When I decided to stud a bicycle tire for the first time, one of the main reasons was the lack of winter bicycle tires on sale, or rather, a rarity, and therefore without a choice of options. But now it is on sale, and there is some choice, and you can probably buy any one in online stores.
But looking at the arrangement of metal and rubber studs in bicycle tires, and understanding how and where there is a desire to ride in winter, the mood did not improve. It's as if the tire manufacturers who invent the products are taking care of their products from too idealistic positions. Either asphalt and flat ice, or rolled snow alternately with a snowless road. And the thorns, as they are specially made so that they are lost rather on hard surfaces, and it would be necessary to buy the next bicycle tire.
As a result of the reasoning - to spend money on what is or to do what is much cheaper, but I chose to do exactly the way it was needed.
Base selection - tires
First, I decided on the parameters - what should be the tire. And taking into account the previous experience of studding old ones, with a partially worn out tread, I decided that only a new one and not an accidental one, which will be given for nothing (or almost nothing), but selected from catalogs, or from those suitable that are on sale. In extreme cases, I decided to wait for the one ordered in the internet store, but exactly the one that turns out to be more suitable.
- - should be folding, since it is much easier to remove and put on in the cold than with a wire frame - tires with aramid frame are softer, more obedient. Yes, and piercing with an awl, drilling, keeping the direction of the puncture and drilling, at the desired angle is easier, as well as screwing in the thorn screw. If the tire can be flattened. It is easy to press it with a clamp to the plane of the workbench or plywood (board).
- - should be with a Kevlar cord, since piercing the tire in the cold and then gluing is not an easy task due to the very frost. And the experience of breaking a tire in the winter has already been - I drove along a broken section of a metal fence with a sticking out rod that is not visible under the snow. Then he glued not only the camera, but also the tire - the gap was one and a half centimeters. The procedure in the cold took over two hours. The fire had to be built in order to glue at a positive temperature.
- - The main point is the location of the tire's rubber spikes, because they will have to install metal spikes. So that the height is no more than 4 mm - less than that of the branded winter ones by 1.0 - 1.5 mm, and the location and number would allow you to drive on hard surface with less losses. And so that when turning and passing inclined ice surfaces, the thorns appear in the place of the most beneficial application of forces - holding abilities. And it is imperative that the spikes are located more often along the contact track, for less mechanical losses when driving on ice.
- - the size of the tire's rubber spikes. So that the spike does not have a size, along or across, less than 8 by 8 mm, since it will not be possible to hold the spike under load - the rubber spike will tear in the direction of the load on the metal spike.
On the tire found and liked in all respects, there were 444 spikes measuring 9 by 11 mm and 8 by 11 mm, 4 mm high, located in the best way for planned winter rides on ice, asphalt and rocky soil roads.
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The trip to the fastener shops had to take a long time, because what some offered could be worse than what could be found elsewhere. Only two sellers had visual stands to choose screws, but for clarity, there are only one, two standard sizes on it, and not everything that can be on sale. Yes, and on the sites I had to look for links to articles of self-made people who were ahead of me in this idea.
In all the articles read, self-tapping screws with sharp ends of screws or washers with curved sharp edges (homemade or furniture with a threaded groove - washer-nut with horns) were used, riveted with blind or ordinary rivets. Both of them have one feature - to tear and tear everything that neither touches nor goes on - clothes, wallpaper, linoleum, etc. Another reason for rejecting washers is that those that are furniture must be fixed with a screw with a flat washer, but even with a thread lock, they can be easily lost. But the main thing is that it is impossible not to get injured by putting on or taking off such a tire, even with gloves or mittens made of strong, thick leather. An attribute that you will definitely need to take with you with other tools if the spikes are so sharp. How to temper them is also a task. And the losses when driving with such washers are large. In general, washers - no.
As a result, the choice was stopped on self-tapping screws with a cap-washer, hardened, galvanized with a tip - a drill.
The drill ends of these screws do not scratch hands, do not cling to fabric, fleece, puffs. Do not stick into linoleum, do not tear wooden surfaces under light load. But since the tips are made for drilling metal, they are harder (harder) than regular screws. Tried trying to scratch glass with self-tapping drills and sharp ordinary ones. The drills were able to scratch with less pressure and immediately.
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Arranged and dimensions - 7.5 mm, 9 mm, 13 mm, and 16 mm in length, and diameters - 3.8 mm and 4.0 mm, which are quite suitable for mounting in tires with different thicknesses of rubber.
True, the 2 smallest sizes were with 7.75 mm diameter caps and no washer-shaped extensions. The rest with 10.7 mm washer caps. For some reason, sellers call them pre-washers.
Since the spikes were found and bought, it was possible to buy out the tires I liked that were waiting for me in the Trial-Sport store.
Combining theory, guesswork, someone else's and your own experience into a single whole
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First I had to think about the installation method - screwing in the studs, how to drill and pierce the tire so as not to damage the cord. Trying on a cut piece from an old tire, cutting along the drilled piece at different angles and with different revolutions, with drills of different diameters - from 1.0 mm to 4.0 mm, and changing the sharpening, I came to the conclusion. The drill needs a diameter of 2.0 mm - 2.5 mm, sharpening at an angle of 45 degrees or more, with a zero or negative angle of the cutting edge, the attacking part of the drill. The best indicator was when drilling with such a prepared drill, but in the opposite direction, as when unscrewing, the direction of rotation - absolutely no damage to the cord threads. But even with the right rotation, the results were not bad - the cord was strained in isolated cases.
