and there arose an exultant sound

Winter!

We are getting a real one this year.

I have tried to make it through the winter on my bicycle as I have in the past. Due to the nature of my job, with its variable and far flung work locations, bicycle commuting is a challenge at best, and impossible at worst. Be that as it may, when the fates conspire to give me a location for the day close to home, I take my bike.

Which brings us to winter!

Winter!

We are getting a real one this year.

Thus far, we have had a lot of snow, a lot of ice, and a lot of thawing (with the extra special glare ice which comes with rain and a thaw on packed snow). And so naturally it was this year, as opposed to two years ago when winter gave Southern Ontario a miss, I tried to use as my primary winter tire on the bicycle a non-studded tire set.

This was not a mistake as they perform well, but it does make for some unnecessarily interesting rides to work. Slippy kinds of rides. The combination of huge snowbanks, packed down MUPS, and narrower lanes and ice have made me come to the conclusion that perhaps those Schwalbe Ice Spikers I have sitting there on the basement floor would serve me better if they were on the rims of my bicycle.

Now I used these tires all last winter, and loved them, but since then I have swapped out my frankenfenders for a stock set of unmodified planet bike mountain bike fenders with honking big mud flaps. I was somewhat concerned that the rear Ice Spiker would not fit and would pick away at the fenders.

However, after fighting with the Continentals that were on the bike (why are they so hard to remove?!?), cleaning up the wheels and bike and slathering the frame and all but the brakes with rust proofing solution, and putting on the Ice Spikers, and reinstalling the wheels on the bike...

... there arose an exultant sound.

They fit. With huge clearance. And no need to screw around with the fender adjustments.

tire talk

There is an update on my Continental Top Contact Winter II tire review. New information is at the end of the review for those interested.

I finally made up my mind about which tires to get for the cyclocross bicycle. I settled on the Continental Super Sport Plus sized at 700x23c. They fit nicely on the 622x15c rims I have (Shimano RS10 wheel set). Obviously, since this is winter, I have no opinion on how they work and feel on the road since it is winter out there, but they seem like they should be ok.

Visually, they look almost hilarious on a cyclocross bike. 700x23c tires are obviously quite narrow and given the clearance that a 'cross bike has for mud etc the gaps between the frame/fork and tire are quite large compared to what they look like on a proper road bike or on a 'cross bike with larger tires mounted. It won't affect the performance since I am not racing (if I was racing at a high level, it would make a difference) but it does look a little silly. :)

They are quite thick on the rolling surface and remind me of the Schwalbe Marathons. This is a good thing since they mass about half of what a Marathon does. In theory anyway, the tires should be pretty puncture proof.

I got the folding version of the tire. They are very difficult to mount though. Much more so than normal folding tires. It took me over 20 minutes to get the front tire mounted and I blew out an inner tube in the process (pinched it). Once mounted though, they settled on quite nicely and did not have any side to side wobble which some tires have. I will have more to say about them obviously once I can get out and ride on them.

a tire for all my usage

Of course, there is no such thing.

But what I am looking for is a tire which will suit the needs I put my cyclocross bike through.

It needs to be a one tire does it all and does it all reasonably well kind of tire.
Here is the list of what it needs to do:

• Roll fast. Heavy duty treads or anything beyond light siping is out.
• Be very resistant to punctures. I want to ride my bike, not repair it on the road/trail.
• Be 700x25c. I am tired (haha) of larger sizes and want a tire more in line with a road tire. I have been riding for decades, often off road, and am not scared of tires even as small as 700x21c on crappy surfaces. The worse this tire will encounter is slick wet clay, and for that we have balance and slowing down :)
• Be able to handle a serious pounding. I ride on rail trails, gravel, and pavement which is often times quite broken up. These tires will also be in an urban environment a fair bit with all that entails.
• Have a good long life. Road tires which wear out after less than 2000km are not good. I would go through two sets a year minimum, likely more. That is too costly for me as someone who rides for pure pleasure and is not racing.
• Be relatively light. Relatively. This means 350-400(ish) grams per tire. That is light compared to some which meet my criteria, and heavy compared to a road race tire.
• Must be a clincher.
• Notice I didn't mention cost. It doesn't matter, within reason ($100 plus or minus a few dollars per tire). Savings come from beating the tires up over a few seasons and not replacing them twice a year.

