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Good winter tires can make the difference between life and death (ie: sliding under a car). My recommendation: Don't trust your life to a couple dozen plastic

Good winter tires can make the difference between life and death (ie: sliding under a car). My recommendation: Don't trust your life to a couple dozen plastic zip ties. If you're dealing with ice on a regular basis, pick up some Schwalbe Ice Spikers. 304 tungsten steel studs per wheel. They're expensive (about $100 each), but I've never had a fall or lost a stud in 4 years of daily winter biking... and I live in Ottawa, a city that regularly experiences -20c weather (cold enough to make plastic very brittle).

icegreentea 16y ago
Somewhat off topic, but does the term MacGyver mean the same thing to everyone here? In my mind, they're always temporary/in a pinch solutions, and the parent's post could go unspoken (though I'm glad he spoke it). Macgyver solutions work to get you to the point where real solutions are now possible. In other words, a subset of hacks (you can have long-term, or superior to 'standard' hacks). I mean, even MacGyver didn't invent his own Swiss Army knife everytime he needed it... though he probably did once.
- tomjen3 16y ago
  To me it just means that you violate one or more laws of physics :) But now that I think about it, that would seem to be implied, because if something is lasting, it would work with and not against reality.
- zacharycohn 16y ago
  I've always used the term to mean "a temporary, short term hack that will serve the purpose until we have the time/resources to create/implement something that can be long term."
  - mwsfc 16y ago
    Agreed. This is exactly how I've always understood it.
mhd 16y ago
Strangely enough, on the same blog where the story was originally from, there's an entry about Schwalbe Marathon Winters[1] a few days later. Aptly titled "A more professional solution"… [1]: http://www.dutchbikeco.com/_blog/Dutch_Bike_Co_Weblog/post/A_More_Professional_Solution/ http://www.dutchbikeco.com/_blog/Dutch_Bike_Co_Weblog/post/A...
- buro9 16y ago
  The Marathon Winters aren't really that great... bad for cornering (no studs on the sides) and the studs have a tendency to fall out. Much better are the Nokian W 240. These can be got from Peter White Cycles who have a great selection of winter tyres: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp What make these better is a higher stud count, studs on the side knobbles, studs are embedded and won't fall out easily, and they have a lower rolling resistance than full gnarly off-road winter tyres. Oh, and when Peter White refers to aggressive riding... he means skidding. If you skid a studded tyre on a clear surface you can rip the studs out and damage the tyre such that you lose the benefit. When you're on clear roads, avoid skidding.
electromagnetic 16y ago
When its MacGyvered, it's temporary. Remember last year? Snow hit parts of the south-eastern US and state emergencies were being declared... for a few inches. That's when this is probably practical. Compare this to what London, Ontario has been facing. It's basically had a years worth of snow before winter has even started. Places around it had over 2 meters of snow fall within a period of a week. I know here in the GTA I regularly see over 3ft of snow in the bike lane in winter. I think if the plows had shifted over 2 meters off the road surface, even the most determined biker will say fuck it when the bike lane has snow higher than them. Also -5c can make 'all season' rubber become hard, brittle and reduce grip. So regardless, if you're biking in true winter conditions, you're better off to get winter tries made of actual winter rubber that will stay soft (usually) down to -35c.
- joe_the_user 16y ago
  Yes, but my need to ride my bike in an emergency is just about nothing. And my bike is my main mode of transportation. Also, taking that stuff off looks like it would be just as much work as putting it on. I've never ridden in snow except as a lark in Portland, OR (I was safe from cars then cause Portlander wouldn't drive in the snow). If I did live where it snowed, I think snow-tires or don't ride makes sense. Perhaps you could carry this stuff on a road trip but that's the only use I could possibly imagine. Definitely desperation time.
  - zecho 16y ago
    Yeah. I ride all year round in Minnesota. Either having a beater bike that's winter-ready or winterizing your regular bike is a must. I have multiple bikes for multiple reasons: Long hauls, short daily commutes, exercise, and winter/off-road riding. I also make sure to keep enough gear around for different conditions that may come up. Normally I don't ride with fenders, but if it's raining, I'll grab the winter bike, which has them and replace the snow tires. 10-15 minutes of work in the spring and I'm ready to go through the summer. That said, I like the temporary hack here, provided it stays temporary (and is only done on bikes with disc brakes). Seattle doesn't get a ton of snow, so there's not much reason to keep studded tires around.
  - 16y ago
kmfrk 16y ago
Interesting. Are these things also available for citybikes?
- blasdel 16y ago
  The Schwalbe Marathon Winter would be appropriate. A couple of the models from Nokian (spun off from Nokia) would be good too.
  - stan_rogers 16y ago
    Nokian is the new parent brand name for Hakkapeliitta, which is a Finn tire company with a long and proud tradition (particularly as it concerns ice and snow tires). Never tried the bike tires -- the area where I grew up prohibits bicycles from November 1 to March 31 -- but their car tires very rarely went "square" (anybody who lives where -40 happens will know what I mean).
    - spitfire 16y ago
      I need new studded tires for my bike, now I know where to look. Thanks for that.
sliverstorm 16y ago
Tires have always been one thing not to skimp on. I've done the junkyard tires once- never again. This is even more important on 2 wheel vehicles, which aren't inherently stable. In short, if there is one thing in your life you don't try to get away with as cheaply as possible, make it tires. (though, I suppose with bicycles it's not quite as life-or-death as motorcycles)
- VBprogrammer 16y ago
  Toilet paper, condoms and bin bags are another couple of things I recommend adding to your list of things not to scrimp on.

