Be careful out there with ice! (Yes, I had a tumble)

yes.. they are the right size. Darn... $90 each eek. lol

Been over on the ice a few times in the past. Generally quite surprising!

The ice / snow tyres are probably good if you know you'll mostly be on snow or ice. However guess they might not ride so well on tarmac. Problem we have here is often the roads will be free from snow and ice then you'll find a patch, more often than not when turning into a smaller side road, with obvious consequences...

Since living in Sweden, and then going to the UK from time to time in Winter, I'm constantly amazed at the common practice one tyre is "good enough" all year round. This applies to vehicals and bikes. I can understand Winter specific tyres are considered "expensive", but I have learnt they are cheaper than medical bills and far less painfull in the long run.

It's similar to the whole Risk vs Consequance discussion similar to wearing an helmet; investing in a solution or not.

Not just ice to worry about now either....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-16954979

Woz":333zqvtm said:

Since living in Sweden, and then going to the UK from time to time in Winter, I'm constantly amazed at the common practice one tyre is "good enough" all year round. This applies to vehicals and bikes. I can understand Winter specific tyres are considered "expensive", but I have learnt they are cheaper than medical bills and far less painfull in the long run.

It's similar to the whole Risk vs Consequance discussion similar to wearing an helmet; investing in a solution or not.

Click to expand...

But this is not sweden, there is no snow or major ice where I live. If there was I would get some knobbly tyres I also imagine sweden has a lock more snow, and not just slippery paths.

This was the first year I bought winter tyres for the car, it also appears to have been the first year I haven't needed winter tyres for the snow :roll:

Best bike tyres for uk style winters are the ones that only have the studs on the outer edges, if it looks icey you can drop the pressure a little and the studs can dig in, if you forget they dig in on corners anyway which is when most accidents happen.

I crash every year on ice, best one was cornering on a bend in the dark, one minute I'm on the bike the next the bike has completely vanished and I asume superman position through the air and then down the road. Took a while to find the bike, it was hidden in a ditch where it had slid to.
Nowadays I use a fixed gear bike and stay away from brakes for a degree of traction control but I should still invest in a studded front tyre and more body armour, I dont bounce like I used to :roll:

Happened a few times. Best one was a bruised sternum when I landed on the end of the handlebar. Like someone had hit me with a ball-pane hammer in the chest.

I pedalled for a couple of miles but walked the rest as it was painful breathing!

Might left side is wrecked lol. Sprained ankle, sprained wrist, cuts and deep bruising, and another left injury that also has risen it's head lol. fab!

I picked up a pair of Nokian Extreme 294studded tyres while I was in Sweden over the New Year.



Finally had a chance to properly test them on Friday evening along with a mate who'd just got a pair of Schwalbe Ice Spikers.

The night ride consisted mostly of us trying to find as much sheet ice as possible and then being collectively astounded about how much traction was available.
All the off road stuff consisted of either sheet ice or frozen hard packed snow.
Obviously some care was still required but in general the studded tyres were brilliant.
It was only when you stopped and put a foot down that you were reminded how slippery it was.

The tyres are however very heavy and draggy on tarmac, and a bit unstable at speed.

Put them on ice though and they are superb.


I've had so many crashes and injuries through riding on ice over the years that I'm really perplexed as to why I didn't get some much sooner.