Kingfish
100 MW
Review.
Apologies for a delayed review, though hopefully this is in time to be useful.
Close-up Profile after about two weeks of snow and ice.
Based upon a lead, I purchased these tires as being the best-suited for my needs. Essentially, I wanted a tire that was best for urban assault with icy streets. Much of the winter weather in Western Washington is often freezing nights with occasional snow showers. There is always water though, water everywhere, flowing across sidewalks, streets, filling potholes, dribbling across roads, oozing out of hillsides, overflowing from creeks or drainage, water always ~ except perhaps during the three days of sunny summer when it breaks 90°F around here – then the grass turns brown - until the next rain which is inevitable.
Thus I did not feel compelled to fetch the Finnish-style spiker tires, no. Having been versed in Marathons before I knew they would do the trick, and I have not been disappointed.
Mounting was accomplished by REI as the studded tires are known to be difficult, and REI just makes the process look stupidly simple with all the right tools. I had both the front and rear upgraded. This is also a good time to do the safety check on the rims, spokes, and tubes.
Center of bead is smooth enough for high-speed travel.
Finally in December we had some really nasty freezing weather and I had ample opportunity to truly demo the tires in snow, icy, much & crud, then layered conditions, and afterwards during the prolonged thaw.
The studs are similar in construction to car studs, having tungsten rods embedded with aluminum walls ; as the tire wears sow the aluminum abrades – exposing more studded material.
Positive traits:
Grippy in all weather conditions, Kevlar-lined for added durability, excellent for light-snow and hard freezing, excellent traction on traditionally slippery surfaces.
Negative traits:
Slows top speed due to aggressive traction, grabs and holds onto road debris (make sure your fenders or mud flaps are in excellent repair), high-torque bikes should operate with TLC to avoid spinout.
Strongly recommend – 9 Stars out of 10 for urban use. :wink:
Safe travels, KF
Apologies for a delayed review, though hopefully this is in time to be useful.
- Bought from Amazon on 11/19/2010; query
- Manufacturer website: Schwalbe
- Color: Black with reflective sidewall
- Size: 26 x 1.75
- Cost: $77.75 USD + tax, with free shipping.
- Shipping: Received some days later and were stored for a short time before mounting. Strangely, Amazon shipped my pair separately, and though I received both on the same day – it was by two different deliveries.
- Related ES Threads:
Studded bike tires, selection and first ride impressions
Studded Tires?
Close-up Profile after about two weeks of snow and ice.
Based upon a lead, I purchased these tires as being the best-suited for my needs. Essentially, I wanted a tire that was best for urban assault with icy streets. Much of the winter weather in Western Washington is often freezing nights with occasional snow showers. There is always water though, water everywhere, flowing across sidewalks, streets, filling potholes, dribbling across roads, oozing out of hillsides, overflowing from creeks or drainage, water always ~ except perhaps during the three days of sunny summer when it breaks 90°F around here – then the grass turns brown - until the next rain which is inevitable.
Thus I did not feel compelled to fetch the Finnish-style spiker tires, no. Having been versed in Marathons before I knew they would do the trick, and I have not been disappointed.
Mounting was accomplished by REI as the studded tires are known to be difficult, and REI just makes the process look stupidly simple with all the right tools. I had both the front and rear upgraded. This is also a good time to do the safety check on the rims, spokes, and tubes.
- After mounting many days went by before there was reasonably cold weather. The first artifacts about the tires are that they are slightly noisy, like rolling over really small pebbly gravel; I call it “razzle†for lack of a better term for it is a low-impact fine vibration; comforting in a small way for the overt tactile feedback.
- The top-speed was affected right away; I lost about 10-15% on flats and grades, but didn’t notice a difference on downhills. Traction was vastly improved on all surfaces, especially the slippery white-markings on asphalt (hot-glass application) and when crossing railroads.
- I was a little more conservative about cutting corners at high-speed; for some reason I just didn’t want to lean as hard into corners – but that could just be a small fear on my part.
- In rain, the traction was superb. There is small risk of spinout and slide due to the metal on road, but it is minor compared to the traction benefit.
Center of bead is smooth enough for high-speed travel.
Finally in December we had some really nasty freezing weather and I had ample opportunity to truly demo the tires in snow, icy, much & crud, then layered conditions, and afterwards during the prolonged thaw.
- These tires like cold weather, gripping far better than I could have imagined, and rarely giving way to slippage. I felt confident enough to plow headlong into 2 inches of fresh snow at WOT albeit going straight, and then braking hard to see what could happen; no issues – very safe, with certainly better control than many cars.
- Since December we have had several bouts of freezing weather and I feel completely confident in these tires to get me to and from my distant clients at nearly any speed I choose in all weather conditions.
- People who see the bike (same tires driven on both P0 & P1) are both impressed and intrigued by the studded tires; it is definitely a talking point that sells the philosophy getting around on your own without need for petrol.
- The use has been just over one month so it is a bit early to speak about wear and tear; they seem fine right now. Depending on how the winter goes, which appears to be pretty wintery this season, I suspect they will remain on the bike until end of March.
The studs are similar in construction to car studs, having tungsten rods embedded with aluminum walls ; as the tire wears sow the aluminum abrades – exposing more studded material.
Positive traits:
Grippy in all weather conditions, Kevlar-lined for added durability, excellent for light-snow and hard freezing, excellent traction on traditionally slippery surfaces.
Negative traits:
Slows top speed due to aggressive traction, grabs and holds onto road debris (make sure your fenders or mud flaps are in excellent repair), high-torque bikes should operate with TLC to avoid spinout.
Strongly recommend – 9 Stars out of 10 for urban use. :wink:
Safe travels, KF
