Winter came and I had to do something with the bike so as not to fall on the ice. I could buy ready-made studded bike tires - it would cost me 4-5 thousand rubles. Not only because of the desire to save money, but also from the eternal desire to do something with my own hands, I decided to make winter bike tires myself.
It was bought: 2 budget tires for 250 rubles. each; 400 pcs. 13 mm. self-tapping screws (about 100 rubles).
Tires were chosen with large "teeth" so that self-tapping screws could fit comfortably in them. In total, the tire had 80 + 140 + 80 teeth. I didn’t want to screw in 300 screws, so I inserted screws into the side rows through one. As a result, about 190-200 self-tapping screws were inserted into each tire. This made the tires about 200 grams heavier.
So, tires are bought, self-tapping screws - too. We must get to work. First you need to make the guide holes in the tires. Without them, self-tapping screws will often go crooked and come out in the wrong place. It is very important that the self-tapping screws "peep out" from the center of the "tooth" - this will extend the life of the tire. To do this, I took a drill and began to drill holes. It was hard to say the least, so I came up with new way: clamped a nail with pliers, heated it over a fire and made holes in tires with it. It wasn't difficult anymore, but it still took a long time. And then a brilliant idea came to my mind - to make holes with an awl! The sewer was not at home, so I had to buy it. Making holes with an awl is the best option.
The holes are ready, it's time to screw in the screws. I bought self-tapping screws for 13 mm with a press washer. It is very important to buy with a press washer, because. only they have a fairly wide "hat". I screwed the screws into the tire with a regular screwdriver. The tire was not turned inside out. The main thing is that the screws are screwed in evenly. You don't need to put them on glue. The self-tapping screw must be screwed in so that at the exit it slightly presses the rubber thread under itself.
Here's what I got:
The last photo shows that on the side rows the screws are inserted through one. Empty teeth are also sometimes found in the center, the order there is: 1-2-1-1-2-1-1-2-1, etc.
Screws are screwed in, let's move on. Now they need to be sharpened. I didn’t have a sharpener, so I asked a friend to sharpen the spikes. The self-tapping screws were hefty strong and the grindstone was more likely to grind off than they were. But, anyway, they managed to undermine them. On one tire, the studs were slightly longer; I put it on the front wheel, because there is less load on it and the quality of handling depends on it. The side row of self-tapping screws can be turned weaker (the main thing is that they are not sharp), because they will only work when cornering. A tire with turned screws looks like this:
This is the front wheel. On the back, the spikes are one and a half times shorter.
Self-tapping screws are screwed in and turned, but that's not all. So that the caps of the self-tapping screws do not damage the camera, you need to make a lining. To do this, I brutally cut two cells - one old and one, I'm not afraid of this word, new. Now you can collect the wheel. When laying the camera, be careful not to scratch it on the spikes.
Yesterday I tested my homemade winter bike tires by riding about 25 km on snow and about 35 km on asphalt. When driving on asphalt, a rather loud noise is created, but this cannot be called a big drawback. When driving on snow and ice, the tires proved to be the best - while my friends on ordinary tires constantly fell on ice, I drove absolutely without bothering, as if on asphalt :) If we compare studded tires with ordinary ones, albeit with an evil tread , under emergency braking, the difference is simply monstrous. Heaven and earth! With studded tires, during heavy braking at high speed on ice, it does not skid at all, the studs leave a deep mark on the ice.
There is only one drawback - it is difficult to maintain a high speed of riding and a little more difficult to ride in general. This is felt when driving on asphalt, but driving on ice / snow is a real pleasure.
As I said, about 35 km yesterday I had to drive on bare asphalt. A friend with much more experience said that when I got home I would have to change the tires, as the asphalt spikes would wear off. But it turned out that the screws were practically not worn out. They only turned and became not sharp, but the length remained the same. However, it is worth noting that it doesn’t happen every time - I was just lucky with the purchase of high-quality self-tapping screws. In general, driving on asphalt on such rubber, although not desirable, is possible if you keep a low speed.
And finally, a short video:
As winter came, and it became impossible to ride on summer tires, I faced a problem - I needed studded tires. After reviewing the options for factory tires from Nokian and their prices, I firmly decided to stud the rubber myself. After rummaging around on the Internet, I came across one detailed description of wheel studding, but that option did not inspire me at all, since the laboriousness did not quite correspond to the result obtained. Later, I read on some forum a mention of the possibility of studding with self-tapping screws. Deciding to work on this idea, I rushed to the shops. So, in the end, it was purchased:
- 2 tires KENDA KINETICS - 460 rubles pcs;
- 3 tubes rubber glue- 30 rub pcs;
- 220 self-tapping screws - ~50 rubles;
To install the self-tapping screws, I chose rows of treads running on the sides from the central part of the tire. To begin with, I had to drill holes in the appropriate places with a drill with a diameter of 2 mm. (I want to warn you, do not drill large holes!) In total, the tire has more than 108 holes. Next, you need to degrease inside tires, I used stinky acetone for this. (Remember, all work with such muck as acetone must be done in a ventilated area and preferably with gloves and goggles. Those who are most concerned about their health can wear a rubber apron). Now we take the glue and smearing the self-tapping screws in there, we screw them from the inside of the tire. Believe me, it's not difficult, self-tapping screws smeared with glue are easily screwed into the marked holes. After all the self-tapping screws are screwed in, you need to wait for the glue to "grab". At this time, we take a camera and cut out strips of 5 centimeters wide from it. We wash them from talc, dry and degrease. By this time, the glue on the screws should already dry (30 minutes is enough) and we proceed to the second part of the manufacture winter tires. We glue the inside of the tire and the cut strip from the unnecessary camera with glue. We stand for a couple of minutes and glue the rubber strip inside the tire, right on top of the self-tapping screws. I advise you to glue in small sections of 10-20 cm, so it is easier to deal with quick-drying glue. It is necessary to ensure that in all places the rubber strip fits snugly against the tire. After this, you can leave the tire to dry for 20 hours.
Mighty self-tapping caps show through under the rubber strip
Here you are holding your first homemade tire in your hands, but something is clearly embarrassing you ... Oh, yes! Sharp screws sticking out a centimeter remind you of wheels from racing motorcycles for ice tracks! This can be corrected. Find the most powerful wire cutters, and bite off the excess. It is necessary to bite off so that about 3-5 mm remains outside. Exactly all the same, it will not work, you can not try. To be honest, the most painful procedure in the manufacture of these tires is just shortening the protruding screws. Moreover, this is proportional to the hardness of the metal of the screws. The total time to make one tire is about 8 hours, but it's worth it, so stock up on strength and patience.
A few tips for using these tires.
- 1. Always inflate the chambers in such tires to the maximum, otherwise, when hitting a hard object, the tire will “pierce” the screw head to the rim, and these are two holes in the chamber at once. So far, I have been experimenting with pressure, piercing the chamber three times, and two holes are obtained during the breakdown.
- 2. Remember - the tires you made are not a complete analogue of the WXC 300 :), so don't forget and drive carefully.
- 3. Do not leave the tires wet for a long time, the self-tapping screws will begin to rust.
- 4. In any case, brag to people you know and not so familiar with your custom tires.
Now my observations and feelings:
A few words about rubber. KENDA KINETICS justified the investment. On loose snow, they row not very well. But they have a very soft rubber that does not petrify in the cold. If you stud the central tread, then you can certainly increase the "rowing" properties of the tire (BUT I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS, BECAUSE IT IS A GREAT LOAD ON THE CENTER, and the probability of a puncture increases by ~ 30%).
During the ride, the spikes have been sharpened quite a bit. Literally just a little. But since bare asphalt is rare in winter, the problem of stud wear is practically absent.
Today we will talk about how to install studs on a bicycle tire yourself to make winter studded bike tires. We will also consider the methods of mounting homemade spikes on bicycle tires with your own hands in order to ride a bicycle in winter
Cycling, of course, means more riding in the warm season, but some extreme cyclists do not leave their “iron horses” alone in winter, arranging winter rides in nature or simply using them as a regular vehicle.
The operation of a bicycle in winter requires not only excellent physical fitness of the cyclist, but also makes special demands on the bicycle. So a few useful tips for winter cycling:
Be sure to install winter studded tires. With frequent movement on ice or rolled snow, tires with at least 200-350 spikes are needed; for driving along city streets, there may be fewer spikes - from 50 to 200 pieces.
If the bike has only caliper brakes, then at least one of them (in front) must be replaced with a disc brake. The thing is that V-brake brakes, working on a rim clamp, significantly lose their effectiveness in cold weather due to icing of the rims. The wheel can make up to 10 revolutions from the moment the brake is applied. What kind of safety can we talk about when a bicycle travels a distance of 20 meters in 10 revolutions? In the cold, disc brakes also perform worse than in summer, but still significantly more effective than V-brake brakes.
· When driving on winter roads, the chain is sure to become clogged with dirt and road chemicals. After each ride, be sure to clean and lubricate the chain.
· When driving on snow, the sprockets and gear shifters become clogged with snow very quickly. It is recommended to periodically stop and clean the gearshift mechanism.