The technology is as follows - first, pierce the tire with an awl where the spike will be installed. At an angle of installation of the thorn. Poke through the outside so that the awl sticks out 15-20 mm inside the tire, so that you can see the place and the angle - the direction of the hole. Take a drill with a drill and the direction of rotation reversed. The maximum drills are not more than 1000. It is more convenient if it is a cordless drill with adjustable speed by the trigger. Notice the location and direction of drilling, pull out the awl and immediately drill into the resulting hole. Put aside the drill with the drill, take the second drill - an electric screwdriver with a Phillips screwdriver installed in the chuck - a pin matching the number to the cross for the screw-drill. Place the screw-drill on the tip of the Phillips screwdriver (pin) and screw into the hole at an angle of drilling - piercing with an awl. Check that the screw drill - the thorn comes out exactly in the right place, marked by the awl. And the same 443 times, and then for the second tire the same amount - exactly 444 identical procedures - "Chinese labor". A little "trick", so as not to pierce the tire under each spike separately, punctured as many holes as you intended to install spikes on a given day (work shift). Then he stuck parquet nails into the holes obtained, and took them out only one at a time before drilling. Then he again inserted nails into the holes obtained, but thicker - 3 mm thick, immediately after drilling. And when he drilled the norm of the day, then he took out three-millimeter-thick nails one by one before screwing in the thorn screw. So the holes did not "disappear" - they did not tighten, and it is faster and more accurate than repeating all procedures with each thorn.
First, a row of extreme ones, at appropriate angles, pierced and inserted parquet nails (they are inserted easily) - you can immediately see if the holes are evenly and correctly marked along the protruding row of nails. Then the other extreme row, and then along the rows and the rest. But not in a circle all over, but a section - a sector, into which the tire was divided, as for working days. Observing accuracy and attention, each stage of work is visually easy to control by evenly placed carnations.
It took the listed work, about 30 working hours - two weeks in the evenings.
It could be faster, but after all, I worked out the control technology, it was already beautiful - the result of the work is visible and predictable.
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Attention - you need to pierce the tire with an awl once for one spike, precisely marking the place of the hole according to the drawing, taking into account the angle along the red dotted line - 3-5 degrees from the black dotted line, no more.
The tire is 26 by 2.25 inches, screws and studs of different sizes are used - the middle row is the smallest, blued, then a little larger galvanized, and on the outer rows the largest ones with a pre-washer head.
A close-up is a 26 "by 2.35" tire. It can be seen that in the extreme rows, the screws are screwed in at an angle favorable for holding onto the ice. All spines are largest, with a pre-washer cap.
I called a familiar trial man and asked: "Are there any unnecessary cameras made of thick rubber with a torn off nipple?" It turned out that there are as many as 3 pieces. It was from these cameras that I cut out the stripes. I cut it in the middle of the sidewalls and used the outer part. Two chambers with a wall thickness of 1.5 mm and one with a wall thickness of 3.5 mm are heavy, the whole chamber weighed 600 grams, like a tire.
Thick-walled chamber, cut off along the middle of the sides. For insertion into a studded rear tire - protects the bike tube from the studded caps. It is more loaded in the middle rows of thorn screws, small-diameter caps are more prominent.
I installed a thick-walled strip under the rear tire, and a thinner one under the front. One thinner is a spare. Bicycle tubes are inflatable, Schwalbe used, at a price of 240 rubles - ordinary, but made of high quality rubber. I bought it from Leader-Sport, on the street. K. Marx.
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| Front tire from within |
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| Rear tire from within |
Rear tire from the inside, visible camera-gasket with traces of the heads of the studs. There were no breakthroughs, there was not even a hint of abrasion - the "gaskets" can be thin.
Tests
This is the most exciting and interesting thing that happened from the Dark Pad station and when crossing Lake Baikal on ice.
In the beginning, of course, I drove to the central passenger station on the asphalt.
The first impression is the sound, as from a dog running on linoleum or parquet with extended claws, but stronger. We are going with a friend who has no spikes on his wheels. But since there is no ice, we go quickly and as if without stress, although we are careful not to slip and farther from the cars.
The experience of skating on the rink was surprising, but only for a moment - normal skating, turns and braking without problems. But there were no pedestrian cars on the rink.
So there were no unusual impressions. I tried to slow down sharply, turn around - it's normal. It seemed that my friend was less confident without thorns, but this did not seem to be a certain indicator. We are going by train to Dark Deep. How will it be there?
We arrived, looked down at the path and ... drove. At first, slowly, and then somehow inexplicably confidently and risking more and more. Braking with the rear wheel, helping and dragging with one foot in the snow, like motocrossmen, and even accelerating and bouncing in some areas. Horror. Suicide slope.
I look around - my friend is gone, his bike too. I had to dismount and search. It turns out that, braking with the rear wheel and discovering that it had no effect on the steep slopes of the track, he began to slow down with the front wheel, but this did not help on a snowy path. He began to accelerate and ran over a piece of soil bared from the snow. The front wheel, blocked by the brake, and he had rims, stopped them both and threw one, over the handlebars of the other, down the hill. But somehow in silence - he didn't have time to get scared and scream. Then the bike flew there too. One lies below, in deep snow in silence, and the other, spinning its wheels in an inexplicable position, ten meters away. The one without wheels responds with some phrase from an anecdote and unprintable about a close relative. The snowdrifts took both of them flawlessly - they flew next to huge stones and lying tree trunks.
