# Using snow tires on dry pavement



## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

I've been on a short commuting hiatus. My wife and I just bought a house, and between the projects and the almost daily trips to Home Depot/Lowes after work, I've been driving :madman:

Now it's time to get back on the bike. I have my studded tires on currently because the other day, we got a foot of snow and I rode to the gym. Now most of the snow is gone. Here's my question, will I quickly lose all my studs riding these tires on dry pavement? I do have another set of wheels, but I have the bike set up SS now and I only have one SS cog and spacer kit. 

Thanks!


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

I honestly have never rode studs on a bike, but my LBS keeps telling me how slippery studs are on dry pavement and have actually talked me out of them on a few occasions.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

I have a pair of Nount and Ground Nokians....I ride studs for about 6 months of the year...those tires have over 15000 kms on them.....I have lost maybe 5 studs. The wear is starting to affect how well the studs are held in however.

While we have snow for 6 months we also have lots of dry pavement that I ride on.


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

jeffscott said:


> I have a pair of Nount and Ground Nokians....I ride studs for about 6 months of the year...those tires have over 15000 kms on them.....I have lost maybe 5 studs. The wear is starting to affect how well the studs are held in however.


So I think that's your answer.

The Nokian tires wear like iron. I've only got one season on my Mount and Ground tires, about 1000 miles (1600 km) and they mostly see dry pavement with bits of ice here and there. They look like they just came off the new tire rack. I've got Nokian Extremes on my mountain bikes but they mostly see snow covered trails and ice.

Edit: I don't notice any problems riding them on dry pavement. The Extremes can get a little squirrely at higher speeds but the more road oriented Mount and Grounds ride like a normal tire. I keep the pressure pretty high when the ice is only incidental.

Ride them and don't even worry about it.


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## thebigfish (Dec 3, 2012)

Thank you for the info about traction issues on dry pavement. Think I need to check out the other LBS in town.


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

thebigfish said:


> I honestly have never rode studs on a bike, but my LBS keeps telling me how slippery studs are on dry pavement and have actually talked me out of them on a few occasions.


The grip on asphalt is very good, on sidewalk concrete pretty good, but on a polished concrete garage floor there is almost zero traction.

The studs just need some surface roughness to grab a hold of.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ yup, a smooth concrete floor is like a skating rink. My studs have dug all sorts of scratches into the parking garage at work. But on bare road or sidewalk studded tires work fine.

No one has asked what type of studded tires we're talking about, which is really important for wear. The carbide studded ones from Nokian and Schwalbe (and some of the 45nrth, but not all) will last forever. The steel studs from Innova will wear extremely quickly without snow.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Straz85 said:


> I've been on a short commuting hiatus. My wife and I just bought a house, and between the projects and the almost daily trips to Home Depot/Lowes after work, I've been driving :madman:


Say four Hail Sheldons and sin no more.

Similar experiences with tire wear here, BUT I have to say that my Winter Marathons take way more energy to push than any other tire I`ve ever used. If you can set up that extra set of wheels with some easier-to-pedal rubber, you`ll probably be happier. Oh, I hate the sound of studs on dry pavement too, but that`s not as big a deal as the energy requirement.


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## Bill in Houston (Nov 26, 2011)

How about commuting on the SS?


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

I have not had control problems on pavement with studded tires. Perhaps, like studded tires on cars, your emergency braking distance might be marginally impacted, but nothing that affects normal (ha!) daily winter riding.

Maybe I'm fussy, but I did have wear issues with Nokian carbide studs after 1.5 winters. I noticed this by loss of some grip on more challenging srufaces like a crowned road, and confirmed it by visually inspecting the studs. The carbide tips on the center row was worn (but not 100% gone) compared to the outer studs. I am blaming this wear on the pavement portion of the commute; often the paved portion was clear but the dirt section was still iced over, requiring continued use of the studded tires.

I'm trying the Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pros instead, but haven't used them long enough to report on wear.