icegreentea 16y ago

Somewhat off topic, but does the term MacGyver mean the same thing to everyone here? In my mind, they're always temporary/in a pinch solutions, and the parent's post could go unspoken (though I'm glad he spoke it). Macgyver solutions work to get you to the point where real solutions are now possible. In other words, a subset of hacks (you can have long-term, or superior to 'standard' hacks). I mean, even MacGyver didn't invent his own Swiss Army knife everytime he needed it... though he probably did once.

tomjen3 16y ago
To me it just means that you violate one or more laws of physics :) But now that I think about it, that would seem to be implied, because if something is lasting, it would work with and not against reality.
zacharycohn 16y ago
I've always used the term to mean "a temporary, short term hack that will serve the purpose until we have the time/resources to create/implement something that can be long term."
- mwsfc 16y ago
  Agreed. This is exactly how I've always understood it.

mhd 16y ago

Strangely enough, on the same blog where the story was originally from, there's an entry about Schwalbe Marathon Winters[1] a few days later. Aptly titled "A more professional solution"… [1]: http://www.dutchbikeco.com/_blog/Dutch_Bike_Co_Weblog/post/A_More_Professional_Solution/ http://www.dutchbikeco.com/_blog/Dutch_Bike_Co_Weblog/post/A...

buro9 16y ago
The Marathon Winters aren't really that great... bad for cornering (no studs on the sides) and the studs have a tendency to fall out. Much better are the Nokian W 240. These can be got from Peter White Cycles who have a great selection of winter tyres: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp What make these better is a higher stud count, studs on the side knobbles, studs are embedded and won't fall out easily, and they have a lower rolling resistance than full gnarly off-road winter tyres. Oh, and when Peter White refers to aggressive riding... he means skidding. If you skid a studded tyre on a clear surface you can rip the studs out and damage the tyre such that you lose the benefit. When you're on clear roads, avoid skidding.

electromagnetic 16y ago

When its MacGyvered, it's temporary. Remember last year? Snow hit parts of the south-eastern US and state emergencies were being declared... for a few inches. That's when this is probably practical. Compare this to what London, Ontario has been facing. It's basically had a years worth of snow before winter has even started. Places around it had over 2 meters of snow fall within a period of a week. I know here in the GTA I regularly see over 3ft of snow in the bike lane in winter. I think if the plows had shifted over 2 meters off the road surface, even the most determined biker will say fuck it when the bike lane has snow higher than them. Also -5c can make 'all season' rubber become hard, brittle and reduce grip. So regardless, if you're biking in true winter conditions, you're better off to get winter tries made of actual winter rubber that will stay soft (usually) down to -35c.

joe_the_user 16y ago
Yes, but my need to ride my bike in an emergency is just about nothing. And my bike is my main mode of transportation. Also, taking that stuff off looks like it would be just as much work as putting it on. I've never ridden in snow except as a lark in Portland, OR (I was safe from cars then cause Portlander wouldn't drive in the snow). If I did live where it snowed, I think snow-tires or don't ride makes sense. Perhaps you could carry this stuff on a road trip but that's the only use I could possibly imagine. Definitely desperation time.
- zecho 16y ago
  Yeah. I ride all year round in Minnesota. Either having a beater bike that's winter-ready or winterizing your regular bike is a must. I have multiple bikes for multiple reasons: Long hauls, short daily commutes, exercise, and winter/off-road riding. I also make sure to keep enough gear around for different conditions that may come up. Normally I don't ride with fenders, but if it's raining, I'll grab the winter bike, which has them and replace the snow tires. 10-15 minutes of work in the spring and I'm ready to go through the summer. That said, I like the temporary hack here, provided it stays temporary (and is only done on bikes with disc brakes). Seattle doesn't get a ton of snow, so there's not much reason to keep studded tires around.
- 16y ago

kmfrk 16y ago

Interesting. Are these things also available for citybikes?

blasdel 16y ago
The Schwalbe Marathon Winter would be appropriate. A couple of the models from Nokian (spun off from Nokia) would be good too.
- stan_rogers 16y ago
  Nokian is the new parent brand name for Hakkapeliitta, which is a Finn tire company with a long and proud tradition (particularly as it concerns ice and snow tires). Never tried the bike tires -- the area where I grew up prohibits bicycles from November 1 to March 31 -- but their car tires very rarely went "square" (anybody who lives where -40 happens will know what I mean).
  - spitfire 16y ago
    I need new studded tires for my bike, now I know where to look. Thanks for that.

sliverstorm 16y ago

Tires have always been one thing not to skimp on. I've done the junkyard tires once- never again. This is even more important on 2 wheel vehicles, which aren't inherently stable. In short, if there is one thing in your life you don't try to get away with as cheaply as possible, make it tires. (though, I suppose with bicycles it's not quite as life-or-death as motorcycles)

VBprogrammer 16y ago
Toilet paper, condoms and bin bags are another couple of things I recommend adding to your list of things not to scrimp on.