Studded tire project

[EldARon]

I was looking for an option for driving in the winter. Winter in Drammen, Norway is very varying. From rainy day with 5°C to -15°C snow. Some days a very icy. 

I have been looking for studded tires. But to no avail. The closest thing I found was studs that could be screwed into the tyre. But that needed at least 6,2 mm rubber thickness. The tires I found was between 5,5-6 mm. I didn't want to chance it. One bump and the stud would puncture the tyre/tube.

In the end I ended of with the following solution. I screwed in 196 screws through the tyre from the inside out. Then I added two layers of tube that i glued to the inside of the tyre. To protect the inner tube from puncture and wear and tear. I have now ridden my Kingsong KS18L for about two weeks in total. It has worked great. The only time I struggle is when it has snowed a lot, and people has walked in the snow. Before the road has been cleared. Else it has been worked great.

I have some suggestions for making it better. It would be nice to get a thin, strong mesh to clue on the inside of the tyre over the screw heads. Any suggestions on where I could get this?

 

[Seba]

Nice  I bought exactly the same tire (is it Sunday Tire 18x2.2", right?) to try as a winter tire. Have you used it before without studs? If yes, can you share your experiences? Today I plan to replace tire in my KS-18L and I have two options - Fiction Troop 18x2.3" I used last winter or this Sunday 18x2.2". 

13 minutes ago, EldARon said:

I have some suggestions for making it better. It would be nice to get a thin, strong mesh to clue on the inside of the tyre over the screw heads. Any suggestions on where I could get this?

Think about gluing in a inner tube into your tyre. Lubricate the inside of the tyre with glue, insert the inner tube and pump it. Once the adhesive has cured, you can cut off the inner tube along the edge of the tyre. This way the tube will form a kind of a liner so heads of the screws will be secured and fixed. Finally you mount this tire with another tube, as usual.

[Xoltri]

I wonder how long the screws will last?  Quality studs are tungsten carbide, much harder than the steel used in screws.

Here is my experience with this.  I first took the stock tire on my MSX and put studs in it.  It was fine on ice but struggled with any amount of snow.  It seemed to float on top of it and was hard to control (although @winterwheel seems to have no problems with this).

So I found a knobby tire locally that does much better on snow.  And I used those screw in studs in addition to the above method to stud the tire:

It also works pretty good on ice, although you have to be careful turning or you'll still wipeout.

 

I have also filled my tube with an appropriate amount of Tire Seal-R in case there are any punctures: https://www.amazon.ca/Berryman-1301-Seal-R-Sealing-Compound/dp/B0002KKIJQ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=tire+seal-r&qid=1575499119&sr=8-1

 

[litewave]

8 hours ago, EldARon said:

I was looking for an option for driving in the winter. Winter in Drammen, Norway is very varying. From rainy day with 5°C to -15°C snow. Some days a very icy. 

I have been looking for studded tires. But to no avail. The closest thing I found was studs that could be screwed into the tyre. But that needed at least 6,2 mm rubber thickness. The tires I found was between 5,5-6 mm. I didn't want to chance it. One bump and the stud would puncture the tyre/tube.

In the end I ended of with the following solution. I screwed in 196 screws through the tyre from the inside out. Then I added two layers of tube that i glued to the inside of the tyre. To protect the inner tube from puncture and wear and tear. I have now ridden my Kingsong KS18L for about two weeks in total. It has worked great. The only time I struggle is when it has snowed a lot, and people has walked in the snow. Before the road has been cleared. Else it has been worked great.

I have some suggestions for making it better. It would be nice to get a thin, strong mesh to clue on the inside of the tyre over the screw heads. Any suggestions on where I could get this?

 

Tire liners.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2019 by litewave

[Daley1]

Last time I saw tyres like that was in a MAD MAX movie!

 

[EldARon]

16 hours ago, Seba said:

Nice  I bought exactly the same tire (is it Sunday Tire 18x2.2", right?) to try as a winter tire. Have you used it before without studs? If yes, can you share your experiences? Today I plan to replace tire in my KS-18L and I have two options - Fiction Troop 18x2.3" I used last winter or this Sunday 18x2.2". 

Yes, it's the Sunday Current 18". No I didn't try the tyre before hand. I had a bad experience without studs on the tyre that comes with the EUC. Today it wouldn't have worked without. It's icey with water on top everywhere. Very polished and slippery. Even though the studs in the middle have been worn. It worked great.

16 hours ago, Seba said:

Think about gluing in a inner tube into your tyre. Lubricate the inside of the tyre with glue, insert the inner tube and pump it.

This is what I did. But I feel that if I hit a pothole at the right place. The screw would go through the glued tube.

9 hours ago, Xoltri said:

I wonder how long the screws will last?  Quality studs are tungsten carbide, much harder than the steel used in screws.

You might be right. I just had a look. The first pictures was from the day I made the tyre. Here's some updated photos. I didn't think about the wear. I was more concerned about the puncture. But even though the middle studs are especially worn. It worked great today over wet ice. I did expect a bit wear. Especially the tip of the screw. Any tips for stronger screws?
 

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by EldARon