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DIY bike tire chains
November 17th, 2008 by FritzThis is cool: Homebrew tire chains for your mountain bike involves less than $20 in chain, cabling, and ferrules, not counting the tools you might need to get if you don’t already own them. Via.
That reminds me of this tip in which you can use zip ties to improve traction a little. Both the chain and zip ties go across the rims so you’ll either need a disc brakes, hub brakes or go brakeless (like on a fixed gear bike) for these to work.
November 17th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Yeah, but with studded tires I can change a flat in less than the half-day this system would require.
November 17th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
*laugh* yeah good point about flats!
November 18th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
studs won’t help you in brown snot. chains in loose snow is the way to go.
November 18th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Man this must be hell to ride on pavement too.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
This may be a touch “off topic”, but how do studded tires (Nokian and the like) handle on dry pavement when there is no ice? I mean, the streets aren’t icy ALL winter long, are they? I would imagine that dry pavement use would accelerate wear on the individual studs, but we can’t be expected to swap tires every few days, right?
Living in Florida, I’ve never had the joy of experiencing studded tires, but I have ridden in snow and ice as a teenager. That was a l-o-n-g time ago…
November 18th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Ghost — they just kind of go “bzzzz.” High quality carbide studs don’t wear as quickly on pavement as low quality studded tires. On my studded tire the studs are offset to the side so they grip more when you’re turning and when the tire is sunk into a soft surface (like snow and softer ice or when the tire pressure is down).
November 18th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Where I live (Toronto) winter conditions are not consistent year to year, or day to day: anything from hardpack to slush to wet to dry pavement. Excess use of salt is consistent.
Here you want a studded-tire bike and a slick-tire bike; or you want one bike and two wheelsets: studs and slicks. Fritz is right about riding the studs on pavement, but they grip well on ice! They are slow and noisy enough that you’ll avoid riding them when you don’t have to.
This year I have a gearless fendered touring bike for winter: studs on a singlespeed wheelset, and slicks on a fixed wheelset. My wife won’t let me buy the fourth bike that would help me avoid switching wheels.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Fritz, thanks…I forgot about the offset nature of the studs, which probably helps keep wear to a minimum.
I’ll have to keep all this in mind if I ever move to more icy climes…having a spare wheelset (or even a spare bike) is never a problem for me!!!
November 19th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Disc brakes required.
January 21st, 2009 at 2:01 am
I actually use a set of tire chains very similar to this. Dry pavement riding isn’t the greatest but it’s doable. I can live with it for the day or two the sidewalks are clear in the winter. It’s night and day with the chains.
I modified his plan a bit and I can get mine on and off in 10 min.