· If there are cracks or chips on the paintwork of the bike, paint over the damaged areas, otherwise the rust will corrode the frame, and in the summer you will have nothing to ride on.
· The seals of the bushing and the carriage “tan” in the cold, letting in dirt and other nasty things. We recommend disassembling and relubricating the bushings and carriage once every two months.
It gets dark very quickly in winter, so be sure to install a red flasher and reflectors on your bike to indicate your presence in the dark, and install a headlight in front, preferably LED.
Many cyclists ask themselves the question in winter whether to switch to studded tires or not. One of the decisive factors against bicycle studs is the considerable price of high-quality winter tires. Only one bicycle tire with spikes can cost five thousand rubles - they are not always ready to spend so much on bicycle tires.
But by the way, such rubber is worth the money - the spikes reliably bite into the ice areas, allowing the bike to maintain the trajectory.
No desire to buy? Can do it yourself
Let's say right away, rolling at self-studded it is unlikely to be saved, but a decent contact with the ice surface can be achieved completely.
What do we need for self-manufacturing studded bike tires:
An old tire with a high tread (completely worn out will not work);
- awl;
- a couple of hundred self-tapping screws with a press washer;
- silicone, or shoe glue;
- an old bicycle chamber;
- pliers;
- screwdriver;
- file.
All necessary materials found? Begin!
Decide what kind of drawing you are going to do. Optimal for most cases - insert spikes in three rows - on the sides and in the center. The center can be dispensed with to preserve the roll and give the rubber the properties of a winter grip for cornering and in narrow ice ruts.
You can also stud in four rows - this is especially reasonable if the checkers in the tread have an even number.
Having decided on the patterns of the spikes, mark the punctures in the centers of the lugs (bumps) of the tire.
Turn the tire inside out and start screwing a self-tapping screw into the pierced hole - a small part of it should come out right in the center of the lug. The job is tedious and long.
At the next stage, we begin to make a fur coat. To do this, we need an old bike chamber. Cut it, lay the inside of the tire (not to the very edge of the cord), measure and align everything again and start attaching it to the glue. The task of a fur coat is to protect a working bicycle chamber from cuts with self-tapping screws.
The next step involves grinding the screws to an acceptable level. The lateral ones can be left, but the radial spikes will have to be cut off. Leave the edges of the radial screws protruding no more than 1-2 mm. From the side - to taste.
What to cut? - wire cutters, pliers, file, grinder. With wire cutters or pliers you will make a rough cut, and with a file you will level it for a condition close to what we see on the factory rubber.
That's all.
Features of self-made winter bike tires
Not the most ideal roll;
- Pretty massive mass of construction;
- An archaic spike, inferior to what we see on factory tires;
- Cheap and cheerful!
Video instruction
Is all this necessary?
The stud is yours for those who ride downhill, or participate in country races, or bike tours.
It is customary to clean downhill tracks before skiing, but the ground will not become softer because of this - the spike increases grip on frozen ground, this is important and you can feel it.
In winter country racing without studs, it is objectively more difficult to work at full strength. As long as the snow is soft, it's good, but the sections on the tracks are different.
In cycling tourism, the spike is safety. When you ride along the tracks, think about how dangerous the wheel is to leave on a sudden icy hummock, and even off the tracks - in the forest, on snow-caked areas, cycling saves fans of winter cycling trips.
Buy a good bike tire for winter, or make your own, as described above in the article. There will be less rolling, but the advantages of its use are still greater.
Cycling is an enjoyable pastime for many. But for those who like to ride a bike in the winter, other studded tires are provided. Next, we will need a tool: a good, suitable screwdriver for self-tapping screws, a 7 head (8 screwdriver or drill, drill (2-3mm chalk, awl, spacer for the tire. We mark the tire, the places where the spike will sit. You can use chalk or a marker We mark evenly, taking into account the fact that in large numbers spikes, the weight of the tire increases, and if it is small, the necessary grip will not be provided. Here you need a creative approach. Also, one should not forget about the weakening of the tire, due to the rupture of the cord with a drill and self-tapping screws. We drill the marked places with a drill with a diameter of 2-3 mm. We insert between the sides.
Tires "made" in one evening with a screwdriver, by eye. Between the chamber and the tire, the gasket is a one-layer adhesive tape. Self-tapping screws are the smallest, 2.5x10. Impressions: tires are extremely inconvenient to install, new self-tapping screws prick. On ice and packed snow, grip is very good. The motobike leaves the icy track at a very small angle without problems. Holds the road when braking and cornering. It is impossible to ride on loose snow - the resistance force is too great. In the photo the wheel after 400 km. Half on ice, the other half on asphalt. #eleven.
We rest with a screwdriver the self-tapping screw into the slots, outside the head. We twist so that the first thread of the thread appears above the nut. We visually and manually control that the tire is well crimped with the stud head on the inside and the washer with the nut on the outside. And so with every thorn. Be careful, the ends of the screws are traumatic! May suffer: body and limbs, clothes, parquet, lacquered / polished objects and especially impressionable animals! Do not forget that at speed and during rotation, such a wheel can seriously injure both its owner and others. When assembling the wheel between the chamber and the tire. Today I decided to update the worn self-tapping screws on the rear wheel of my bike. Why only in the back? Because they didn’t wear out on the front :) Although the front wheel is mainly responsible for handling, I wanted to update the screws on the rear to get rid of slips and drifts on ice.
So, although the self-tapping screws on the front wheel have worn off a little, they still have to roll and roll, and I don’t see the point in replacing them, they work well. On the rear wheel, the self-tapping screws have worn off almost completely and there is already very little effect from them: I began to slip heavily on ice, the rear wheel often blows away. There were no falls, but control over the road weakened.
I want to tell you more about how the wear of self-tapping screws occurs. Only the center row is sewn. The side rows work very rarely, so they hardly wear out on both wheels. The front wheel is lightly loaded, so they practically do not wear out there. On the back wheel, everything is more serious. Imagine that we have a wheel with new self-tapping screws. After 10-20 km of driving on asphalt, the self-tapping screws will noticeably undercut. Then the wear rate will decrease. After 40-60 km of asphalt, the self-tapping screws will already protrude from the rubber quite a bit, but will still provide good grip on ice. After that, the wear rate will decrease even more and only after 100-200 km of asphalt they will wear out so that they stop working. Therefore, do not be alarmed if you notice that after a few kilometers asphalt pavement the brand new self-tapping screws have noticeably worn off :) I have driven a little more than 400 km this winter so far and only now I decided to stud the tires again. Moreover, we must remember that the winter of 2011-2012 until mid-January was almost snowless and I had to drive almost exclusively on asphalt. I think if the winter was normal, my spikes would last until spring.
I will also mention pads. After the chamber was cut 3 times with self-tapping screws, I decided to take extreme measures and made a gasket between the chamber and the tire from three old chambers on the rear wheel, and on the front - from the old semi-slick tire. The bike has become noticeably heavier, but I got used to it and now I can maintain a fairly high speed.
So, here's what the old worn screws look like. They don't really help anymore.
This is what it looks like new, just screwed on. They look scary, but you only need to be afraid of linoleum :)
Replacing screws is not difficult. I just unscrewed the old ones and screwed in the new ones. The side rows, of course, did not touch. It took less than an hour to unscrew the old screws. It took a little over an hour to screw in the new ones. Rubber, by the way, practically did not wear out and new self-tapping screws sat down quite tightly. I also want to draw your attention to the fact that although I use the most budgetary tires (250 rubles apiece), its condition can be assessed as excellent, despite the fact that I drove at least 300 km on asphalt and only a little more than a hundred on snow (winter is , damn it, snowless). Those. self-tapping screws reduced rubber wear when driving on asphalt.
Last time I asked a friend to grind my self-tapping screws to the required length. The second time I don’t want to disturb a person, and I decided not to grind the screws at all. As you can see in the photo, they protrude from the rubber by 0.5 cm
I was hoping that I would ride a few kilometers on asphalt and they would be undermined. Actually, this almost happened, only they did not grind off, but broke off a little at the tips. Already after a couple of (quite heavy, by the way) kilometers of asphalt, they were without sharp ends, and after 10 km of asphalt and 20 km of snow (well, snow does not count), the self-tapping screws are quite suitable, slightly hypertrophied spikes that hold perfectly on ice and protrude only on 1.5-2 mm. Now that they have become shorter, their wear will be noticeably reduced and you can safely ride
Actually, the result is this: there is no need to grind new self-tapping screws, it is enough just to ride literally 2-3 km on asphalt.
Studded bicycle tires enable its owner to enjoy cycling in ice and snow, without fear that he will not cope with the movement and fall on a bad road. After all, the road is often simply unpredictable in the winter period of driving.
Studded tires are similar to automotive counterparts, with a durable metal tread that is located on both sides of the tire. It makes it possible to drive on an icy surface without problems, but on condition that the wheels are not strongly pumped.
The studs themselves are on the tire various shapes:
- pointed;
- flat.
In addition, studded tires come with a different number of studs.
One type is double-row tires. They are located on the sides. With a good pumping of the wheel, they practically do not come into contact with the surface, only when turning. This applies to those weather conditions when there is no ice on the surface of the asphalt. But if you need to drive on an icy surface, the wheel should be less inflated. And the weather will work exactly those side metal spikes that are necessary for contact with a slippery surface.