 Picky, aren't I?

I have managed to narrow my search down to a few tires to consider seriously.

Tire choice 1: Schwalbe Marathon Racer HS 429

Why this tire? Well firstly, I have experience with the Schwalbe brand and Marathon tires in particular. They state that they are very tough and very durable. I can attest to that. The old school Marathons I had on my old cyclocross bike still had a bit of life left in them after 5500 plus km of use over gravel, bashed up roads, some mud, and under load (part of the time) as a commuter tire. They also did not have issues when being used on a trainer, so they can handle heat nicely. I never had a flat with them. Not even once.

This tire looks like a nice upgrade to the one I had last time as well since it falls right in my weight category at 395g each.

But, they are a bit of a pig. 700x30c is the size. I would prefer smaller. This is not a deal breaker, but I would prefer a smaller size.

They also don't cost much. MSRP is $48.35 which is cheap for tires (if you are me).

Tire choice 2: Vittoria Randonneur

Why this tire? I have them on the bike now. I like them. But...
I melted the rear tire on the trainer. It is basically shot. The rubber is quite hard and did not take the heat well at all. I will finish it off on the trainer and just let it fall apart. Oh well. This is what prompted my search for another pair of tires.

The plus about this tire is that I can get it in the size I want (700x25c) but they are quite heavy at 430g for that tire size. This is less than what my current ones mass though. I have the 700x32c on there now which mass 580g each which is way higher than I want to go next time around. Another plus with this tire is how well they wear. There are something like 1400km on the tires right now, and they have no noticeable wear on them at all (melted tire aside). Also, I have had no flats. They don't grip as well as the Marathons do though over wet clay. But they do roll faster on pavement. It is a trade off.

Cost is about $50 a tire. Again, not objectionable.

Tire choice 3: Continental SuperSport Plus

Why this tire? It looks like the best option from what I have seen so far.

Firstly, I can get them in a 700x25c size with a mass of 400g per tire. Right on the target. I can also get them as a 700x23c at 320g a tire. Two of these are only 60g more than ONE of the tires I have on the bike now. How about them apples. I am not worried about gravel with a small tire size. Most of the gravel around here is more like a packed clay with a few stones anyway, and the rail trails are all crushed limestone with occasional slick bits. A good friend of mine has been riding literally for years on rough surfaces on 700x23c tires and has never fallen off or flatted. He has disgusting luck I will grant you (aside from getting hit by a car but even there he got lucky), but still. I am not worried about the small size being an issue for what I ride.

Flat resistance appears to be on par more or less with the Schwalbe. I base this on how it is made and how the Schwalbe is made. If the tire is in fact made of similar compounds to the Schwalbe, I am not worried about flats. The tire is specifically designed for fixies and couriers, so it can take a pounding. It should last a good long time. Win for me if I go for it I would think.

Cost? Who knows? Don't care if they fit the bill well enough.

They are basically a siped slick, so they won't grip on crap as well as the Schwalbe does, but shouldn't be much worse than the Vittoria which is basically a fatter siped slick. No concern there then. As a bonus, they have a nice high PSI rating which should make it scoot quite quickly.

Tire choice 4: Specialized Roubaix Armadillo Elite

Why this tire? The armadillo tires from Specialized are very strong and very flat resistant and roll fast. In theory they last a good long time. These ones are very light for a tough tire - 700x23/25c coming in at approximately 305 grams each and should roll very fast.

However. There is a BIG however here. I have owned two sets of armadillo tires over the years and without exception, they have cracked and delaminated within half a year. The rubber cracks, and starts to split. While they don't flat much if at all, and roll pretty fast, they are not durable at all. I include them on the list because many have reported success with them, but my direct experience is that they are iffy at best. The one set lasted less than three months before they started to crack. Not impressive.