Personally I love the sound and feel of studded tires, but then I've been known to run a studded car tire through the summer when it's winter tread life was gone. ticktickticktick tick


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Yeah, I like the sounds of the studs on the pavement. That nice buzz tells you you don't have anything to worry about when an ice flow appears in front of you.

How many miles did you have on the tires when you noticed the stud wear? The mount and ground tires don't have a center line of studs so they only graze the road when you are going straight.


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## mtbxplorer (Dec 25, 2009)

^^I'm not as good a record keeper as you, I suppose that should've been a New Year's resolution, I haven't even tried to figure my 2012 mileage yet. But to give you an idea, they went through 1 winter (Nov-March?) used most days for 15 mi RT commute, and then last winter they got used less because I used the fatbike more.


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

Exactly what I wanted to hear, thanks everyone!


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

newfangled said:


> ^ yup, a smooth concrete floor is like a skating rink. My studs have dug all sorts of scratches into the parking garage at work.


I will add ceramic tile to that list


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## ghettocruiser (Jun 21, 2008)

Haha. Yep. 

20 miles of snowy and icy roads and trails at full speed without a hitch.

Pulled into my dry, heated condo parking garage and went down like a pile of bricks on the buffed-smooth concrete.


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## newfangled (Sep 13, 2010)

^ my version of that:

leaving the parking garage at work,
waiting for the overhead door to open,
stomping on the pedals so I can mash my way up the exit ramp,
and nutting myself on the toptube as the rearwheel completely spins out on the smooth floor


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## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

so full of win, these stories of personal experience with studded tires. 

It's not a studded tire story, but it is a slippery pavement story. I had a friend back in college who went down like a ton of bricks onto one of the sidewalks on campus because he took a bend in the path too fast on his mtb. The surface was asphalt, with that super-slippery tar sealant coat (reapplied annually, of course) and it had recently rained so it was wet. I'm sure studded tires would have been even better on that surface.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

CommuterBoy said:


> I will add ceramic tile to that list


Ouch!
Not a ceramic tire story, but another "Uh-oh, what`s the better half going to say?" warning:
Don`t ever let purple PVC primer spill on the linoleum in the middle of your kitchen


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## Straz85 (Mar 20, 2009)

rodar y rodar said:


> Ouch!
> Not a ceramic tire story, but another "Uh-oh, what`s the better half going to say?" warning:
> Don`t ever let purple PVC primer spill on the linoleum in the middle of your kitchen


Or a gallon of paint on your carpet!


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

I think the carpet and the ceramic tile both top my linoleum incedent. We have the shape of an iron melted into our living room carpet- that`s what saved me from bodily injury when I spilled the PVC primer


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## bedwards1000 (May 31, 2011)

Did the primer eat right through the plastic or just stain it?

Good to know about the studs on smooth surfaces.


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## tartosuc (May 18, 2006)

Nokian and schwalbe actually recommend to ride their studded tires for abou 20km prior to use them on ice ...to help seating the studs..

i used mine almost as much on pavement than trails/ice and no problems.


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

^^ I put 40 miles or so on mine on dry pavement before I rode them on dirt or ice...Nokian's recommendations right on the sticker when you buy them.


Rodar, that purple primer is horrible! It's job is to spread and cover everything, and it does it well :lol: 
Bedwards, it's not corrosive... I'd imagine it just stained. But it's super thin, and it seeks out porous surfaces and spreads like thinner or gasoline or something. I've dripped some on concrete... it's forever stained.

The ceramic tile is in the basement, so it's not as bad as the middle of the kitchen floor :lol: And the good news with Tile is that you get traction every 12 inches, when you can grab some grout.


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## rodar y rodar (Jul 21, 2006)

Linoleum is made of PVC, so it`s primed. Fortunately I didn`t kick the whole bottle over- just let it run off the end of a vacuum breaker assembly I was putting together in there. CB, you have a ceramic floor in your basement? Now we know that`s all BS about teachers not getting paid enough :lol:


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## CommuterBoy (Oct 4, 2007)

It's a little hallway man, don't get too excited. Discount tile at home depot and I had to install it myself :lol:


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