Another type is four-row tires. They are similar to two-row tires, but the difference is that they also have an additional two rows of studs. That is, the number of spikes on the tire is increased by one and a half times. They are more powerful, make it possible to move comfortably where there are no normal roads. But first of all, they are designed for driving on an icy surface, but at the same time it makes it possible to drive on roads.
Important when using such a tire:
1.It does not carry out strong pumping. And then the steep turns, and the descents will be nothing to the cyclist.
2. And then it allows good grip of the tire on a slippery surface.
3. Absence of sharp braking and studded tires will last long enough.
And after installing studded tires, you need to go through the break-in process. But this must be done very carefully. This is necessary in order not to harm the spikes themselves and the tire. The running-in process itself is carried out precisely on asphalt and for an hour with a slow movement of the bicycle. This will provide the studded tire with more long term service in good condition and without loss of spikes. And then any bike ride will be a joy even in winter.
Winter came and I had to do something with the bike so as not to fall on the ice. I could buy ready-made studded bike tires - it would cost me 4-5 thousand rubles. Not only because of the desire to save money, but also from the eternal desire to do something with my own hands, I decided to make winter bike tires myself.
It was bought: 2 budget tires for 250 rubles. each; 400 pcs. 13 mm. self-tapping screws (about 100 rubles).
Tires were chosen with large "teeth" so that self-tapping screws could fit comfortably in them. In total, the tire had 80 + 140 + 80 teeth. I didn’t want to screw in 300 screws, so I inserted screws into the side rows through one. As a result, about 190-200 self-tapping screws were inserted into each tire. This made the tires about 200 grams heavier.
So, tires are bought, self-tapping screws - too. We must get to work. First you need to make the guide holes in the tires. Without them, self-tapping screws will often go crooked and come out in the wrong place. It is very important that the self-tapping screws "peep out" from the center of the "tooth" - this will extend the life of the tire. To do this, I took a drill and began to drill holes. It was hard, to say the least, so I came up with a new way: I clamped a nail with pliers, heated it over a fire and made holes in tires with it. It wasn't difficult anymore, but it still took a long time. And then a brilliant idea came to my mind - to make holes with an awl! The sewer was not at home, so I had to buy it. Making holes with an awl is the best option.
The holes are ready, it's time to screw in the screws. I bought self-tapping screws for 13 mm with a press washer. It is very important to buy with a press washer, because. only they have a fairly wide "hat". I screwed the screws into the tire with a regular screwdriver. The tire was not turned inside out. The main thing is that the screws are screwed in evenly. You don't need to put them on glue. The self-tapping screw must be screwed in so that at the exit it slightly presses the rubber thread under itself.
Screws are screwed in, let's move on. Now they need to be sharpened. I didn’t have a sharpener, so I asked a friend to sharpen the spikes. The self-tapping screws were hefty strong and the grindstone was more likely to grind off than they were. But, anyway, they managed to undermine them. On one tire, the studs were slightly longer; I put it on the front wheel, because there is less load on it and the quality of handling depends on it. The side row of self-tapping screws can be turned weaker (the main thing is that they are not sharp), because they will only work when cornering. Tire with turned screws looks like this
Self-tapping screws are screwed in and turned, but that's not all. So that the caps of the self-tapping screws do not damage the camera, you need to make a lining. To do this, I brutally cut two cells - one old and one, I'm not afraid of this word, new. Now you can collect the wheel. When laying the camera, be careful not to scratch it on the spikes.
Yesterday I tested my homemade winter bike tires by riding about 25 km on snow and about 35 km on asphalt. When driving on asphalt, a rather loud noise is created, but this cannot be called a big drawback. When driving on snow and ice, the tires proved to be the best - while my friends on ordinary tires constantly fell on ice, I drove absolutely without bothering, as if on asphalt :) If we compare studded tires with ordinary ones, albeit with an evil tread , under emergency braking, the difference is simply monstrous. Heaven and earth! With studded tires, during heavy braking at high speed on ice, it does not skid at all, the studs leave a deep mark on the ice.
There is only one drawback - it is difficult to maintain a high speed of riding and a little more difficult to ride in general. This is felt when driving on asphalt, but driving on ice / snow is a real pleasure.
As I said, about 35 km yesterday I had to drive on bare asphalt. A friend with much more experience said that when I got home I would have to change the tires, as the asphalt spikes would wear off. But it turned out that the screws were practically not worn out. They only turned and became not sharp, but the length remained the same. However, it is worth noting that it doesn’t happen every time - I was just lucky with the purchase of high-quality self-tapping screws. In general, driving on asphalt on such rubber, although not desirable, is possible if you keep a low speed.
Using homemade winter studded bicycle tires. Advantages and disadvantages
Recently I wrote how to make studded tires for a bicycle. Some time has passed, I managed to ride it and now I am ready to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of this bicycle rubber.
First, about the merits.
Although some say that they drive normally in winter on ordinary tires, but, whatever one may say, the difference is obvious. Especially when braking. But, it is the quality of braking that is most important when cycling in winter. Well, everything is clear with the advantages, let's move on to the disadvantages and difficulties.
Flaws
Of course, these tires are a little more difficult to ride. But that's not the point. When driving on asphalt, the spikes on the rear wheel are noticeably erased, so for the whole winter the rear wheel will not be enough for me (everything is ok with the front one) and I will either have to make a new tire, or unscrew the worn screws and screw in new ones. But in this case, the tire rubber can wear out quickly, because. a new portion of self-tapping screws, most likely, will not go along an existing thread, but will lay a new one. But this is not the main thing. When I decided to stud a bike tire for the first time, one of the main reasons was the lack of winter bike tires on sale, or rather a rarity, and therefore without a choice of options. But now there is also on sale, and there is some choice and in online stores you can probably buy any.
But looking at the location of metal and rubber spikes 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 product-designers of tire manufacturers care about their products from too idealistic positions. Either asphalt and smooth ice, or rolled snow alternately with a snowless road. And the spikes are specially made so that they are lost more quickly on hard surfaces, and it would be necessary to buy the next bike tire.
As a result of reasoning - to spend money on what is or to do what is much cheaper, but exactly as it should be, I chose to do it.
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 random, which will be given for nothing (or almost for nothing), but chosen from catalogs, or from those suitable ones that are on sale. IN last resort, decided to wait for the one ordered in the Internet store, but exactly the one that would be more suitable.
1. - must be folding, since it is much easier to remove and install in the cold than with a wire frame - tires with an aramid carcass are softer, more obedient. Yes, and pierce with an awl, drill, holding the direction of puncture and drilling, under right angle easier, as well as screwing in a thorn screw. If the tire can be turned flat. It is easy to press it with a clamp to the plane of a workbench or plywood (board).
2. - should be with a Kevlar cord, since piercing a tire in the cold and then gluing it is not an easy task due to that very frost. And I already had the experience of a tire rupture in winter - I drove along a broken section metal fence with a protruding bar that is not visible under the snow. Then he sealed not only the camera, but also the tire - the gap was one and a half centimeters. The procedure in the cold took more than two hours. The fire had to be built in order to glue at a positive temperature.
3. - The main point is the location of the rubber spikes of the tire, because they will have to install metal spikes. So that the height is no more than 4 mm - less than that of branded winter ones by 1.0 - 1.5 mm, and the location and quantity would allow driving on hard surfaces with less loss. And so that when turning and passing inclined ice surfaces, the spikes are in the place of the most advantageous application of forces - holding abilities. And it is imperative that the spikes be located more often along the contact track, for less mechanical losses when driving on ice.
4. - the dimensions of the rubber spikes of the tire. 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 the planned winter rides on ice, asphalt and rocky dirt roads.
They turned out to be - KUJO DH 2.25 K, for installation on the rear wheel, and KUJO DH 2.35 K, for installation on the front, according to the turning condition, and therefore at a greater angle than the rear wheel, run into (slide out) ice obstacles.
Produced - IRC.
They also had embossed inscriptions that were pleasant to the eye - MADE IN JAPAN, and the sidewalls were made of red rubber, softer in the cold, prettier than a completely black tire.
Basically, as if everything is on the tires, now you need to find what will then be metal spikes.
Finding the right tenon screws
Shopping fasteners I had to spend a long time, because what they offered alone could turn out to be worse than what could be found somewhere else. Only two sellers had visual stands to choose screws, but for clarity, only one at a time, two sizes, and not everything that can be on sale. Yes, and on the sites I had to look for links to articles by do-it-yourselfers who were ahead of me in such an idea.
In all the articles read, self-tapping screws with sharp ends of screws or washers with bent pointed edges (home-made or furniture with a threaded recess - washer-nut with horns) were used, riveted exhaust or ordinary rivets. Both of them have one feature - to tear and tear everything that they touch and pass over - clothes, wallpaper, linoleum, etc. Another reason for refusing 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 hurt when 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 harden them is also a problem. Yes, and the losses during movement with such washers are large. In general, pucks - no.
As a result, the choice was made on self-tapping screws with a washer head, hardened, galvanized with a drill tip.