Looking not at the action described above, for the first time I became proud of my cycling. After all, I never slipped, although I was afraid a lot.
Further down, on the Angasolka river, there was a super test. I slide down the path to the bridge, and from it onto the bumpy ice - there is snow on top, a layer of wet sludge under it, and ice at a depth of 5-10 cm. I drove to the tree, looked around, and my friend bypasses this ice disfigurement along the slope with a bicycle on his shoulder. Shouts that it is impossible not only to drive, but even to walk - slippery and wet. Once you fall and continue to go, you will have to wet.
I let go of the tree and the food, no sensations, normal driving, only splashes of sludge to the sides. I even liked it, I rode in different directions, because the ice on the river is bumpy and inclined, like the slope. Amazing, no hesitation, the ride is as easy as dry and hard gravel. I didn't want to go further, an absolutely unusual feeling from ordinary confident riding - you ride easily, switch, accelerate, slow down, but this is a very slippery and uneven place, more slippery than just ice. I haven't walked to such places yet, but on the contrary - I avoided.
While we were driving to Lake Baikal, out of interest, I chose the opportunity to ride on the ice of the river, where it is under sludge, wet, bumpy and whatever - the ride is absolutely normal, there is no stress so as not to slip. It is easy to move onto the ice and drive back to the shore where the trail goes.
On the shore of the lake, several skiers took skis with sticks in their hands, and went to the snow drift in order to ski across it to Slyudyanka.
Looking at the absolutely even and smooth ice, I was a little confused - how will it ride? But having driven down on it, I heard the noise from the thorns and everything ... no other feelings - like on a flat road. I accelerate, I brake, I make turns such that I almost fell several times, jumped - bucked as best I could and ... NOTHING. It’s even strange, because this is exactly how you can ride on smooth asphalt. He began to scoff at himself and the bike, but no maneuvers or brakes managed to slip or make a skid either on the ice or on a thin crust. True, he turned over the steering wheel several times, both straight and sideways. On that day, only a friend had problems - he was driving no faster than 6-9 km / h, and then on lowered tires. On normally inflated even 3 km / h, the problem is that it fell, slipped every 5-10 meters. I can't imagine how many bruises and bumps I brought home. True, I also brought it - from flights over the steering wheel. One of the flights was due to the fact that one rear wheel braked sharply.
The main impression is one - NO IMPRESSIONS - normal skating without problems and uncertainty. Self-spikes "stick" to ice or a dense snowy road much better than new tires for summer clean asphalt.
Another time to the Angasolka river, drove almost 20 km along the highway and gravel road - I did not lag behind, sometimes even drove forward on the slopes, although everyone with whom they rode a small "gang", except me, rode on branded spikes.
We went down to Baikal past the village of Angasolka on a frozen dirt road. I, along the crooked and wet ice on the Angasolka River, and those on the brand spikes, along the path. The owners of the "firm" tried, one even fell, and stopped taking risks - driving on wet ice, and on Lake Baikal they did not risk sharp maneuvers, but in a straight line it was possible to race with firms on equal terms. True, at the "firm", they could afford to press the rear brake sharply and strongly - the rear wheel skidded slightly to the side, and I could fly through the steering wheel.
It is a pity that I did not take the camera and there are no pictures of those tests. Twice he drove in a company with Diagran (who knows) on his spikes both on the highway and on the snow and on the ice of Lake Baikal - you can't keep up with him and on the roads on the asphalt, he drives his usual branded spikes on ice at 35 km / h - a monster.
In the train, when setting the bike, there was no fear that clothes or fleece gloves could be torn on homemade spikes, I took it on purpose.
By the spring, it became noticeable how the drills of the screws-thorns became dull - they become semicircular, but this did not affect the holding force on the ice and rolled snow. True, due to the fact that the spikes have become a little shorter, it seems to be easier to ride on asphalt and ice. And yet - the more dull the spikes-drills, the slower their abrasion occurs - the contact surface area increases. Becomes approximately equal to the area of \u200b\u200bhardened studs, as in branded bicycle tires, without victory inserts. I hit about 700 km with thorns in the first winter, I don’t know more precisely, since the bicycle speedometer "died" after 600 km. On asphalt and concrete with ice, it turned out about 100 km, about 250 km on gravel and dirt roads, the rest about 400 km on ice and dense snow.
I think that during my operation, it will be enough to drive until some studs are replaced, at least 1500 km.
A theory proven by practice
The proposed cleat angle was derived from the reasoning that the greatest shear load on the cleat is when braking. And in order for the spike to "bite" into the ice in the best way, it must be installed at a negative angle to the support plane when moving forward.
The side spikes are also at a negative angle to the plane of support from the corresponding side, as when driving on a slope or when turning at speed. And since under shear load, the studs will deflect in the elastic rubber of the tire, this deflection will be less due to the thicker rubber behind the stud and the greater resilience of the thicker rubber layer.
I did not begin to glue the gasket between the cycling camera and the caps of the self-tapping screws, since the gluing will not be tight, and water and dust will get in the looseness - there is dirt in it, and it is not difficult to insert and remove this gasket.