It might be worth looking at the non-armadillo variant on the tire though. Currently, I am using a non-armadillo Specialized tire on my commuter in the spring/summer/fall and really like it. It is the Specialized Crossroads. The rubber is supple, it wears well, rolls fast, and has not flatted. Granted, it is a knobbed city tire and is fairly massive, but whatever they do for flat protection does not result in the tire falling apart. So the Specialized Roubaix Pro might be worth a look seeing as it uses similar tech to the Crossroads. As a bonus, the 700x23c tire masses 260g which is very very good.

Cost? No idea. But there is a local Specialized dealer that I am confident I can get a good price from.

That's it so far.

Anyone else have any ideas? Thoughts? Experiences they would like to share?

If so, leave a comment and point me in the direction of a tire you have used over rough terrain that has stood up well for you.

Thanks!

Schwalbe Ice Spiker HS 333

Tire Test: Schwalbe Ice Spiker HS 333

Why bother with studded tires?

For me, the answer is very very simple. They hurt less. Two years ago, I started winter riding. I have been a cyclist in one form or another for over three decades, but have never really been that comfortable riding in the winter. This had nothing to do with falling, or traffic, but had everything to do with liking my bikes too much to expose them to winter's salt and other madness.

Two years ago I finally bought a cheap but still good to ride commuter bike which, since it was not a piece of sporting equipment, and was being used in place of my car, was more or less disposable.

The first winter I rode I did not use studs and had no problems at all. We had a cold winter, with a fair bit to a lot of snow for Southern Ontario. I ran all winter on worn out cyclocross tires which ended the winter being completely shot. I never fell once or even really came close. We had only one day with any real ice.

The second winter I rode, being last winter, was an anomaly. We had almost no snow. Temperatures rose and sank above and below freezing all winter long. Flowers budded in February and did not die out. While there was no snow, there were many mornings I woke up to roads and MUPs that had been "flash frozen." Ice was everywhere. Two crashes on my left side in six hours saw me to the shop for a set of studded tires.

I used a set of Schwalbe Marathon winter tires and loved them.

This year though, I needed new tires as I switched early this fall to a disk brake equipped mountain bike for my commuter instead of a rim braked hybrid. It was the best thing I could have done. My cheap, but effective, mtn bike is a lot more fun to ride.

Why the Ice Spikers?

It is simple really, the 26 inch Marathons I had ordered were on back order and the shop was running down on Ice Spiker stock so I bought a pair rather than be caught out with no winter tires.

Some basic stats

These are not light tires.  The Schwalbe web page lists them as being 995g each. That is not light, especially considering that this is all rotation weight. However, speeds are lower anyhow in the winter, so this is not as big a deal as you might think. I look at them as work out aids.

Each tire has 304 studs in them. That is a lot, and contributes significantly to the weight. Each stud is tungsten-carbide with a galvanized steel base. Schwalbe sells kits to "restud" the tires should any work their way out.

They also recommend riding at least 40km on them with gentle accelerations and brakings to seat the studs. I can report that the studs did seat very nicely after the initial run in period and do not look as likely to work their way out as the ones in the Marathons I used last winter did.

The size I am using is 26 x 2.1, which is fairly beefy. Thankfully, my bike has room for fenders and tires this big so there is no issue with fit. Some people (myself included) prefer a narrower tire in the winter as they sink deeply into the snow and bite better into the surface below. That said, I don't think these will be an issue size wise (more on this to follow).

Installation

They were very very easy to install. Some tires are a very tight fit, but I have found that every Schwalbe tire I have owned has been easy to install.

A word of caution. The studs are sharp. If you are not careful, you might get a minor scratch from them. Just a word to the wise :)

What do they look like?

Never without a camera, I naturally took a few pictures while out this morning playing in the snow so I could share with you a few images of the tires.