The drill ends of these screws do not scratch hands, do not cling to fabric, fleece, powder 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 ordinary self-tapping screws. I tested it by trying to scratch the glass with self-tapping drills and sharp ordinary ones. Drills managed to scratch with less pressure and immediately.
They were satisfied with the sizes - 7.5 mm, 9 mm, 13 mm, and 16 mm in length, and the diameters - 3.8 mm and 4.0 mm, which were quite suitable for mounting in tires with different rubber thicknesses.
True, the 2 smallest sizes were with caps with a diameter of 7.75 mm and without puck-shaped extensions. The rest with caps-washers with a diameter of 10.7 mm. For some reason, sellers call them preshaibs.
Since the spikes were found and bought, it was possible to buy out the tires I liked, which were waiting for me in the Trial-Sport store.
Combining theory, conjecture, someone else's and your own experience into a single whole
First I had to think about the installation method - screwing in the spike screws, how to drill and pierce the tire so as not to damage the cord. Trying on a cut piece from an old tire, cutting off a piece drilled at different angles and with different speeds, with drills of different diameters - from 1.0 mm to 4.0 mm, and changing the sharpening, I came to the conclusion. The drill is needed with 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 - the cord threads were not damaged at all. But even with the right rotation, the results were not bad - the cord was torn 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 a thorn. Pierce from 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 switched to the opposite, the direction of rotation. The maximum speed is not more than 1000. It is more convenient if it is a cordless drill with speed control with a start trigger. Note the place and direction of drilling, pull out the awl and immediately drill into the resulting hole. Put the drill with a drill aside, take a second drill - an electric screwdriver with a Phillips screwdriver installed in the chuck - a pin that matches the number of the cross for the drill screw. Put the screw-drill on the tip of a Phillips screwdriver (pin) and screw it into the hole at an angle of drilling - piercing with an awl. Check that the screw drill - spike, comes out exactly in the right place, marked with an awl.
And also 443 more times, and then for the second tire the same number - exactly 444 identical procedures - “Chinese labor”. A little "trick", so as not to pierce the tire for each stud separately, pierced as many holes as I intended to install the studs on a given day (working shift). Then he stuck parquet nails into the resulting holes, and took them out only before drilling one at a time. Then he again inserted nails into the holes obtained, but thicker - 3 mm thick, immediately after drilling. And when I drilled the norm of the day, then I took out the three-millimeter-thick nails one at a time before screwing the tenon screw. So the holes did not “disappear” - they did not tighten, and faster and more accurately than repeating all the procedures with each spike.
First, a row of extreme ones, at appropriate angles, pierced and inserted parquet nails (they are inserted easily) - you can immediately see whether the holes are even and correct, according to the protruding row of nails. Then another extreme row, and then along the rows and the rest. But not all in a circle, but a section - a sector into which he divided the tire, as for working days. Observing accuracy and attention, each stage of work is visually easily controlled by evenly placed carnations.
It took about 30 working hours for the listed works - two weeks in the evenings.
It is possible and faster, but after all, I worked out the control technology, it’s already beautiful - the result of the work is visible and predictable.
Attention - you need to pierce the tire with an awl once for one spike, accurately marking the location 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.
Tire 26 by 2.25 inches, spiked screws used different sizes- the middle row is the smallest, blued, then - a little larger galvanized, and on the outer rows the largest ones with a preshaba hat.
Close-up of a 26" x 2.35" tire. It can be seen that in the extreme rows, the screws are screwed in at an angle favorable for holding on to the ice. All thorns are the largest, with a preshayba hat.
I called a familiar trial worker and asked: “Are there any unnecessary, with a torn off nipple, cameras made of thick rubber?” It turned out that there are already 3 pieces. It was from these cameras that I cut out strips. 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 - heavy, the whole chamber weighed 600 grams, like a tire.
Thick-walled chamber, cut off in the middle of the sidewalls. For insertion into the rear studded tire - protects the cycle tube from the heads of the stud screws. It is also more loaded in the middle rows of stud screws, caps of small diameter are more embossed.
I installed a thick-walled strip under the rear tire, and thinner under the front. One thinner - spare. Inflatable bicycle tubes, used by Schwalbe, at a price of 240 rubles - ordinary, but made of high quality rubber. Bought in "Leader-Sport", on the street. K. Marx.
The rear tire from the inside, the chamber-gasket with traces from the heads of the spike screws is visible. There were no breaks, there was not even a hint of wear - the “gaskets” can be thin.
Tests
This most exciting and interesting thing happened from the Temnaya Pad station and when crossing Lake Baikal on ice.
At first, of course, I was driving to the central passenger station along the asphalt.
The first impression is the sound, like from a dog running on linoleum or parquet with its claws extended, but stronger. We are traveling with a friend who has no spikes on the wheels. But since there is no ice, we drive quickly and as if without tension, although we are careful not to slip and away from the cars.
Skating tests on the rink were surprising, but only for a moment - normal skating, turns and braking without problems. But there were no cars with pedestrians on the rink.
So there were no unusual impressions. Tried to brake sharply, turn around - normal. It seemed that without spikes, the friend is less confident, but this did not seem like a certain indicator. We go by train to the Dark Pad. How will it be there?
We arrived, looked down the trail and … drove. At first slowly, and then somehow inexplicably confident and risking more and more. Braking with the rear wheel, helping and sometimes dragging with one foot through the snow like motocrossers, and even accelerating and bouncing in some areas. Horror. Suicide slope.
I look around - my friend is gone, his bike too. I had to hurry up and search. It turns out that he braked with the rear wheel and found that it had no effect on the steep slopes of the track, he began to slow down with the front, but this did not help on the snowy trail either. He began to accelerate and ran into a piece of soil bare from snow. The front wheel, braked and he had rims, stopped them both and threw one over the handlebars of the other down the slope. But somehow silently - he did not have time to be frightened and scream. And then the bike flew away. One lies below, in deep snow, silently, and the other, turning its wheels in an inexplicable position, ten meters away. The one without wheels responds with some phrase from a joke and unprintable about a close relative. Snowdrifts took both flawlessly - they flew next to huge stones and lying tree trunks.
Looking at the action described above, for the first time I became proud of my cycling. After all, he never slipped, although he was afraid a lot.
Further down, on the Angasolka river, there was a super test. I go down the path to the bridge, and from it to the hilly ice - snow on top, under it a layer of wet sludge, and ice at a depth of 5-10 cm. I reached the tree, looked around, and my friend was walking around this ice mess on the slope with a bicycle on his shoulder. She shouts that it is impossible not only to drive, but even to walk - it is slippery and wet. Once you fall and you have to go wet.
I let go of the tree and food, no sensations, ordinary 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 sloping, like the slope. Amazingly, no uncertainty, easy to ride, like dry and hard gravel. I didn’t want to go further, an absolutely unusual feeling from ordinary confident skiing - you go easy, switch, accelerate, brake, and this is a very slippery and uneven place, more slippery than just ice. After all, I didn’t go to such places, but on the contrary, I avoided it.
While driving to Baikal, out of interest, I chose the opportunity to drive exactly on the ice of the river, where it is under the sludge, wet, bumpy and whatever - the ride is absolutely normal, there is no stress, so as not to slip. It is easy to move out onto the ice and drive back to the shore, where the trail passes.
On the shore of the lake, several skiers took their skis with poles in their hands and went to the snow drift to get on skis to Slyudyanka along it.
Looking at the absolutely even and smooth ice, I was a little confused - how will it go? But having moved onto it, I heard the noise from the spikes and that's it ... no other feelings - like on a flat road. I accelerate, I brake, I make such turns that I almost fell several times, jumped - bucked as best I could and ... NOTHING. It’s even strange, because just like that you can ride on smooth asphalt. He began to mock himself and the bike, but no maneuvers or braking failed to slip or skid either on ice or on thin crust. True, he rolled 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 flying over the steering wheel. One of the flights was from the fact that he braked sharply with one rear wheel.
The main impression is the same - NO IMPRESSIONS - ordinary skating without problems and uncertainty. Self-studded tires "hold" on ice or a dense snowy road much better than new tires on clean summer asphalt.
Another time, to the Angasolka River, I drove along the highway and gravel road for almost 20 km - I didn’t lag behind, sometimes I even went ahead on the slopes, although everyone with whom they drove in a small “gang”, except for me, rode branded spikes.
We went down to Baikal past the village of Angasolka on a frozen dirt road. I, on the crooked and wet ice on the Angasolka River, and those on branded spikes along the path. The owners of the "company" tried, one even fell, and stopped taking risks - driving on wet ice, and on Baikal they did not risk sharp maneuvers, but in a straight line it was possible to race with the firms on an equal footing. True, in the “firm”, they could afford to press the rear brake sharply and strongly - the rear wheel skidded a little to the side, and I could fly through the steering wheel.
It is a pity that I did not take a camera and there are no pictures of those tests. Twice I traveled in company with Diagran (who knows) on his spikes and on the highway and on the snow and on the ice of Lake Baikal - you can’t keep up with him and on highways on asphalt, he rides on ordinary branded spikes on ice at 35 km / h - a monster.