How does the water get there?
Let's say you had to ride in wet places, and then remove the tire and the camera in the warmth - water from the inner volume of the rim will flow into the tire.
And you need a lot of glue - 2-3 full tubes per wheel. With a mediocre result - poor gluing quality. After all, the embossed caps will interfere with the ability to stick the rubber of the trimmed chamber to the inside of the tire. And with a thick layer of glue, "chewing" sounds will be emitted, which happened when I glued bicycle tubes to road bicycle wheels on an unnecessarily thick layer of glue - not a high-quality gluing. And since it is impossible to achieve high-quality gluing, why do it badly? After all, if you have to replace any spike, you still have to tear off the gluing.
I hope what turned out in the end, and what gave me the opportunity to be convinced of the correctness of my guesses and the applied work, will help those who are not afraid to spend labor, accuracy and attention for the final result - riding a bike where it was impossible before, but with with such tires it is safe and pleasant.
In this article we will talk about studded tires and self-studding bicycle tires at home. Let's compare the effectiveness of different studding methods with factory tires designed for winter driving.
Introduction
With the onset of winter, most cyclists stop their trips and bicycles can only wait for the spring warming. And if the obstacle in the form of cold can be solved with warm cycling or casual clothes, then when snow and ice begins, riding becomes almost impossible. We will discuss this "almost" with you.
Not for the first year I have not been abandoned by the thought that it would be nice to ride the snow-covered paths, admire the winter landscapes and breathe in the clean frosty air. And the problem has always been the fear of a slippery road, which is a great danger. I was thinking about winter tires. But their cost has always stopped - to invest from 700 to 1000 and more UAH. for multiple trips, it is highly inappropriate for our modest income.
On the Internet and on the forum, links and pictures of independent studding often flashed, but either hands did not reach, then there was no extra pair of toothy tires at hand. Finally, the desire to ride on ice and snow exceeded all "buts" and I decided to tackle the issue of self-studding of bicycle tires closely.
With the search for new information on the net, the analysis of the attempts of the bicycle brothers to make studded tires, I gradually formed the image of the ideal studding at home.
The most common mistake, in my opinion, is long spikes:
It seemed to me that it was easy to damage the tire and the camera with the head of a broken screw. I decided that the thorns still need to be bitten off or grinded. Both of these options seemed extremely laborious to me. Perhaps for this reason, the process was constantly postponed.
But the forum offered another option - instead of furniture screws (with a press washer), like these
use "flies" - the smallest self-tapping screws with a drill: 3.5 x 9.5. (lower in the photo) The experience of others has shown that they are in no hurry to tear rubber, and they weigh less.
Choice
The screws were selected and as a result of a short search were found in "Epicenter" at a price of 60 UAH. for 1000 pieces. 500 was enough for me and the purchased screws were divided into two.
Now we select the rubber. The main factor of the studding project was the minimum amount of cash investments, so that, in case of failure, not to regret the lost funds.
After asking the members of the forum for unnecessary tires and places where you can buy them inexpensively new ones, I turned up a very attractive option: a pair of Tioga Factory DH tires, which were not badly killed (and the front is almost new). The owner gladly and in the name of new research parted with them for a symbolic price of 40 UAH / piece. What's interesting about the tires: 2.3 "tread width, large thick lugs, ideally positioned for studding and probably effective in snow.
Process
Studding was carried out in the following way:
- First, use a screwdriver to drill holes in the spikes from outside to inside. The diameter of the drill remains unknown because it was bought in the market from my grandfather "by eye" - something about 1 mm.
- From the inside on the tire you can see the holes through which the drill came out. We tighten the screws through these holes from the inside. As it turned out, they are not afraid that they will turn around in the rubber once again.
- We cut the old camera along the inside, cut out the nipple
- We put the slightly inflated camera into the cut one and put it all into the tire and set it on the rim. We pump up.
At first things went very badly. At first, there was no drill and had to drill with the self-tapping screw itself from the outside, from which the fingers rubbed, the self-tapping screw constantly fell out of the non-magnetic head of the cross bit. The screws often came out off-center of the spike and had to be twisted. But from the first attempts, two rows were screwed into the rear tire: 104 screws, 52 for each row. It was decided, in view of the high labor costs, to leave two rows behind.
The front wheel was studded with a drill and some skills. 208 screws (4 rows of 52 pieces) took a little over an hour. To celebrate, I decided to add the missing 2 rows to the rear tire. The result met all my expectations and confirmed the correctness of the choice of components - the studs protruded from the rubber about as much as in expensive factory tires.
All close-up photos were taken after the test drive.
As I already wrote, another old camera was inserted inside between the screw heads and the camera, cut along the inner circle. This is what the screw caps left on it after the test drive.
Similar prints on the camera. The chamber was covered with talcum powder, which was full in the cut tire.
If you pump it up, the prints are still visible. And although it is too early to say that it is easy to wipe it even through the second chamber, I would advise you to glue the caps with something denser and not stretchable. Unfortunately, I did not find such materials and will continue to test the existing ones.
This is how the screw heads look inside the tire.
Despite the fact that the screws sit tightly in the rubber and the tire does not plan to break, I carry with me a spare tube and tire, Kenda Small Black 8, which can curl up into a small ball.
