?

[a.twiddler]

No rubber compound or tread design is going to help when on black ice, you might stay upright if crossing over a short stretch but if any change of speed or direction occurs, down you'll go. Even when travelling in a straight line both wheels will follow a series of subtle S shaped
curves to maintain balance, and this needs a minimum degree of friction to work. In countries with harsher winters than ours studded tyres are probably the way to go, as they will earn their keep. It's hard to predict in our variable winter climate when you might need them but for those who commute in the early morning on two wheels maybe having a set on a compatible set of wheels ready, or even an old mountain bike with some fitted, is probably the way to go.

It's at times like these that more wheels to at least stop you falling over until you get on to a surface with some grip seems like a good idea.

Riding a recumbent trike on snow or ice can be a hoot. Mine is a delta type with 2 wheel drive. The tyres' grip on black ice is likely to be just as problematical as with a bike but you would most likely still be the right way up when you'd finally come to a halt, even if you weren't pointing in the same direction. You wouldn't be going very fast in these conditions. The delta with one wheel doing the steering would probably lose directionality more easily than a tadpole type with its two wheels at the front, though with a single driving wheel tadpole trikes can reputedly lose traction at the rear even in less extreme wet or slippery conditions uphill. Perhaps the ultimate belt and braces set up would be a trike with studded tyres.

It's all a bit academic when the greatest danger comes from other drivers thinking that ABS, traction control, 4WD and whatever else works when they're on black ice.

[Galactic]

Surely, for the studs to be able to gain purchase they have to be able to penetrate the surface.

Yeah, those studs are damned sharp, even though they're not pointed. They'll even bite into tarmac and concrete to an extent. I hate putting them on and taking them off because they shred my hands (and/or workgloves). But once you have them on and are going across ice, they're pretty amazing. Even pushing a bike with studded tyres is easier than walking across an icy pavement, because while your feet are sliding around the tyres bite in, giving you something steady to keep hold of.

[roubaixtuesday]

I'm also wondering if studded tyres are effective on frost or black ice.
Surely, for the studs to be able to gain purchase they have to be able to penetrate the surface.

I have vivid memories from my youth of having a cobbler put studs in the back of the heel of my shoes to stop them wearing.
They made a nice clicking noise as I walked along, but caused me to slip and fall over.

I wonder if the same applies to studded tyres ?

Yes, they make a hell of a racket. I sound like a Chieftan tank riding mine.

[ANTONISH]

My fear in icy conditions is that I will be sharing the road with cars having much reduced braking and road holding ability, driven by those who don't seem aware of the conditions.
The disaster at Rhyll where a driver driving at the speed limit lost control of his vehicle on black ice and ran into a group of cyclists ( four killed if I remember correctly) is an example.
The driver was fined £150 for having three defective tyres - which the court decided didn't play a part in the accident.

It wouldn't have mattered one iota what tyres the cyclists had - I will not ride in icy conditions - there are other ways of maintaining aerobic fitness.
There are of course those who rely on cycling as their only means of transport - I can only say "be lucky"

[Jules59]

The Midlands are a nightmare in the winter.
Never enough snow for winter tyres to work well and repeated freeze /thaw cycles forming lots of new ice every morning.
Only the main roads get gritted and the edge-crumbling, pot-holed side roads, which I normally prefer to cycle on, just get even more hazardous.
So as soon as it freezes I re-activate my zwift account - which I did this week. Ive had broken limbs in the past from motorcycle and bicycle winter skids and I don't want any more at my age.

[TrevA]

Around us, the rural bus routes get gritted, as well as the main roads, so it’s possible to construct a reasonable route on gritted roads.

It’s worth checking out your council’s gritting map to see if you can do the same.

[PH]

My studded tyres have just gone on my folder, I try not to ride where and when it might be icy, but if it's unavoidable, studs are the only option. I choose to use the folder as it's also easy to step off, I'll also lower the saddle enough that I can easily get both feet down. And of course, slow right down! I helped pick a rider up a couple of years ago, about half a mile after they'd passed me at 3x my speed, I didn't have much sympathy. There's a youtube vid, I think from the Netherlands, of multiple riders falling off on the same corner, they all pick themselves up and carry on, maybe some would have been bruised, but none seriously hurt, they were going at an appropriate speed.

[mjr]

Around us, the rural bus routes get gritted, as well as the main roads, so it’s possible to construct a reasonable route on gritted roads.

It’s worth checking out your council’s gritting map to see if you can do the same.

+1 to finding the gritting or winter map, but a note of caution: even gritted roads ice over when there isn't enough traffic to work the grit into the surface, so beware when conditions get bad enough that cars can't get out of the side roads.

A few years ago, I made it five villages away on regular tyres early one Sunday morning by following gritted bus routes, then on a straight section, the front wheel lost all grip and I crashed, bruising myself and breaking minor bits on the bike. It was quite a while before a car passed. Most drivers were using other gritted A roads that avoid that village and the one before, buses hadn't started and drivers in the village couldn't get up its hill to the gritted road.

[mjr]

My studded tyres have just gone on my folder,

What size and type, please? I would prefer the flexibility of a folding bike but last time I looked for
studded 405s, I found only some Marathon Winter at nearly double the price of 622s.

[PH]

My studded tyres have just gone on my folder,

What size and type, please? I would prefer the flexibility of a folding bike but last time I looked for
studded 405s, I found only some Marathon Winter at nearly double the price of 622s.

Marathon Winter Plus, 24" (507) on my Airnimal Joey, they were pretty cheap, about £40 the pair, couple of years ago. They don't do a lot of miles and the bike wouldn't otherwise get much winter use, so I'm happy to have it stood ready, the studs will probably outlast me. I don't know what other sizes are available, not 16" or I'd have put them on the Brompton instead.

[horizon]

My studded tyres have just gone on my folder,

What size and type, please? I would prefer the flexibility of a folding bike but last time I looked for
studded 405s, I found only some Marathon Winter at nearly double the price of 622s.

I have Marathon Winter on my 20" folder. I've got two pairs, both bought either on here or ebay although the second pair was brand new and unused. AIUI these are 406, the most common 20" size. I've got a trip planned for January and I'm either going to leave the house with the studs on or throw a pair over the panniers on the rear rack if I am in any doubt.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/tyres-small ... nch-42406/

[rogerzilla]

In the 2009 snow, a few of us made DIY studded tyres with MTB tyres, short woodscrews driven through from the inside, and a lot of gaffer tape to cover the screw heads. They were just about infallible even on thick, solid, sheet ice. I even rode down a flight of ice-covered steps. It was a long and tedious job to make them - most of a weekend.

[Carlton green]

An interesting thread. As a young man I cycled in all weathers and - with caution- on what tyres were already fitted, when the roads were too bad I walked and mostly nobody minded if I was a little late for work. Later, when I got a car, I cycled when I could and used the car when I couldn’t. Tyres of choice when there’s black ice around? If the weather’s that bad then I only make absolutely necessary journeys, proceed both slowly and with caution, and use the safest means of movement available.