Winter studded tire options
 

With winter just around the corner, I'm starting to hunt for some studded tires. In the past, I put kold kutter screws in my tires. It worked decent enough but they wore down quickly. I want to minimize costs, but I think that I want to upgrade to real studded tires. Trelleborgs would be ideal but a bit too much money.

Have any of you used the following tires?

Studded Chen Shin C755 tires:
http://www.tireexpress.com/prod.cfm/cid/6703/pid/11236
They are approx. $200 each.
Pricey, but a bit easier to swallow than the Trelleborg pill.

If you buy them could you post back with results. I am going to use the regualr three eights ice studds you can buy at the local dealer and get 1000 for $100. Its only going to be for ice racing anyways.

I've used Chen Shin Studs, they are good, I still use the front and I've had those tires for over 5 years. Studs don't work on ice,only in snow, and ice studs only work on ice. If your going out riding in a snow storm or just fun riding the Chen Shin are fine but if your racing the trellaborgs get a little better bit.

...or the Michelins. I've been very happy with them.

Like John said depends on where you use 'em. Cleaned off ice or snow on dirt. The ice screws will self destruct in no time on frozen dirt. The anal guys use cordura tire wraps to protect the screws rolling the things around in the garage.

I had some home Gold screwed knobbies of some sort on my 610 husky last winter and they worked o.k. but my buddy had Fredette built ice tires on a KLX 300 and there was really no comparison on relatively clear ice... the Fredette tires were infinitely better. As snow accumulated the more open pattern of the home screwed jobs got better. I don't think the "factory" studded tires I've seen have enough studs for actual ice racing, but they'd prolly be a lot better for trail riding or beatin cheeks down frozen rivers etc. where there is some snow cover

I also saw some comment on a Canadian ice racing site that kinda poo-pooed the Fredette tires saying that "their" tires were MUCH better that the Fredettes. He uses Holliday Ice screws. I found those Holliday screws listed on e-bay last winter.

http://www.rockcentralcycle.com/Ice-...ce-screws.page

When I lived in IL we used to put Kold Kutter ice screws in a cheap set of Cheng Shin knobbies. The 3/8" long screws went up front and 1/2" screws in back. They worked okay since the terrain was mostly sand with patches of frozen water. The tires would lose a few screws and were only good for a season. I tried using them up here in the Northeast, but the rocks would trash the screws.

Bought a used set of the original Swedish-made Trelleborgs back in '02. The front is still in great shape and has not lost any studs. The rear was in pretty bad shape when I got it and after two seasons I replaced it with a new Czech-made rear. I've ran the rear for three seasons and while the studs and knobs do have some wear it has not lost any studs.

Last season a friend of mine bought some Michelin studded knobbies. We did about the same amount of riding and at the end of the season his rear shows more wear than my 3 year-old Trellie. I don't have any experience with the Cheng Shin studded tires. What I do know is that on frozen rocky ground a set of automotive studs in Pirelli MT-16's works better than the Trellies, but the Trellies perform much better when there is snow on the ground.

For ice racing, Fredette tires are pretty darn good. I've got a set that's ~15 years old and have not lost a single screw (the rear is left turn-only). I've also got a Fredette left/right turn rear, but haven't had a chance to try it out. Around here the local hot-shoe ice racer, Jay Skidmore, builds his own AMA legal ice tires. He uses the same tires (Dunlop K490 front/Kenda Ice Master rear) as Fredette, but uses screws made to his specification. I did notice that when the ice gets fluffy Skidmore uses an Pirelli MT-44 rear, but he doesn't sell this tire.

Canadian ice tires use a screw with a longer head and are not legal for AMA sanctioned ice racing. I'm surprised the Canucks poo-poo the Fredette tires considering he went up there and kicked butt a couple times at the Alberta 24-hr endurance ice race.

Trellie pill hurts going down but after 3 or 4 years on the same tire you will be happy.

Thanks for the feedback. My riding is singletrack trails with some snow cover and frozen puddles. I will do a bit more searching for used tires on ebay, etc.. By December, I need to have my bike setup for the winter fun. :)

do your homework. some tires are ice only, others are for low snow/frozen ground. different studs for different conditions.

Ahhh, it all makes sense then... Maybe a bit of sour grapes?
That "comment" was just internet anecdote after all, and from who knows what source, but for non sanctioned play riding those Holliday screws do look like they might bite better with that tall head, especially with a little snow on the ice.