The studs on the rear tire are different from the front ones. In this model, let me remind you: Tioga Factory DH, it was conceived by the manufacturer (see photo of tires above). The rear tire I got is a little worn out and the inner row of studs sticks out 1-2 mm more. Not perfect, but I think it's better than without them.
The pressure in the cells was below normal. It was checked only with fingers. Feels like about 1.5 ATM.
Test Drive
3 more people volunteered to check the quality of the work done with me. We gathered in Leporsky Park on Sunday morning - to ride along its snowy paths, along the track of the summer eliminator.
Each of us four had studded tires. The tests were attended by:
Tioga Factory DH with 9.5 x 3.5 flies
Schwalbe ice spiker
Innova 2.35 with sawn-off thick furniture screws and additional flares. Rides studded for the 3rd year. The back is without thorns.
Kenda klondike
They waited a little more for new participants, did not wait for anyone and the test began !!!
But first, I'll tell you how I got to the park at the gathering point, located one and a half kilometers from the house.
I rolled my bike onto the landing. He clattered loudly with iron spikes on the concrete. Carefully, trying not to catch the walls, he lowered the bike from the third floor. I immediately noted that the tires do not rest against concrete at all, but slide over it. The bike is difficult to lean against the wall - it may fall.
The outside. Frost of 10-12 degrees, half-melted recent snow, turned into places where people walk and drive cars into mush and frozen in this state. Small tubercles are serious concerns. If there were no thorns, it would be very difficult to drive on them. But let's check the thorns ... Lower the saddle a couple of centimeters and go!
First meters. Fearfully. Trying to test the grip of the tires. They don't seem to slide. Braking - they stop perfectly, they slide a little, but ... As on asphalt, crushed by sand. Front braking - excellent! Quite effective, but the likelihood of blocking and subsequent skidding has increased. In general, I gradually went in full force. Yes, you have to ride on the sidewalks. It's dangerous to get on the road due to the fact that the cars are much more stable than my bike :)
Passing frozen curbs, crossing deep transverse snow-ice tracks. It's okay. The bike holds the cover as usual. Those. that's quite good. I try to ride standing up and swing - no problem! I quickly get to the park, where they are already waiting for me.
Go! We rode a lot in the park. Not only does the bike keep stable on the descent, it climbs up the hills without the slightest slippage on the trampled snow. Children, sledding and not without difficulty climbing the slides along the slippery paths, look in amazement as we drive up these slides. And even standing, even swinging.
The photo shows how Lyokha enters the turn. With a bias as usual. Studding perfectly allows you to control the bike in such conditions.
Having dashed through the park, we meet another participant in today's trip. He has no spikes in his tires and feels much less confident. And only the experience of several trips before that helps him not to fall every 10 meters.
We decide to test the braking. Find an area with an even, smooth ice crust.
The results are best viewed on video.
What happened: braking only with the rear wheel is ineffective and the braking distance is quite long. It is almost impossible to brake without thorns (0:45). Braking with both wheels is very effective (0:33), but if you pinch before pinching, the rear wheel can lock and slip (1:13), which is very likely to result in a fall.
After the park we went down to the sea. The steep descent along the steps opposite 50 Let Oktyabrya Boulevard was a good thrill. Loose melted snow does not hold the tires as confidently as ice.
Two more were waiting for us below. Both are without thorns. On my suggestion to go to the ice, one of them noticed that he had already checked in 4 times :) Ie. fell.
Indeed, the guys were very bad at driving against the strong east wind. We drove slowly, fell, they were blown away by the wind.
The photo shows a strip from my thorns. Yes, it was scary to drive on very smooth ice, but the braking did not go anywhere, you can still ride while standing.
Tellingly, it is very difficult to stand on this ice and even in the wind, but riding a bike is incomparably easier. The tires hold the ice just amazingly. Yes, I was embarrassed to allow myself to make bends with a slope and tried to go as smoothly as possible without sudden movements. Therefore, I have not yet found the limit of possibilities for tires with homemade spikes.
As a result, the guys without thorns and Lech, whose rear one remained unspiked, surrendered and made it to the shore, and we continued on the ice. Soon we drove from below into the area of \u200b\u200bthe Lyapinsky hills, drove along the beam and returned to the city. Riding on a beam, in which there was badly trampled snow, did not bring much pleasure and took a lot of energy. For some reason, my knee hurt. Probably, several circumstances superimposed on each other: increased loads, cold, low landing.
On the city streets, a frozen ice porridge was waiting for us, trampled by people and rolled by the wheels of cars, turned into dangerous hilly ice with ruts and shallow holes. Yes, the wheel often fell off a bump, but then it clung to the spikes, and over time I got used to not being distracted by such trifles. Even shallow - up to 2 cm - longitudinal tracks from the wheels on the ice ceased to be noticed.
While the guys were going to the store, Denis called me and reminded me that we were planning to take a picture of "his charm", which became an intrigue for a whole week :) I returned back to Vostochny. Several dozen photos and home.
Winter riding
A few comments and observations on winter driving.
The temperature in the morning was 12 degrees and may have risen somewhat during the trip. I got dressed noticeably warmer than 0 degrees, namely:
- two insulated cycling pants
- 3 pairs of socks, one of which is warmed, shoe covers, summer cycling shoes with contacts
- two pairs of gloves, one - cycling, the second - knitted
- "antiaircraft", T-shirt with sleeves and fleece, Nalini thermal jacket, bright windbreaker.