In the train, when setting up a bicycle, there were no fears that clothes or fleece gloves could be torn on homemade spikes, it was specially taken.
By the spring, it became noticeable how dull they become - the drills of the spike screws become semicircular, but this did not affect the force of holding on ice and rolled snow. True, due to the fact that the spikes have become a little shorter, it seems to feel better to ride on asphalt and ice. And yet - the more blunt the drill spikes, the slower their abrasion occurs - the contact surface area increases. It becomes approximately equal to the area of hardened spikes, like branded bicycle tires, without victorious inserts. I ran into about 700 km in the first winter with spikes, I don’t know for sure, since the bike speedometer “died” after 600 km. On asphalt and concrete with ice, it turned out about 100 km, about 250 more 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 spikes are replaced, at least 1500 km.
Theory confirmed by practice
The proposed stud angle was derived from the reasoning that the greatest shear load on the stud is during braking. And in order for the spike to “bite” into the ice in the best possible 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 support plane 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 smaller, due to the greater thickness of the rubber behind the stud and the greater elasticity of the thicker rubber layer.
I didn’t glue the gasket between the cycle chamber and the caps of the self-tapping spikes, since the gluing will not be tight, and water and dust will get into the leak - dirt in it, and inserting and removing this gasket is not difficult.
How will water get there?
Let's say you had to ride in wet places, and then remove the tire and chamber in the heat - water from the internal volume of the rim will flow into the tire.
Yes, and you need a lot of glue - 2-3 full tubes per wheel. With a mediocre result - poor quality gluing. After all, embossed hats will interfere with the ability to stick the rubber of the cut chamber to the inside of the tire. And with a thick layer of glue, “chewing” sounds will be made, which happened when I glued the bike tubes to road bike wheels on an excessively thick layer of glue - not a quality gluing. And since high-quality gluing cannot be achieved, then why do it badly? After all, if you have to replace any spike, you still have to tear off the gluing.
I hope that what happened in the end, and which gave me the opportunity to verify 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 - cycling where it was impossible before, but with such tires are safe and pleasant.
Recently, to make it easier to ride, I decided to pump up the wheels harder. Actually, I did not pump them up much, but in the way that everyone usually pumps up wheels in the summer. I went on business, and on the way back I had a flat rear tire. At home, I pulled out the tire, found two strange holes on the chamber, despite the fact that the lining chamber was intact. I did not bother and just sealed the camera. The next day I went on a night ride and on the way I got a flat front tire. Thoughts began to creep into my head that this was the work of self-tapping screws, or rather, caps of self-tapping screws that could damage the camera. I disassembled the wheel, pulled out the camera and for sure - the whole camera was in noticeable marks from the caps of the screws, and the hole was exactly along the edge of the mark. In short, it was clearly visible that the head of the self-tapping screw was the cause of the damage to the camera.
There are 3 or 4 such damages on the chamber. Moreover, this is not a hole; The chamber does not let air through. But, of course, you don’t want to ride with such a camera, because a crack can break up at any moment. Let me remind you that my old camera acted as a gasket. As you can see, it is clearly not enough.
On a note
After inspecting both wheels, it turned out that the camera was damaged only on the front wheel. Everything is fine with the rear wheel camera. This is most likely due to the fact that the length of the screws on the front wheel is 2 times longer than on the rear. This is logical: when braking, 2-3 central self-tapping screws bite into the asphalt / ice and, if they protrude strongly, they dig into the camera with the edge of the cap. Pretty much the same when hitting curbs. From this we can conclude that it is not desirable to leave self-tapping screws protruding by more than 1.5 mm. In addition, if there are a lot of self-tapping screws in the central row, then a larger number of self-tapping screws will work during braking, which means that there will be less impact on the camera.
What to do?
It became clear that the spacer alone was not enough. Also, a band-aid pad will not suffice. In several places on the Web, I saw that people used a piece of linoleum as a gasket. I didn’t have extra linoleum, but I remembered the old semi-slick tire gathering dust on the balcony. I cut off the sides of it and inserted it into the front wheel tire. I had to trim it a bit to fit. If you do the same, cut the tire very carefully, because. if you cut off the excess, there will be a gap between the ends of the tire-gasket, which will damage the tire. To avoid this, I sealed the joint with a piece of rubber from a bicycle kit.
The wheel has become noticeably heavier and it's bad. On the other hand, if done correctly, I will be almost completely puncture-proof and will be able to inflate the tires hard to make the ride easier. Someone may say that in winter you need to ride at low pressure, but when there are spikes, increase the area working surface there is simply no need.
Because I still have one extra spacer chamber, I decided to add it to the rear wheel. Gaskets from two chambers should suffice.
Honestly, I don’t know what will come of this and how much more difficult it will be to ride. I decided on a desperate act: to make a lining between the camera and the tire from ... tires. It sounds scary, but in fact, everything is true =) Was found on the balcony old tire semi-slick, the sides were cut off from it. The tire itself was also cut and shortened a little, because. it simply did not fit inside the working tire. I sealed the resulting joint with a piece of rubber so that the corners of the tire would not damage the camera. The resulting gasket was installed on the front wheel. On the back, I used as many as three (how many were old, I put in as many) cameras as a gasket.
Naturally, the bike became noticeably heavier after such a mockery. To be honest, I assumed that I would not be able to constantly maintain even 20 km / h. However, normally drove about 35km.
After driving about 100km on these wheels, I disassembled the rear wheel to see how the camera felt. On the rear wheel, let me remind you, 3 old cameras act as a gasket. Upon closer inspection, no damage, tears or scratches were found. On the camera there were only soft, not sharp prints from the heads of self-tapping screws and nothing more. As I thought, it turned out to be an impenetrable option. The wheels, though noticeably heavier, but it is quite possible to ride.
Separately, I want to say about the wear of self-tapping screws. The fact that the rear wheel is not enough for the whole winter, that's for sure. On it, the central screws were worn out very much.
In principle, what else to expect in such a snowless winter? If there was snow, everything would be fine. But I think when the screws protrude only 0.2-0.3 mm, the erasing process will slow down. When they wear out completely, I plan to unscrew them and screw in new ones. I think to screw in more, because. the more self-tapping screws (and they don’t weigh much), the less their wear will be. On the front wheel, the self-tapping screws both stick out by 2-2.5 mm and stick out. Even the central ones did not fade. This is very good, considering that it is the front wheel that is responsible for control on the road.
Today we will talk about how to install studs on a bicycle tire yourself to make winter studded bike tires. We will also consider the methods of mounting homemade spikes on bicycle tires with your own hands in order to ride a bicycle in winter
Cycling, of course, means more riding in the warm season, but some extreme cyclists do not leave their “iron horses” alone in winter, arranging winter rides in nature or simply using them as a regular vehicle.
The operation of a bicycle in winter requires not only excellent physical fitness of the cyclist, but also makes special demands on the bicycle. So, here are some useful tips for winter cycling:
Be sure to install winter studded tires. With frequent movement on ice or rolled snow, tires with at least 200-350 spikes are needed; for driving along city streets, there may be fewer spikes - from 50 to 200 pieces.
If the bike has only caliper brakes, then at least one of them (in front) must be replaced with a disc brake. The thing is that V-brake brakes, working on a rim clamp, significantly lose their effectiveness in cold weather due to icing of the rims. The wheel can make up to 10 revolutions from the moment the brake is applied. What kind of safety can we talk about when a bicycle travels a distance of 20 meters in 10 revolutions? In the cold, disc brakes also perform worse than in summer, but still significantly more effective than V-brake brakes.
· When driving on winter roads, the chain is sure to become clogged with dirt and road chemicals. After each ride, be sure to clean and lubricate the chain.
· When driving on snow, the sprockets and gear shifters become clogged with snow very quickly. It is recommended to periodically stop and clean the gearshift mechanism.
· If there are cracks or chips on the paintwork of the bike, paint over the damaged areas, otherwise the rust will corrode the frame, and in the summer you will have nothing to ride on.
· The seals of the bushing and the carriage “tan” in the cold, letting in dirt and other nasty things. We recommend disassembling and relubricating the bushings and carriage once every two months.
It gets dark very quickly in winter, so be sure to install a red flasher and reflectors on your bike to indicate your presence in the dark, and install a headlight in front, preferably LED.
Many cyclists ask themselves the question in winter whether to switch to studded tires or not. One of the decisive factors against bicycle studs is the considerable price of high-quality winter tires. Only one bicycle tire with spikes can cost five thousand rubles - they are not always ready to spend so much on bicycle tires.
But by the way, such rubber is worth the money - the spikes reliably bite into the ice areas, allowing the bike to maintain the trajectory.
No desire to buy? Can do it yourself
Let's say right away that it is unlikely that it will be possible to maintain rolling with self-studding, but it is quite possible to achieve decent contact with the ice surface.
What we need for self-production of studded bicycle tires:
An old tire with a high tread (completely worn out will not work);
- awl;
- a couple of hundred self-tapping screws with a press washer;
- silicone, or shoe glue;
- an old bicycle chamber;
- pliers;
- screwdriver;
- file.
Have all the required materials been found? Begin!