As you can see, the tread blocks are widely spaced, and most of them have a stud in the middle. The rubber compound is a winter tire compound similar to what automotive tires have which stays supple when cold. The tread pattern sheds snow very easily. They did not pack up or toss too much water or snow onto me or the bike which is nice.

Just a shot of the bike in some snow. We did not get a lot of snow last night, but it was enough to form some initial impressions of the tires.

Another picture of the tire mounted on the bike

Initial riding impressions

The first thing you will notice after mounting them and putting the wheels back on the bike is that they will scratch the daylights out of your floor. Consider yourself warned. My floor where the bikes go is painted concrete, so I am not too worried about it. A quick coat of paint will fix it for me. But if the floor was tile or wood, I would strongly suggest a rubber runner mat from door to storage unless you don't care about the flooring.

These tires are very very loud. I thought the Marathons I used last year were loud, but these are very loud. People notice and hear you coming.

This is a good thing...

The sound is like a cross between  the hum of standard aggressive mtn bike tires and a high pitched metallic clacking. Makes a lot of noise on asphalt, anyways.

On limestone chip MUPs, the sound is more muted, and on snow it vanishes.

These tires drag significantly. Due to the weight, and studs, my speed has dropped about four to five kmph for equivalent effort. This is not a surprise, but is worth noting. I am not bothered by this though as I don't generally want to go as fast on an icy MUP vs a dry one, so this is a non-issue. Seeing as these tires are so aggressive, I may end up finding some single track and running that on the commuter bike a bit to confirm my suspicions that they would be superb in such settings.

Handling on dry asphalt is squirmy until the studs seat. I noticed the bike seemed to hook up more after about 30km. Either that, or I just got used to them, which is entirely possible. But they are NOT as grippy on asphalt as a standard tire. But who would expect them to be?

On frozen slush though, they are marvelous. The front of the bike rarely wants to wander and take its own line when rolling over rutted frozen slush, and that is with the tire pressure at 60psi. For ice, and deep snow, it is suggested to lower the pressure. I usually lower it to about 30psi if the going gets bad. When it gets bad, once winter really starts, I will report back on how they do in such circumstances.

In snow, you might be forgiven if you asked, "What snow?" The bike went where pointed, no drama, no slipping, no sliding. It just went. I managed to find some spots with untouched 10cm snow depth over soggy wet grass and used that as a test bed (it was a running trail so I was not messing up anyone's lawn...). The bike hunkered down and plowed through the snow like it wasn't there.

Traction was about perfect.

Cornering takes more finesse though. I tend to not lean the bike as much as I would normally, and tend to exert more downwards force on the "outer" handlebar (left side when turning right) to keep things nice and tucked in. I can see the bike potentially skittering all over the place if I enter a corner a bit hot on asphalt. However, on snow, I can see them biting in and just turning. In that way, they are the opposite of a normal mtn bike tire.

I will add more to this post as the winter progresses.

Tire Test: Schwalbe CX Pro cyclocross tires

First off, I am not a tire tester. I just ride bikes.

Most of my riding is done on my Kona Jake the Snake cyclocross bike and most of that riding is done on rail trails. This is what forms my "test bed" for trying out various bike kit.

The rail trail I ride on is comprised of gravel, stone, lime dust chip, and slimy clay. During the fall season, a layer of wet decomposing leaves covers the trail and can make traction interesting as any minor inconsistencies in the trail are covered up and when wet they can be slippery. There are no hills to speak of - just gradual inclines which often take several km to cross. The trail is ideally suited for knobby cyclocross tires although regular hybrid tires (700x30-38c tire size) suitable for commuting also work well.

During the summer months, I was using a set of inexpensive commuter tires which quickly disintegrated on the gravel. They offered OK low rolling resistance, but were a little sketchy when the ground was wet. Due to a dumb move on my part involving a drill and my bike rack (don't ask...) I had to replace the rear tire. I opted to put the original tires the bike came with back on the bike until I got around to getting some better rubber. Once they wore down, I opted for the Schwalbes.