Pop rivets in tyres for snow

Miffed the zip tie idea won't work for rim brakes, I went looking for a better idea for rim brakes, as am not fancying the sheet screw method again, so a better idea, certainly good enough for what I have in mind on the bike I use for commuting ;

http://www.instructables.com/id/Pop-Rivet-Ice-Tires-for-Your-Road-Bike/

Now, I know one can get stainless steel pop rivets, a quick check on fleabay confirms as much, so I have a pair of Specialized Roll x folders that are getting a bit thin on tread, so these are my victims for the pop rivet idea. If it works and the tyres last, well, I can fold them up and keep them for next year once the slippy stuff has gone. ( No snow yet, but I am more concerned about ice, we have plenty of that)

The beauty is with pop rivets, is the head is almost flat, so no worries about thick tyre liners, although dutch tape will go in there just to stop any stray swarf causing a problem, although the tube slime should take care of that.

But when you use a pop rivet it leaves a hole in your tyre,so your tube will be visible when inflated,flats will abound methinks

Yeah, thought about that, so it will be out with the hot melt glue gun. As for punctures, well, the green snot in the inner tube has delt with thorns and stuff, so here's hoping. But I do think pop rivets would be more secure than screws, as they are secured on both sides of the rivet, and for what I have in mind, the rivets need only be about 1 - 2mm proud of the rubber blocks, running at lowish pressures should give the biggest footprint made out of a combination of rubber and metal, any slippy stuff under the footprint, a few rivet tails should bite and hold the track.

Neat clever take on this usual subject

Do you reckon that, without a washer on each side, the rivets will hold well enough? I'd have though that they'd have a tendency to just push back through.

One would definately need the washers on the crushable side, and perhaps the large flanged pop blind rivets as well. But in the actual action of rivetting I would expect it would help massively if one created a 'set' tool ( bit of wood with a hole bigger than the diameter of the rivet drilled in it), just shove the rivet through the tyre from the inside, place washer over the projecting portion on the outside of the tyre and place the tyre where you are rivetting on the set tool so the rivet goes in the hole, push down and at the same time operate the rivet gun until the rivet shank snaps. All there is then, is to make sure there is no portion of the snapped shank projecting out of the flange end hole, if it is, out with the dremmel and a grinding bit. My understanding of how to set a tight rivet.

By using a washer on the outside of the tyre, the crushable portion will bear on the washer so the load is spread out over the diameter of the washer on the tyre. I think the thing won't dislodge in use because of the tight clamping action of rubber tyre squashed between flange and washer, and the load transferred to the wider portions of the fixing.

I think my pal has a pair of lazy tongs around somewhere, all I need to do is find a local supplier who will do me a favourable deal of stainless rivets. If too expensive, I will make do with ally, they will last a winter hopefully, if not, drill them out and fit new ones.

Ah - good old lazy tongs . I've had mine for probably forty years.

Monel rivets might be better than stainless ?

Yes, probably right, monel could be much better, I wonder if there are monel blind rivets, not seen any, but I will do a bit of research I thinks, that is after I get my college work done, deadline on friday, and as usual I have left it to the last minute.

I think conti do a snow tire with spikes already build in....or maybe geax as well.....I do remember a set of mtb snow chains for 26" wheels that came from the US. Well they were in a retail sore in NZ in the mid 90's, so they must have been popular....(& it didn't snow where the shop was ) enough to stock.

For those that run discs this could prove to be simple to make