Winter Riding

Bob M <[email hidden]> spake thusly on or about Fri, 11 Jul 2003
20:04:53 UTC

-> If you can afford the Nokians, they're good tires. I rode studded tires -> this winter on my
mountain bike, and the tires are great on the ice. The -> studs look unused after a winter of riding
3 days/week. ->

as are these at 1/4 the price. nothing against nokians but my wife never went down over the winter
given freeze/thaw/freeze blizzard for the 10 months of our winter (slight exageration) 5 days a week
commuting.

My son went down once trying to climb out of an icy rut but he is only 11 now and his skills are not
that great yet. he rode the 5 days a week plus some rides with me for fun.

I did not use studs and went down 4 times. once from leaning on a patch of black ice and three times
in the ruts. given I found excuses to go ride in the blizzards I figure thats not bad for 2300 Km of
winter riding.

--
I hurt before the ride so fibro gives me a head start on the rest of the pack. silver lining?
[email hidden]

"Zoot Katz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

He needs to survive a plague of mosquitos before worrying about frost bite. Winnipeg winter snow
isn't as bad as the slush and mud of spring. But it's a great place for cycling. I didn't have a
winter bike so I rode when the weather was dry, or rather, too cold to snow.
--
zk

Actually, this year, because of fear of West Nile Virus, the city has done a fabulous job of
preventing the annual plague of mosquitos. Bites have been rare, despite the amount of time I've
spent outdoors.

"Fritz M" <[email hidden]+> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Jeff said:

1. Good lockup.

Is there a possibility of just bringing the bike into the classroom with you? Shake the slush and
water off before bringing it in the building,

and

Quoted message said:

perhaps use paper towels from the bathroom to keep the bike from dripping all over the floor.

That is something I'm considering. I'll find out more on Wednesday when I talk to the program
coordinator. I'm hoping that they have a lockup in the basement. As an alternative, the main campus
is about a mile away, has a good lockup area, and is connected by a free bus service. If the service
frequency is okay, it might serve.

I will definetly go there. I shop there regardless, but never thought to ask about the tires.
Thanks again.

--

Paul Ricklefs Check out: thehappyscrapbooker.comthehappyscrapbooker.comOpen ↗

"Bran" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:qfOMuGrZTFdc-pn2-kbhSbJGPO3td@merlin...

Quoted message said:

"Paul Ricklefs" <[email hidden]> spake thusly on or about Fri, 11 Jul 2003 02:00:15 UTC

-> I'm looking at studded tires for the -> Nishiki, and will probably settle on manufactured ones,
rather than -> home-made style.

Bike Dr. makes some in house that seem to be very functional. (and significantly cheaper than the
Nokians) My wife and son rode them this past winter with great approval ratings. They were also
selling off some manifactured ones at $20 a tyre this spring that may still be around.

I find riding not only effective and tub reducing but faster; saving the time warming and scraping
as well as the hassles of parking put me at/in city hospital 15 min ahead of an overnight guest
who was driving.

Good luck on the winter commitement.

--
I hurt before the ride so fibro gives me a head start on the rest of the pack. silver lining?
[email hidden]

"Bran" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:qfOMuGrZTFdc-pn2-994QdKidNDO2@merlin...

Quoted message said:

Bob M <[email hidden]> spake thusly on or about Fri, 11 Jul 2003
20:04:53 UTC

-> If you can afford the Nokians, they're good tires. I rode studded tires -> this winter on my
mountain bike, and the tires are great on the ice. The -> studs look unused after a winter of
riding 3 days/week. ->

as are these at 1/4 the price. nothing against nokians but my wife never went down over the winter
given freeze/thaw/freeze blizzard for the 10 months of our winter (slight exageration) 5 days a
week commuting.

The thing about Nokians is that they use tungsten carbide studs, so they last a very long time.
Cheaper tires often use hardened steel which wears out pretty fast on pavement. Nokians are worth
the $$ if you ride on the road a lot.

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> spake thusly on or about Sat, 12 Jul 2003 17:18:09 UTC

-> The thing about Nokians is that they use tungsten carbide studs, so they last -> a very long
time. Cheaper tires often use hardened steel which wears out -> pretty fast on pavement. Nokians are
worth the $$ if you ride on the road a -> lot.

from what have seen the ones my lbs makes up are good for at least 4 seasons. at $80 a set cdn for
26" tyres the Nokians would need to last a very long time to be a similar value.

I am sure that the Nokians have their place and that there they are worth the price but I do not see
typical commuting being that niche application. that said what one wants and likes is what always
makes the difference.

--
I hurt before the ride so fibro gives me a head start on the rest of the pack. silver lining?
[email hidden]

"Bran" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:qfOMuGrZTFdc-pn2-g5xtdhDWSbWD@merlin...

Quoted message said:

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> spake thusly on or about Sat, 12 Jul 2003 17:18:09 UTC

-> The thing about Nokians is that they use tungsten carbide studs, so they

last

Quoted message said:

-> a very long time. Cheaper tires often use hardened steel which wears out -> pretty fast on
pavement. Nokians are worth the $$ if you ride on the road

a

Quoted message said:

-> lot.

from what have seen the ones my lbs makes up are good for at least 4 seasons. at $80 a set cdn for
26" tyres the Nokians would need to last a very long time to be a similar value.

I am sure that the Nokians have their place and that there they are worth the price but I do not
see typical commuting being that niche application. that said what one wants and likes is what
always makes the difference.

It's possible that your LBS uses good-quality studs and gets Nokian-like performance at a much lower
cost. I have heard reports from commuters using other brand studded tires that wore out in much less
than a full season in daily use.

I use the 700c Nokian tires on my road bike, and it's my impression that commuting was exactly what
they were designed for.

Here's a link to an on-line article where studs were actually tested for hardness:
users.rcn.comStudQuality.htmOpen ↗

Peter Cole said:

"Bran" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:qfOMuGrZTFdc-pn2-g5xtdhDWSbWD@merlin...

Quoted message said:

"Peter Cole" <[email hidden]> spake thusly on or about Sat, 12 Jul 2003 17:18:09 UTC

-> The thing about Nokians is that they use tungsten carbide studs, so they

last

Quoted message said:

-> a very long time. Cheaper tires often use hardened steel which wears out -> pretty fast on
pavement. Nokians are worth the $$ if you ride on the road

a

Quoted message said:

-> lot.

from what have seen the ones my lbs makes up are good for at least 4 seasons. at $80 a set cdn
for 26" tyres the Nokians would need to last a very long time to be a similar value.

I am sure that the Nokians have their place and that there they are worth the price but I do not
see typical commuting being that niche application. that said what one wants and likes is what
always makes the difference.

It's possible that your LBS uses good-quality studs and gets Nokian-like performance at a much
lower cost. I have heard reports from commuters using other brand studded tires that wore out in
much less than a full season in daily use.

I use the 700c Nokian tires on my road bike, and it's my impression that commuting was exactly
what they were designed for.

Here's a link to an on-line article where studs were actually tested for hardness:
users.rcn.comStudQuality.htmOpen ↗

I bought Nokians as I cannot find anyone else who makes studded tires. CT is not a place where many
people bike in the winter.

--
Bob M in CT Remove 'x.' to reply