Ice Studs And Street Bike Tires?
 

After searching the forum I have found posts on mounting ice studs on knobby tires on DP and dirt only bikes, but has anyone done this on their street bike tires? I plan on riding as much as I can this winter and one of the guys that works at the local gas station (they do a little bike work) suggested putting ice studs on the outer area of the tread for protection "just in case". He rides a KTM dual sport and says he switches to studded tires every winter. I do not plan on riding when it's snowing (1-3"/hr is common and 6+"/hr is not unheard of), or when the temps are so low after a snow that residual moisture would cause excessive icing. Here in Mammoth Lakes, CA they plow from first flakes to a day or more after the snow stops, and usually a day or two after a snow the roads are clear, just wet. Back home in PA I have ridden in temps as low as 27F and light flurries on my way home from work, but that does not compare to the 500+" of snow we get here in Mammoth. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. And please don't say just park it. Between the end of May and July 4th (our last day of lift operations), I rode up with my snowboard strapped on the back (even in sleet) and reveled in the look on peoples faces that said WTF that dude in dedicated to riding, snowboard and bike. :eek:

I have not ridden in mammoth, but I have taken trips up to the lake, virginia city, road trips to oregon, washington, wyoming, montana, idaho as well without using studs. Maybe 3 or so inches of light snow, wet with only some slosh/ice hazards at stop lights and such. Keep good tires on with the air pressures, suspension and throttle/carb tuned for the application. (ie, smooth transitions) Happy riding!

Thanks Dragone#19. I was thinking the same thing till this kid made the suggestion. My new concern is they are now in the process of laying fresh black top on basically the whole 6.5 miles I ride up and down the mountain for work. The road is VERY twisty and a ton of fun (as soon as the're done, I plan on working on my chicken strips), and I just had a new rear put on. Until I started riding here I hadn't had the chance to test the limits of the bike (or myself) at the lean angle limits. I was riding 32psi front and 31psi rear, and noticed the front would push before the rear would reach 1/4 inch from the edge of the tread. I went down to 27psi in the front and ended up with a measured less than 1/32 inch chicken strip on the rear, not bad I think. I'm just worried about a low side if I hit a patch, I work nights, so going to work at 1:30pm the temps are 34-38F, but it drops to the mid to low 20's at 10pm, a recipe for ice. I was thinking ice studs on the outer 1/3 area of the tread, if I do loose it they will at least, I think, give me a chance of getting traction and getting the bike upright. Do you think dropping the tire pressures more will provide more traction (minus ice) in every day riding? Any recommendations on pressures (I'm 185 and the bike is 340+/- with 60% rear bias, more with my backpack and stuff in it)? I'm buying a new snowboard next week, then 2 weeks later a GoPro Hero, so I'll film my ride to and from work and post it here (I can upload video?). Riding up is a kick, power on the whole way, bombing down at night is crazy fun. Sorry we didn't get together this summer, I tried to get the weekend off to go to Reno, having worked on F/A-18's in the Navy, HiPo aircraft are a thing for me. Thanks for the advice. And I'll try to post pics or video of every ride this winter.

hmm, had everything typed out and got deleted. so here is the short version.....


Do not worry about the chicken strips. Ride to what you think is the best pace. Tires....sounds like your suspension needs adjusted for your lard ass 180lbs. (same here) So hit up your suspension first before over adjusting your tire pressures since you are pushing the front because of the piss poor set up and your weight under hard braking....(I would imagine)....

I believe that with my pirelli demons on the 500 with piss poor suspension,,,,I was in the 35-38psig range.

My suspension set up is, 22,000+mi OEM rear shocks set at full preload. And my forks (no adjustments) have a set of '03 250 Ninja spring that were put in when I had my blown fork seals replaced, the shop had them on hand after putting a set of Progressive springs in a Ninja that had only 6,500mi on it. They measured and looked up the specs, and figured the stiffer springs were better than the 15,000mi ones they took out. They were right, the front only dives hard under extreme braking. The front has only really pushed under power (going up the mountain to work), and coming down I rarely use my brakes, just compression braking, and that loads the front tire nicely. Last season I got in around 7,000mi, this season barely 1,300mi because of work, so the money I put in now is just going to be essentials. LOF going to a lower weight semi-syns oil (5W-30) and most likely a braided steel brake line. Although one purchase I plan on making for both winter and summer is a good 3/4 length sport touring jacket (Kilimanjaro maybe) and matching pants. Why spend money on snowboard gear that lacks body armor (it's a big rocky mountain), and riding gear that does, when I can buy once, save money, and use it all year 'round. Come spring I'll focus on the things I need to do to keep the bike going for another season, and maybe some upgrades. Thanks for the advice. Looking forward to the snow.