Friday, December 22, 2006

Studded Tires Make a Huge Difference


I rode to work yesterday and it was dry on the way in. An hour later, rain fell on the frozen ground. It turned to ice and then the snow fell. Because of the treacherous conditions, I got a ride home from a coworker who lives in the same region of Minneapolis. He's a cyclist and had his roof rack installed.

So today I installed the studded tires and rode around town for a fun ride (I had the day off). It was quite a difference. The studded tires make traction a sure thing. I never slipped in the slush. Since this is my first time on them, I'll provide a full review later. I need to ride in really slick, hard ice before I know what they can do.

The tires are Innovas, I found new at a garage sale.

5 comments:

Jeff Moser said...

At a garage sale?!? Nothing but stinky old couches and used clothes at the garage sales around here!

Lucky...

Frostbike said...

I've got innovas too. They worked pretty well for me, but the studs wore down pretty quickly. Try to avoid riding them on dry pavement and you should be OK.

rigtenzin said...

I saw some tires at this guy's sale this summer, so I stopped in. He had new Innovas for $40. I only had $30 on me and my son had lots of money wadded up in his pocket. I asked to borrow some and he began digging out ones. The seller stopped us at four ones. So I got them for $34. I'm a big cheapo, so it worked out nicely.

Tim said...

Pete's right about the Innova tires. They're OK until they grind off on the pavement, which happens really quickly. If you spend any time on pavement, watch them closely.

When they're toast, upgrade to Nokians with conical studs. Yeah, you'll get sticker shock, but they're worth every penny.

With the Nokians, they recommend breaking them in with 50 miles of riding on pavement. That would ruin a pair of Innovas.

Jackrabbit Slim said...

Now that you two have that ones routine down you should take him for BIGGER purchases.

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