Decide what kind of drawing you are going to do. Optimal for most cases - insert spikes in three rows - on the sides and in the center. The center can be dispensed with to preserve the roll and give the rubber the properties of a winter grip for cornering and in narrow ice ruts.
You can also stud in four rows - this is especially reasonable if the checkers in the tread have an even number.
Having decided on the patterns of the spikes, mark the punctures in the centers of the lugs (bumps) of the tire.
Turn the tire inside out and start screwing a self-tapping screw into the pierced hole - a small part of it should come out right in the center of the lug. The job is tedious and long.
At the next stage, we begin to make a fur coat. To do this, we need an old bike chamber. Cut it, lay the inside of the tire (not to the very edge of the cord), measure and align everything again and start attaching it to the glue. The task of a fur coat is to protect a working bicycle chamber from cuts with self-tapping screws.
The next step involves grinding the screws to an acceptable level. The lateral ones can be left, but the radial spikes will have to be cut off. Leave the edges of the radial screws protruding no more than 1-2 mm. From the side - to taste.
What to cut? - wire cutters, pliers, file, grinder. With wire cutters or pliers you will make a rough cut, and with a file you will level it for a condition close to what we see on the factory rubber.
That's all.
Features of self-made winter bike tires
Not the most ideal roll;
- Pretty massive mass of construction;
- An archaic spike, inferior to what we see on factory tires;
- Cheap and cheerful!
Video instruction
Is all this necessary?
The stud is yours for those who ride downhill, or participate in country races, or bike tours.
It is customary to clean downhill tracks before skiing, but the ground will not become softer because of this - the spike increases grip on frozen ground, this is important and you can feel it.
In winter country racing without studs, it is objectively more difficult to work at full strength. As long as the snow is soft, it's good, but the sections on the tracks are different.
In cycling tourism, the spike is safety. When you ride along the tracks, think about how dangerous the wheel is to leave on a sudden icy hummock, and even off the tracks - in the forest, on snow-caked areas, cycling saves fans of winter cycling trips.
Buy a good bike tire for winter, or make your own, as described above in the article. There will be less rolling, but the advantages of its use are still greater.
Cycling is an enjoyable pastime for many. But for those who like to ride a bike in the winter, other studded tires are provided. Next, we will need a tool: a good, suitable screwdriver for self-tapping screws, a 7 head (8 screwdriver or drill, drill (2-3mm chalk, awl, spacer for the tire. We mark the tire, the places where the spike will sit. You can use chalk or a marker We mark evenly.We take into account the fact that a large number of spikes increases the weight of the tire, and with a small number the necessary grip will not be provided.Here we need a creative approach.We should also not forget about the weakening of the tire, due to the rupture of the cord with a drill and self-tapping screws.We drill the marked places drill with a diameter of 2-3 mm Insert between the sides.
Tires "made" in one evening with a screwdriver, by eye. Between the chamber and the tire, the gasket is a one-layer adhesive tape. Self-tapping screws are the smallest, 2.5x10. Impressions: tires are extremely inconvenient to install, new self-tapping screws prick. On ice and packed snow, grip is very good. The motobike leaves the icy track at a very small angle without problems. Holds the road when braking and cornering. It is impossible to ride on loose snow - the resistance force is too great. In the photo the wheel after 400 km. Half on ice, the other half on asphalt. #eleven.
We rest with a screwdriver the self-tapping screw into the slots, outside the head. We twist so that the first thread of the thread appears above the nut. We visually and manually control that the tire is well crimped with the stud head on the inside and the washer with the nut on the outside. And so with every thorn. Be careful, the ends of the screws are traumatic! May suffer: body and limbs, clothes, parquet, lacquered / polished objects and especially impressionable animals! Do not forget that at speed and during rotation, such a wheel can seriously injure both its owner and others. When assembling the wheel between the chamber and the tire. Today I decided to update the worn self-tapping screws on the rear wheel of my bike. Why only in the back? Because they didn’t wear out on the front :) Although the front wheel is mainly responsible for handling, I wanted to update the screws on the rear to get rid of slips and drifts on ice.
So, although the self-tapping screws on the front wheel have worn off a little, they still have to roll and roll, and I don’t see the point in replacing them, they work well. On the rear wheel, the self-tapping screws have worn off almost completely and there is already very little effect from them: I began to slip heavily on ice, the rear wheel often blows away. There were no falls, but control over the road weakened.
I want to tell you more about how the wear of self-tapping screws occurs. Only the center row is sewn. The side rows work very rarely, so they hardly wear out on both wheels. The front wheel is lightly loaded, so they practically do not wear out there. On the back wheel, everything is more serious. Imagine that we have a wheel with new self-tapping screws. After 10-20 km of driving on asphalt, the self-tapping screws will noticeably undercut. Then the wear rate will decrease. After 40-60 km of asphalt, the self-tapping screws will already protrude from the rubber quite a bit, but will still provide good grip on ice. After that, the wear rate will decrease even more and only after 100-200 km of asphalt they will wear out so that they stop working. Therefore, do not be alarmed if you notice that after a few kilometers of asphalt pavement, the new self-tapping screws have noticeably worn off :) I have driven a little more than 400 km this winter and just now I decided to stud the rubber again. Moreover, we must remember that the winter of 2011-2012 until mid-January was almost snowless and I had to drive almost exclusively on asphalt. I think if the winter was normal, my spikes would last until spring.
I will also mention pads. After the chamber was cut 3 times with self-tapping screws, I decided to take extreme measures and made a gasket between the chamber and the tire from three old chambers on the rear wheel, and on the front - from the old semi-slick tire. The bike has become noticeably heavier, but I got used to it and now I can maintain a fairly high speed.
So, here's what the old worn screws look like. They don't really help anymore.
This is what it looks like new, just screwed on. They look scary, but you only need to be afraid of linoleum :)
Replacing screws is not difficult. I just unscrewed the old ones and screwed in the new ones. The side rows, of course, did not touch. It took less than an hour to unscrew the old screws. It took a little over an hour to screw in the new ones. Rubber, by the way, practically did not wear out and new self-tapping screws sat down quite tightly. I also want to draw your attention to the fact that although I use the most budgetary tires (250 rubles apiece), its condition can be assessed as excellent, despite the fact that I drove at least 300 km on asphalt and only a little more than a hundred on snow (winter is , damn it, snowless). Those. self-tapping screws reduced rubber wear when driving on asphalt.
Last time I asked a friend to grind my self-tapping screws to the required length. The second time I don’t want to disturb a person, and I decided not to grind the screws at all. As you can see in the photo, they protrude from the rubber by 0.5 cm
I was hoping that I would ride a few kilometers on asphalt and they would be undermined. Actually, this almost happened, only they did not grind off, but broke off a little at the tips. Already after a couple of (quite heavy, by the way) kilometers of asphalt, they were without sharp ends, and after 10 km of asphalt and 20 km of snow (well, snow does not count), the self-tapping screws are quite suitable, slightly hypertrophied spikes that hold perfectly on ice and protrude only on 1.5-2 mm. Now that they have become shorter, their wear will be noticeably reduced and you can safely ride
Actually, the result is this: there is no need to grind new self-tapping screws, it is enough just to ride literally 2-3 km on asphalt.
Studded bicycle tires enable its owner to enjoy cycling in ice and snow, without fear that he will not cope with the movement and fall on a bad road. After all, the road is often simply unpredictable in the winter period of driving.
Studded tires are similar to automotive counterparts, with a durable metal tread that is located on both sides of the tire. It makes it possible to drive on an icy surface without problems, but on condition that the wheels are not strongly pumped.
The spikes on the tire themselves come in various shapes:
- pointed;
- flat.
In addition, studded tires come with a different number of studs.
One type is double-row tires. They are located on the sides. With a good pumping of the wheel, they practically do not come into contact with the surface, only when turning. This applies to those weather conditions when there is no ice on the surface of the asphalt. But if you need to drive on an icy surface, the wheel should be less inflated. And the weather will work exactly those side metal spikes that are necessary for contact with a slippery surface.
Another type is four-row tires. They are similar to two-row tires, but the difference is that they also have an additional two rows of studs. That is, the number of spikes on the tire is increased by one and a half times. They are more powerful, make it possible to move comfortably where there are no normal roads. But first of all, they are designed for driving on an icy surface, but at the same time it makes it possible to drive on roads.
Important when using such a tire:
1.It does not carry out strong pumping. And then the steep turns, and the descents will be nothing to the cyclist.
2. And then it allows good grip of the tire on a slippery surface.
3. Absence of sharp braking and studded tires will last long enough.
And after installing studded tires, you need to go through the break-in process. But this must be done very carefully. This is necessary in order not to harm the spikes themselves and the tire. The running-in process itself is carried out precisely on asphalt and for an hour with a slow movement of the bicycle. This will give the studded tire a longer service life in good condition and without losing studs. And then any bike ride will be a joy even in winter.
Winter came and I had to do something with the bike so as not to fall on the ice. I could buy ready-made studded bike tires - it would cost me 4-5 thousand rubles. Not only because of the desire to save money, but also from the eternal desire to do something with my own hands, I decided to make winter bike tires myself.