- on the head there are two usual Buff "a, one of which is not original. Helmet. Glasses.
In all this, I felt very comfortable. Not even freezing in the wind. Unless the little fingers on the hands could freeze at sea, and the toes at long stops. Tellingly, he did not sweat from overheating, although even in the park with many climbs he purposefully tried not to overheat. I didn't have one face mask, but sometimes, when driving against the wind, I wanted to put it on. I think that up to -10 degrees below zero it is not particularly needed and driving without it is a habit. On the other hand, when actively driving in the park on the hills, I breathed in cold air several times, but it turned out to be without consequences.
Conclusion
It was a great ride. I drove a total of 26.5 km. And guys under 50, tk. drove from the center.
The tires were very good. The final budget was 110 UAH. (80 UAH tires, 30 UAH screws). All the efforts spent were not in vain and, moreover, exceeded all expectations. Together we decided that on the ice my tires are better than the rest. The Schwalbe Ice Spiker lagged slightly behind, with smaller spikes and not pointed, but with sharp edges on cylindrical protrusions. Artem with Kenda Klondike lacked the central studs, and Leha should have studded the rear tire so that he would not walk up the slopes. It is very dangerous to ride without studs and especially for the first time.
Next weekend we will try to repeat the departure. But this time we will have to deal more with the snow, of which a lot has fallen.
You can find many fans not only to eat ice cream in winter, but also to ride a bike, regardless of weather conditions. And some in this way strive to reduce the travel time - after all, it is easier to quickly get there in your two-wheeled vehicle than to splash on the slush for a long time, getting your feet wet. If you belong to autumn lovers and you probably wondered how to make studded rubber for a bicycle with your own hands. It is no secret that factory-made studded tires cost fabulous money, and this applies even to tires made in China. What can we say about branded models?
There are holes, ledges, stones on the roads, which are much more difficult to notice in puddles and slush, under ice and snow. This means that it is much easier to damage the tire in the autumn-winter period. And if it's expensive and needs to be changed again, the burden on your budget can become overwhelming. There is a way out - to make spikes on a bicycle with your own hands. It's much easier than it sounds, and it probably won't take more than a couple of hours. Moreover, the cost of the necessary parts is minimal. So, let's spike your bike.
Items you will need
- Bicycle tire.
The tire itself, which we will spike. You can buy an inexpensive one, or you can take, even an erased one that you planned to throw away. It is quite suitable to practice and understand how to make cleats on a bicycle, and it is likely that it will last a lot, and if necessary, you can easily make another. But if you choose a new tire, it is better to give preference to the one with deeper tread. It is advisable that there is a thicker layer of rubber in the places where you will add the spikes.
- Self-tapping screws with a wide head.
Self-tapping screws 4.2 × 13 mm are best suited. The fact is that part of the self-tapping screw will go into the rubber, another part will be erased during driving. Therefore, shorter self-tapping screws may be short-lived, but if there is no other option, then you can take shorter ones. A wide head is needed for a good fixation of the self-tapping screw on the inside of the tire. In terms of quantity, you need as many screws as there are studs you want to add to your bike.
- Super glue.
Anyone that you have at hand will do. A universal super glue will be enough. But if you are choosing a glue specifically for making a studded bicycle tire, then you can use super glue for rubber.
- Awl or drill with a thin drill.
Of course, with a drill it will be much easier for you, but if you don't have a drill, a regular awl will do.
- Phillips screwdriver suitable for self-tapping screws.
- Old bicycle camera.
Put all the items next to you, take care of good lighting, as you have to find small holes in the tire, and get to work!
Instructions for making studded rubber
Next, we give detailed instructions on how to make a studded one. Of course, first of all, the tire must be disassembled. After that, examine it and select the places where the thorns will be. As mentioned above, it is better to choose places where the rubber is thicker, because the screws will hold on more firmly in it and there will be no tears. You can also make cleats on the side of the tire so that they point towards the ground at an angle. They will make it easier for you to ride your bike, as the side spikes will make it easier to take turns on an icy road.
It is best to make four rows of studs: two rows on the bottom of the tire and two rows on the sides.
Now let's start directly with the process. Take a drill or an awl and punch a hole through the tread where the first spike will be. There is a little trick here that will greatly simplify the work.
Important! Make a puncture from the outside, not from the inside. This way you will see exactly where the spike will come out, and will not fall into the thin section of rubber.
Then, from the inside of the tire, squeeze a drop of super glue into the hole. Take a self-tapping screw and use a screwdriver to screw it into the hole until it stops. It is not necessary to overtighten so as not to create an additional load on the rubber. At the same time, the head of the screw must fit snugly enough to the tire for the superglue to hold it in place.
Important! Insert each self-tapping screw immediately after piercing. If you first make all the punctures and then start inserting the screws, it will be very difficult for you to find the holes, especially if your tire is black on the inside.
Now you have a rather monotonous job of adding all the spikes. But it won't take too long. And when your tire is studded with spikes around the entire circumference, having acquired a rather futuristic look, you can rejoice at the results of your labor: do-it-yourself studded rubber for a bicycle is ready!
There is only one final, but not insignificant detail left: you need to make a gasket so that the screw heads do not wipe the camera of your bike. The easiest way to make such a gasket is from an old chamber. But you can get creative and use pieces of leather or other material. If you don't have anything like this at hand, just slit the old tube lengthwise and wrap it around your bike tube. You can lubricate it from the inside with superglue for better fixation. Put on your new studded rubber on top and go ahead, you can test it!
