Schwalbe Snow Stud Performance Kevlar Rigid MTB Tyre

Whether off-road or on-road this is where studs come into their own. They are not failsafe, and you still need to treat ice with due respect, but studs do offer a big improvement in control to the extent that you can easily be lulled into a false sense of security, only to slip straight onto your backside soon after stepping off the bike.

Studs are available as off-road tyres with wide spaced lugs, or on road tyres with a much closer spaced tread. It should be noted that compared to regular tyres, there is increased rolling resistance (making pedalling harder), and the studs can be pretty noisy on bare roads.

In climates where snow and ice persist through the winter, riders would tend to use studs throughout the season, whereas in regions such as the UK where ice is a more sporadic event, a quick change of tyres or even better a spare set of wheels made up ready seems to be the more efficient approach.

Questions and Answers:

1. Can it also be ridden on a normal road?
Without any problem, but if the road is only rarely covered with snow the resulting tyre noise may prove annoying.

2. And it won’t slide out in cornering?
No. The spikes ‘claw’ really well into normal asphalt roads and even fast cornering is not a problem. Only on very smooth surfaces, like cobbles, is there minimal grip.

3. Aren’t spikes illegal?
In some countries spiked car tyres are illegal, because they damage the road surface. Bicycle tyre spikes are not a problem. The spikes work best on ice when running at minimum pressure, whilst at maximum pressure the tyres can be ridden on ice-free roads with minimal road noise. In order to ensure that spikes are permanently fixed, tyres should be run in for about 40km on asphalt, while avoiding any fast acceleration or heavy braking.

4. Do the tyres have to be run in?
In order to ensure that spikes are permanently fixed, tyres should be run in for about 40km on asphalt, while avoiding any fast acceleration or heavy braking.

5. What is the lifespan of the spikes?
All Schwalbe spikes have a core made of extremely hard wearing tungsten carbide, so they can cover a few thousand kilometres. It is normal for the spike edges to round off and for them to become more deeply embedded.

6. Some spikes came out. Can they be replaced?
Yes, new spikes can be reinserted using pliers.

7. What are the tyres’ limitations?
In deep snow even spike tyres won’t help. In certain areas snow rarely stays around long.

8. Are spike tyres still an option?
The Snow Stud runs quite pleasantly on snow-free roads, so grip on ice is somewhat limited. But if two bikes are available, Marathon Winter is the better choice. Depending upon the morning weather, use the most suitable bike. On icy roads, when even cars are having problems, it is a great feeling to be in full control on spike tyres.

Directions for replacing studs-
When the tyre is mounted: Use Long Nose Pliers, Angle base of stud over hole, and push and twist.