It was bought: 2 budget tires for 250 rubles. each; 400 pcs. 13 mm. self-tapping screws (about 100 rubles).
Tires were chosen with large "teeth" so that self-tapping screws could fit comfortably in them. In total, the tire had 80 + 140 + 80 teeth. I didn’t want to screw in 300 screws, so I inserted screws into the side rows through one. As a result, about 190-200 self-tapping screws were inserted into each tire. This made the tires about 200 grams heavier.
So, tires are bought, self-tapping screws - too. We must get to work. First you need to make the guide holes in the tires. Without them, self-tapping screws will often go crooked and come out in the wrong place. It is very important that the self-tapping screws "peep out" from the center of the "tooth" - this will extend the life of the tire. To do this, I took a drill and began to drill holes. It was hard, to say the least, so I came up with a new way: I clamped a nail with pliers, heated it over a fire and made holes in tires with it. It wasn't difficult anymore, but it still took a long time. And then a brilliant idea came to my mind - to make holes with an awl! The sewer was not at home, so I had to buy it. Making holes with an awl is the best option.
The holes are ready, it's time to screw in the screws. I bought self-tapping screws for 13 mm with a press washer. It is very important to buy with a press washer, because. only they have a fairly wide "hat". I screwed the screws into the tire with a regular screwdriver. The tire was not turned inside out. The main thing is that the screws are screwed in evenly. You don't need to put them on glue. The self-tapping screw must be screwed in so that at the exit it slightly presses the rubber thread under itself.
Screws are screwed in, let's move on. Now they need to be sharpened. I didn’t have a sharpener, so I asked a friend to sharpen the spikes. The self-tapping screws were hefty strong and the grindstone was more likely to grind off than they were. But, anyway, they managed to undermine them. On one tire, the studs were slightly longer; I put it on the front wheel, because there is less load on it and the quality of handling depends on it. The side row of self-tapping screws can be turned weaker (the main thing is that they are not sharp), because they will only work when cornering. Tire with turned screws looks like this
Self-tapping screws are screwed in and turned, but that's not all. So that the caps of the self-tapping screws do not damage the camera, you need to make a lining. To do this, I brutally cut two cells - one old and one, I'm not afraid of this word, new. Now you can collect the wheel. When laying the camera, be careful not to scratch it on the spikes.
Yesterday I tested my homemade winter bike tires by riding about 25 km on snow and about 35 km on asphalt. When driving on asphalt, a rather loud noise is created, but this cannot be called a big drawback. When driving on snow and ice, the tires proved to be the best - while my friends on ordinary tires constantly fell on ice, I drove absolutely without bothering, as if on asphalt :) If we compare studded tires with ordinary ones, albeit with an evil tread , under emergency braking, the difference is simply monstrous. Heaven and earth! With studded tires, during heavy braking at high speed on ice, it does not skid at all, the studs leave a deep mark on the ice.
There is only one drawback - it is difficult to maintain a high speed of riding and a little more difficult to ride in general. This is felt when driving on asphalt, but driving on ice / snow is a real pleasure.
As I said, about 35 km yesterday I had to drive on bare asphalt. A friend with much more experience said that when I got home I would have to change the tires, as the asphalt spikes would wear off. But it turned out that the screws were practically not worn out. They only turned and became not sharp, but the length remained the same. However, it is worth noting that it doesn’t happen every time - I was just lucky with the purchase of high-quality self-tapping screws. In general, driving on asphalt on such rubber, although not desirable, is possible if you keep a low speed.
Using homemade winter studded bicycle tires. Advantages and disadvantages
Recently I wrote how to make studded tires for a bicycle. Some time has passed, I managed to ride it and now I am ready to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of this bicycle rubber.
First, about the merits.
Although some say that they drive normally in winter on ordinary tires, but, whatever one may say, the difference is obvious. Especially when braking. But, it is the quality of braking that is most important when cycling in winter. Well, everything is clear with the advantages, let's move on to the disadvantages and difficulties.
Flaws
Of course, these tires are a little more difficult to ride. But that's not the point. When driving on asphalt, the spikes on the rear wheel are noticeably erased, so for the whole winter the rear wheel will not be enough for me (everything is ok with the front one) and I will either have to make a new tire, or unscrew the worn screws and screw in new ones. But in this case, the tire rubber can wear out quickly, because. a new portion of self-tapping screws, most likely, will not go along an existing thread, but will lay a new one. But this is not the main thing. When I decided to stud a bike tire for the first time, one of the main reasons was the lack of winter bike tires on sale, or rather a rarity, and therefore without a choice of options. But now there is also on sale, and there is some choice and in online stores you can probably buy any.
But looking at the location of metal and rubber spikes 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 product-designers of tire manufacturers care about their products from too idealistic positions. Either asphalt and smooth ice, or rolled snow alternately with a snowless road. And the spikes are specially made so that they are lost more quickly on hard surfaces, and it would be necessary to buy the next bike tire.
As a result of reasoning - to spend money on what is or to do what is much cheaper, but exactly as it should be, I chose to do it.
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 random, which will be given for nothing (or almost for nothing), but chosen from catalogs, or from those suitable ones that are on sale. As a last resort, I decided to wait for the one ordered in the Internet store, but the one that would be more suitable.
1. - must be folding, since it is much easier to remove and install in the cold than with a wire frame - tires with an aramid carcass are softer, more obedient. Yes, and piercing with an awl, drilling, holding the direction of puncture and drilling, at the right angle is easier, as well as screwing in a tenon screw. If the tire can be turned flat. It is easy to press it with a clamp to the plane of a workbench or plywood (board).
2. - should be with a Kevlar cord, since piercing a tire in the cold and then gluing it is not an easy task due to that very frost. And I already had the experience of a tire rupture in winter - I drove along a broken section of a metal fence with a sticking out bar, which is not visible under the snow. Then he sealed not only the camera, but also the tire - the gap was one and a half centimeters. The procedure in the cold took more than two hours. The fire had to be built in order to glue at a positive temperature.
3. - The main point is the location of the rubber spikes of the tire, because they will have to install metal spikes. So that the height is no more than 4 mm - less than that of branded winter ones by 1.0 - 1.5 mm, and the location and quantity would allow driving on hard surfaces with less loss. And so that when turning and passing inclined ice surfaces, the spikes are in the place of the most advantageous application of forces - holding abilities. And it is imperative that the spikes be located more often along the contact track, for less mechanical losses when driving on ice.
4. - the dimensions of the rubber spikes of the tire. 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 the planned winter rides on ice, asphalt and rocky dirt roads.
They turned out to be - KUJO DH 2.25 K, for installation on the rear wheel, and KUJO DH 2.35 K, for installation on the front, according to the turning condition, and therefore at a greater angle than the rear wheel, run into (slide out) ice obstacles.
Produced - IRC.
They also had embossed inscriptions that were pleasant to the eye - MADE IN JAPAN, and the sidewalls were made of red rubber, softer in the cold, prettier than a completely black tire.
Basically, as if everything is on the tires, now you need to find what will then be metal spikes.
Finding the right tenon screws
I had to spend a long time shopping for fasteners, because what they offered alone could turn out to be worse than what could be found somewhere else. Only two sellers had visual stands to choose screws, but for clarity, only one at a time, two sizes, and not everything that can be on sale. Yes, and on the sites I had to look for links to articles by do-it-yourselfers who were ahead of me in such an idea.
In all the articles read, self-tapping screws with sharp ends of screws or washers with bent pointed edges (home-made or furniture with a threaded recess - washer-nut with horns) were used, riveted exhaust or ordinary rivets. Both of them have one feature - to tear and tear everything that they touch and pass over - clothes, wallpaper, linoleum, etc. Another reason for refusing 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 hurt when 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 harden them is also a problem. Yes, and the losses during movement with such washers are large. In general, pucks - no.
As a result, the choice was made on self-tapping screws with a washer head, hardened, galvanized with a drill tip.
The drill ends of these screws do not scratch hands, do not cling to fabric, fleece, powder puffs. They do not stick into linoleum, do not tear wooden surfaces under a small load. But since the tips are made for drilling metal, they are harder (harder) than ordinary self-tapping screws. I tested it by trying to scratch the glass with self-tapping drills and sharp ordinary ones. Drills managed to scratch with less pressure and immediately.
They were satisfied with the sizes - 7.5 mm, 9 mm, 13 mm, and 16 mm in length, and the diameters - 3.8 mm and 4.0 mm, which were quite suitable for mounting in tires with different rubber thicknesses.
True, the 2 smallest sizes were with caps with a diameter of 7.75 mm and without puck-shaped extensions. The rest with caps-washers with a diameter of 10.7 mm. For some reason, sellers call them preshaibs.
Since the spikes were found and bought, it was possible to buy out the tires I liked, which were waiting for me in the Trial-Sport store.