Be prepared for the fact that at first a variety of debris, dry leaves and other objects caught underneath will cling to the thorns. But over time, the screws will become a little dull and this problem will disappear. Good luck on the road!
So, it's winter… (although now, in the winter of 2006/07, sometimes it doesn't seem so). Sooner or later, every active (and not occasionally) cyclist who rides in winter will be struck by the thought: why not get hold of studded tires? And the more painful and unpleasant the reasons that gave rise to this thought, the sooner it will reign undividedly in the head of a cyclist ... Cycling culture is slowly moving from the West to our dense steppes, and traders followed it, driven by a well-known truth from school times - “Demand creates supply” - in pursuit of our hard-earned banknotes. Now it is no longer a problem to buy factory studded rubber in Kazan, in contrast to the winters of six or seven years ago - you just need to hurry up in time. In the sports shops of Kazan, one could even see some variety of studded rubber: as many as 3-4 different models from 2-3 manufacturers. However, at the moment, there is still some incompleteness of the problem of providing everyone with studded bicycle tires ...
Firstly, there was very little of the spiked rubber delivered. What was in stores was quickly sold out by the season - and some of those who wanted to buy this rubber could not do it ... Secondly, the choice of models is still too small - mainly budget models were brought in, with a small number of thorns, it seems to me, due to the insufficient development of the winter cycling subculture. And finally - about despicable metal. The cost of a set of factory rubber for both wheels could easily be on the order of the monthly salary of a university teacher or other state budget employees. Ce la vie ...
So, studded tires are needed - but not everyone gets them. Conclusion - let's do it ourselves. The method of studding tires presented here is not my invention, in addition, in the network you can find a number of descriptions of studding both with the presented method (using screws) and some others. Nevertheless, it seems useful to once again describe the entire procedure in detail, accompanied by a sufficient number of illustrations.
1. The first task to be solved is finding a suitable tire... Requirements for a potential victim of vivisection:
Hard rubber, since when braking on ice, depending on the tread pattern, usually no more than 8-10 studs work, respectively, and the load will fall on 8-10 tread elements (hereinafter referred to as "buns").
The buns themselves should be as large as possible so that there is enough rubber around the screw to hold it.
The tread pattern should suit your idea of \u200b\u200boptimal stud placement.
To illustrate the studding process when writing this text, the following tire was chosen (original appearance):
The tire was produced by an unnamed Chinese company, world famous for its quality level, which manufactures its products under the SUPERDIAMOND trademark:
The tread pattern of the purchased tire is as follows:
There are the following comments to it:
the "buns" are somewhat small and, as it will become clear later, the screws with a diameter of 4.2 mm, chosen for studding, will have a rather small rubber "side" holding them in case of careless studding;
The tread is not symmetrical about the plane of the tire, which can lead to "yaw" of the wheel when braking, however, a test drive is still ahead.
Relatively close to the axis of the tire in a "zigzag" position there are only 108 "buns" - and 108 more closer to the sides. They may only work in turns ... Total - there may not be enough studs.
2 ... The next task is selection of screws... There are a lot of screws in local markets and shops, and finding something suitable is usually not difficult. Requirements for screws:
Flat on the outside (or at least no sharp edges) and as large an area as possible (to better distribute the load on the camera).
The length, on the one hand, exceeding the thickness of the "buns" is enough to stick out, and, on the other hand, not too long, since the excess will have to be cut / bite off / grinded down - an additional difficult operation.
Hardness - Spikes should not grind on the pavement in one day. "Self-tapping screws for metal" will do.
In our case, the choice fell on "universal self-tapping screws with a press washer" size 4.2x20. The length is too big, but I didn't want to look for others. I sniffed that I liked the first. But the hats are a feast for the eyes! They look like this:
It should be noted that there are the same screws only 11 mm long, but they were not available where I took them. That would be better.
3. We start to spike. For this we need an awl and a Phillips screwdriver. The process is obvious - we pierce a hole in the "bun" - if possible in the center:
If you prick from the side of the tread, it is more convenient to aim, more precisely, the holes are located. Then we screw the screw into the tire from the inside. To do this, you can turn it inside out a little. It turns out something like this:
"Wah-wah-wah! And so 216 times in a row." (with).
A little about how you can speed up this tiresome process. It is clear that there is no escape from piercing the hole and tightening the screws. But the constant turning of the tire back and forth takes quite a lot of time. This can be avoided by turning the tire inside out right away. At the same time, since the thickness of the rubber in different places is significantly different (where the "buns" are located - it is noticeably thicker), then even when turned inside out, it looks heterogeneous. Where "buns" are located on the reverse side, the seamy surface of the rubber has small concavities. The following picture illustrates this point:
The desired concavities are shown by arrows (although you can still see it rather poorly in the photograph - turn your tire inside out and see what it is about). With some practice, it is possible to pierce the screw holes directly from the inside out, guided by these concavities. After some practice, it turns out to prick quite accurately, while the tire does not need to be constantly turned back and forth, which saves time, and the sharp ends of the screws are directed inward, which reduces the likelihood of scratching them. However, those who wish can perform this operation with gloves. It will look like this:
After a certain time, sufficient to tighten all the screws (in our case - 216 pcs.), The tire from the wrong side will look like this:
From the side of the tread, at this stage, it resembles a gutted hedgehog turned inside out:
Turn the tire back to normal. The relationship with hedgehogs is becoming more prominent:
Side view:
Now is the time to put the studded tire on the wheel for the first time. Naturally, the camera must be protected from contact with the screw heads to avoid rupture. To do this, the easiest way is to use an old, cut lengthwise, with the nipple removed, the camera. As practice shows, for the front wheel, which carries a relatively small load, this is quite enough. for the rear, most likely, some more powerful protection may be required. There was a mention of the use for this purpose of a pipe cut along the road.
