DC area bike trails sound similar to yours. They get very rough, rutted, footprints, etc. In my experience, the 700c tires just don't have enough studs (particularly on the sides) to climb out of ruts. I finally sold mine (Nokian Haakapelita, 700x35 ??) as I just wasn't using them, after a couple of crashes. I also found that the Nokian Mount and Ground's, while a nice tire, just don't have enough side studs. So running Extreme's in front and M&G's in back, the front end would climb out of the rut and the back end would still be trapped and start going sideways. So finally I bought an Extreme for the back, as well. These work as well as I could hope. What I mean by that is that if the trail is pretty-well frozen, they work great, regardless of how awful the ruts and ridges and ice spikes and footprints are. If the trail is semi-melted slush, then the tires don't get very good grip, and it's like riding in mud. Good for your balance and cycle- handling skills, though! You can't make much headway, and last year while riding in very tough conditions I noticed that a pedestrian was catching up with me.
On Sep 24, 10:59 am, "Andrew Ward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I know, fall has just arrived, but I waited too late for studded tires > last year, and it looks like Schwalbe has stock of some models/sizes > already. > > I'm in the market for a pair of 700c studded tires. I'm about 100km > outside Toronto in Ontario, so my winter conditions involve little > accumulation of snow on the roads, with frequent slush and occasional > frozen patches; MUPs start off with powdery snow early in the season, > and transition to fairly rough/rutty frozen stuff later on. I have > roughly 2km road and 2km MUP each way on my current commute. > > I've been lured towards the Schwalbe Marathon Winter by various things > I've read/heard. A couple of questions: > -will the Marathon Winter be appropriate for my conditions? Any other > brand/model suggestions? > -Given the choice, would you go for a wider or narrower studded tire? > (The Marathon Winters come in 35 and 42 widths) > > Thanks, > > Andrew --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bicycle Lifestyle" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bicyclelifestyle?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
