Riding a Brompton on studded tires

[12boy]

Recently fitted some Schwalbe 349 72 stud tires to my Brompton. I have other bikes with studded tires better suited to deeper snow, slush on ice etc, but my commute is sometimes fairly clear except for icy patches which I don't wish to encounter going downhill quickly or any other time, actually. Most of the posters here seem to be British and I have no idea how much ice and snow you have to deal with, but if you do and don't relish the idea of falling down you might give these a try. They really increase the effort needed to move the bike but I found their grip tenacious on ice, included rutted ice that was a slushy mess the night before and then froze hard overnight. Fairly easy to mount, certainly no harder that standard marathons.

 

[mjr]

I intended to get some for my 20" folder but they were twice the price of 28" tyres. The restrictions on non-folding train travel and ban on bus travel haven't yet been a problem, thankfully.

 

[Kell]

I've just left my Brompton in the shed this week.

 

[12boy]

Mine were 24.00 on sale....cheaper than regular marathons. 17.41 in pounds.

 

[Kell]

I've only seen them for £30 each so far.

But to be honest, I don't think it's worth it. I don't mind cycling when it's cold, wet and windy, but there's too much risk in icy conditions.

 

[12boy]

Having watched your terrifying video of going 45 mph on an 18 inch shoulder I am surprised a little snow or ice would faze you at all!

 

[mjr]

Brompton sizes seem cheaper than 20"s.

Is there that much risk in icy conditions with studs, as long as you avoid mixing much with motorists? After all, what's the alternative? If I take our small car out, even if I can get it across the ice and onto the ploughed/gritted main road, I'd have to mix with motorists and many of them are very poor at driving on ice

 

[12boy]

Looks you have gotten hammered with snow and ice and it is true, at least from what I have seen, that motorists unused to snow and ice can be horrific. Someone on a bike may do fine on ice/snow but an out of control car can take you out just the same.

 

[Kell]

Having watched your terrifying video of going 45 mph on an 18 inch shoulder I am surprised a little snow or ice would faze you at all!

Now imagine going down that hill when it has ice on it...

It’s weird, I don’t see that hill as a problem. There’s only one road onto it and I can see if there’s a car waiting to pull out from a distance, so there’s time to react.

I certainly feel safer doing that than I would cycling on ground with little to no grip. But perhaps that’s just because I’ve not tried it.

 

[12boy]

Having gone to the trouble of mounting the studded tires we have, of course, had no more snow, and as I said, it is a lot of work riding on those tires. What I need are two sets of wheels so I can just switch wheels. As soon as I put regular tires on it will surely blizzard. This time of year is noted for lots of days with 25+mph winds and dumps of 6+ inches of heavy wet snow so I am sure I will get another try for the tires.

 

[stephenjubb]

I had nothing but punctures with the studded tyres, even tyre lines did not help. a puncture when it is frosty is not welcome!