So, we take the old camera, which will be working as a gasket:
We inflate the main chamber, which is to be pumped, a little so that it keeps its shape, but not so much that the wheel with it cannot then be folded up:
We put on the gasket camera on the camera slightly pumped up in this way:
Then, as usual, we put on a studded tire on the wheel rim with one side, insert a "chamber" sandwich, completely fasten the tire and inflate the wheel. It turns out something like this:
Quite a spiteful hedgehog ...
4. And then it came - the second part of the Marlezon ballet. The screws must be shortened to the required length. The following options are possible here:
The screws were taken short enough, and the protector, on the contrary, was thick enough - in this case, nothing would be needed to bite off.
Too long ends can be ground off with an emery wheel. But not everyone has this item on the farm, it is also noisy and dusty. But the option is quite working ...
Finally, the ends of the screws can simply be bitten off with a simple hand tool - all kinds of nippers, pliers and so on.
For example, here is a photo of a tire with short screws that did not bite at all:
Now, suppose that end biting is still necessary (as in our case). Let's talk about the tool. It is quite clear that the tool is different, as well as screws, too. The simplest option available in every home and promising hard work is conventional pliers or pliers with one axis. The mechanical gain in strength is small, so they can only bite thin screws (or only the ends of thicker ones). The screws should be relatively soft - otherwise the wire cutters will deteriorate quickly enough - and there will be little sense from them. A more convenient option is pliers with additional levers (in the picture below; on top, for comparison, ordinary pliers):
Such pliers are less common in stores, but I managed to find them from a motorist friend. Since in this case the screws are thick and hard, even such powerful nippers were not particularly enough. Bite off the screws so that the ends remain about 1.5-2.5 mm long. However, it seems that special accuracy is not needed here. As a result, I still managed to bite all 216 screws - but in 5 evenings, that is, after 40 screws on average, I was pretty tired of this occupation, and my fingers were no longer able to press on the handles of the nippers. When working, it is useful to use protective glasses (I wear the most common ones in which I ride a bicycle) - since the ends of the screws that are bitten off tend to fly vigorously in all directions. Gloves also do not interfere - the screws are now sticking out. As a result, we have the desired studded tire. 216 spines arranged in two "curved" rows. She still does not pull on a four-row one.
Project costs:
Tire - 160r.
Screws - 216pcs x 35kop - 76r.
Russian-made camera gasket (rubber is thicker and cheaper) - 60 rubles.
Total 296r. Whether it is worth contacting this option - everyone decides for himself. Possible alternatives are either riding without studs (which can be a bit heady), or buying factory rubber (which may not be possible either for financial reasons - or simply because there is no such rubber in stores).
Top view of the finished product:
Cycling enthusiasts often have to buy expensive winter tires to ride in cold and freezing weather. A single studded tire will cost an incredible amount of money, even if it is made in China, not to mention branded manufacturers. It is much easier to make studded tires yourself and it will be much cheaper. However, you will have to spend a lot of time creating such a rubber. Although in words, everything is quite simple.
For step-by-step instructions, see this video.
To work you need:
- old tire;
- self-tapping screws with a wide head;
- awl;
- glue moment;
- gloves;
- screwdriver;
- scissors;
- camera.
Self-tapping screws need to be taken not very long, but always with wide caps. So the fastening will be more reliable.
First of all, we need to remove and disassemble the tire from the wheel. Now we take an awl and pierce holes in those places where we will insert thorns. Please note that punctures should be made in the thickened areas of the tire. Because in thinner ones - rubber can disperse.
We pierce holes along the entire wheel in this way, the work is quite laborious and dreary.
After all the holes have been made, we proceed to further work.
Be sure to mark all the holes made from the inside, with a chalk or a pen, the main thing is that you can see them well in order to get into them.
Now we take glue and apply a drop to each hole from the inside. Then we take a self-tapping screw and screw it into the hole with a screwdriver or screwdriver. Do not twist them too tightly.
There are about 350 studs per wheel, but you can do more, or you can do more. Take a look at your own discretion. The work is quite long and dreary, so be patient in advance, screwing in the screws one by one. Remember to apply glue before screwing in the screw. This is important to keep it securely in place.
Don't coat too many dots at once, 4-5 will be enough. Otherwise, the glue will dry out and the adhesion of the screw head to the tire surface will not be good enough.
Advice: if your tire is dark inside, take a moment with transparent glue, this will allow you to see exactly where you made the hole and not make a mistake when screwing in the screw.
After all the screws are in place, we take the camera and cut it along, along the seam. This is necessary in order to put it under the camera, which will help to avoid friction on the spikes and wiping it. We wrap the inflated chamber with the cut camera. Can also be glued for security. We put on studded rubber on top and tests can be carried out.