Ready for winter

[johnridley]

My studded tires showed up today. I think these are a better tire for most people's use than the Nokians I have run for the last 3 years. You can pump them up to higher pressures and run mainly on the center ridge, or drop the pressure to run more on the spikes, and they have a 2nd pair of spikes farther up the sidewalls for climbing out of the occasional icy ruts. Also, they have reflective sidewalls which are quite bright, so that's some more extra safety.

They were $65 each, instead of the $50/ea that the Nokians cost, but if they last another 3 years they're worth it. They could easily last even longer; the Nokians didn't really wear out; rather, the studs are starting to poke through the inside and are piercing the tube. Heck, I could probably get a pair of pliers, rip the studs out of the Nokians, and run them as knobbies for another couple of years.

Comments

[c0nsumer.livejournal.com]

Couldn't you just use the Nokians as knobbies without removing the spikes and wait for them to naturally migrate?

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

The studs are starting to push into the tire and puncture the tube. Actually some of the studs have ripped out already, and I got a flat last year from a stone that worked its way into the empty hole and poked through.

Honestly, I don't have any use for knobbies, so I'd never do this anyway. If I figured I could shave them down and make a set of slicks that I could use for a few thousand miles, I might do that...