Combining theory, conjecture, someone else's and your own experience into a single whole
First I had to think about the installation method - screwing in the spike screws, how to drill and pierce the tire so as not to damage the cord. Trying on a cut piece from an old tire, cutting off a piece drilled at different angles and with different speeds, with drills of different diameters - from 1.0 mm to 4.0 mm, and changing the sharpening, I came to the conclusion. The drill is needed with 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 - the cord threads were not damaged at all. But even with the right rotation, the results were not bad - the cord was torn 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 a thorn. Pierce from 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 switched to the opposite, the direction of rotation. The maximum speed is not more than 1000. It is more convenient if it is a cordless drill with speed control with a start trigger. Note the place and direction of drilling, pull out the awl and immediately drill into the resulting hole. Put the drill with a drill aside, take a second drill - an electric screwdriver with a Phillips screwdriver installed in the chuck - a pin that matches the number of the cross for the drill screw. Put the screw-drill on the tip of a Phillips screwdriver (pin) and screw it into the hole at an angle of drilling - piercing with an awl. Check that the screw drill - spike, comes out exactly in the right place, marked with an awl.
And also 443 more times, and then for the second tire the same number - exactly 444 identical procedures - “Chinese labor”. A little "trick", so as not to pierce the tire for each stud separately, pierced as many holes as I intended to install the studs on a given day (working shift). Then he stuck parquet nails into the resulting holes, and took them out only before drilling one at a time. Then he again inserted nails into the holes obtained, but thicker - 3 mm thick, immediately after drilling. And when I drilled the norm of the day, then I took out the three-millimeter-thick nails one at a time before screwing the tenon screw. So the holes did not “disappear” - they did not tighten, and faster and more accurately than repeating all the procedures with each spike.
First, a row of extreme ones, at appropriate angles, pierced and inserted parquet nails (they are inserted easily) - you can immediately see whether the holes are even and correct, according to the protruding row of nails. Then another extreme row, and then along the rows and the rest. But not all in a circle, but a section - a sector into which he divided the tire, as for working days. Observing accuracy and attention, each stage of work is visually easily controlled by evenly placed carnations.
It took about 30 working hours for the listed works - two weeks in the evenings.
It is possible and faster, but after all, I worked out the control technology, it’s already beautiful - the result of the work is visible and predictable.
Attention - you need to pierce the tire with an awl once for one spike, accurately marking the location 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 with spikes of different sizes are used - the middle row is the smallest, blued, then slightly larger galvanized, and on the outer rows the largest ones with a preshay hat.
Close-up of a 26" x 2.35" tire. It can be seen that in the extreme rows, the screws are screwed in at an angle favorable for holding on to the ice. All thorns are the largest, with a preshayba hat.
I called a familiar trial worker and asked: “Are there any unnecessary, with a torn off nipple, cameras made of thick rubber?” It turned out that there are already 3 pieces. It was from these cameras that I cut out strips. 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 - heavy, the whole chamber weighed 600 grams, like a tire.
Thick-walled chamber, cut off in the middle of the sidewalls. For insertion into the rear studded tire - protects the cycle tube from the heads of the stud screws. It is also more loaded in the middle rows of stud screws, caps of small diameter are more embossed.
I installed a thick-walled strip under the rear tire, and thinner under the front. One thinner - spare. Inflatable bicycle tubes, used by Schwalbe, at a price of 240 rubles - ordinary, but made of high quality rubber. Bought in "Leader-Sport", on the street. K. Marx.
The rear tire from the inside, the chamber-gasket with traces from the heads of the spike screws is visible. There were no breaks, there was not even a hint of wear - the “gaskets” can be thin.
Tests
This most exciting and interesting thing happened from the Temnaya Pad station and when crossing Lake Baikal on ice.
At first, of course, I was driving to the central passenger station along the asphalt.
The first impression is the sound, like from a dog running on linoleum or parquet with its claws extended, but stronger. We are traveling with a friend who has no spikes on the wheels. But since there is no ice, we drive quickly and as if without tension, although we are careful not to slip and away from the cars.
Skating tests on the rink were surprising, but only for a moment - normal skating, turns and braking without problems. But there were no cars with pedestrians on the rink.
So there were no unusual impressions. Tried to brake sharply, turn around - normal. It seemed that without spikes, the friend is less confident, but this did not seem like a certain indicator. We go by train to the Dark Pad. How will it be there?
We arrived, looked down the trail and … drove. At first slowly, and then somehow inexplicably confident and risking more and more. Braking with the rear wheel, helping and sometimes dragging with one foot through the snow like motocrossers, and even accelerating and bouncing in some areas. Horror. Suicide slope.
I look around - my friend is gone, his bike too. I had to hurry up and search. It turns out that he braked with the rear wheel and found that it had no effect on the steep slopes of the track, he began to slow down with the front, but this did not help on the snowy trail either. He began to accelerate and ran into a piece of soil bare from snow. The front wheel, braked and he had rims, stopped them both and threw one over the handlebars of the other down the slope. But somehow silently - he did not have time to be frightened and scream. And then the bike flew away. One lies below, in deep snow, silently, and the other, turning its wheels in an inexplicable position, ten meters away. The one without wheels responds with some phrase from a joke and unprintable about a close relative. Snowdrifts took both flawlessly - they flew next to huge stones and lying tree trunks.
Looking at the action described above, for the first time I became proud of my cycling. After all, he never slipped, although he was afraid a lot.
Further down, on the Angasolka river, there was a super test. I go down the path to the bridge, and from it to the hilly ice - snow on top, under it a layer of wet sludge, and ice at a depth of 5-10 cm. I reached the tree, looked around, and my friend was walking around this ice mess on the slope with a bicycle on his shoulder. She shouts that it is impossible not only to drive, but even to walk - it is slippery and wet. Once you fall and you have to go wet.
I let go of the tree and food, no sensations, ordinary 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 sloping, like the slope. Amazingly, no uncertainty, easy to ride, like dry and hard gravel. I didn’t want to go further, an absolutely unusual feeling from ordinary confident skiing - you go easy, switch, accelerate, brake, and this is a very slippery and uneven place, more slippery than just ice. After all, I didn’t go to such places, but on the contrary, I avoided it.
While driving to Baikal, out of interest, I chose the opportunity to drive exactly on the ice of the river, where it is under the sludge, wet, bumpy and whatever - the ride is absolutely normal, there is no stress, so as not to slip. It is easy to move out onto the ice and drive back to the shore, where the trail passes.
On the shore of the lake, several skiers took their skis with poles in their hands and went to the snow drift to get on skis to Slyudyanka along it.
Looking at the absolutely even and smooth ice, I was a little confused - how will it go? But having moved onto it, I heard the noise from the spikes and that's it ... no other feelings - like on a flat road. I accelerate, I brake, I make such turns that I almost fell several times, jumped - bucked as best I could and ... NOTHING. It’s even strange, because just like that you can ride on smooth asphalt. He began to mock himself and the bike, but no maneuvers or braking failed to slip or skid either on ice or on thin crust. True, he rolled 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 flying over the steering wheel. One of the flights was from the fact that he braked sharply with one rear wheel.
The main impression is the same - NO IMPRESSIONS - ordinary skating without problems and uncertainty. Self-studded tires "hold" on ice or a dense snowy road much better than new tires on clean summer asphalt.
Another time, to the Angasolka River, I drove along the highway and gravel road for almost 20 km - I didn’t lag behind, sometimes I even went ahead on the slopes, although everyone with whom they drove in a small “gang”, except for me, rode 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 branded spikes, along the path. The owners of the "company" tried, one even fell, and stopped taking risks - driving on wet ice, and on Baikal they did not risk sharp maneuvers, but in a straight line it was possible to race with the firms on an equal footing. True, in the “firm”, they could afford to press the rear brake sharply and strongly - the rear wheel skidded a little to the side, and I could fly through the steering wheel.
It is a pity that I did not take a camera and there are no pictures of those tests. Twice I traveled in company with Diagran (who knows) on his spikes and on the highway and on the snow and on the ice of Lake Baikal - you can’t keep up with him and on highways on asphalt, he rides on ordinary branded spikes on ice at 35 km / h - a monster.
In the train, when setting up a bicycle, there were no fears that clothes or fleece gloves could be torn on homemade spikes, it was specially taken.
By the spring, it became noticeable how dull they become - the drills of the spike screws become semicircular, but this did not affect the force of holding on ice and rolled snow. True, due to the fact that the spikes have become a little shorter, it seems to feel better to ride on asphalt and ice. And yet - the more blunt the drill spikes, the slower their abrasion occurs - the contact surface area increases. It becomes approximately equal to the area of hardened spikes, like branded bicycle tires, without victorious inserts. I ran into about 700 km in the first winter with spikes, I don’t know for sure, since the bike speedometer “died” after 600 km. On asphalt and concrete with ice, it turned out about 100 km, about 250 more 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 spikes are replaced, at least 1500 km.
Theory confirmed by practice
The proposed stud angle was derived from the reasoning that the greatest shear load on the stud is during braking. And in order for the spike to “bite” into the ice in the best possible 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 support plane 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 smaller, due to the greater thickness of the rubber behind the stud and the greater elasticity of the thicker rubber layer.
I didn’t glue the gasket between the cycle chamber and the caps of the self-tapping spikes, since the gluing will not be tight, and water and dust will get into the leak - dirt in it, and inserting and removing this gasket is not difficult.
How will water get there?
Let's say you had to ride in wet places, and then remove the tire and chamber in the heat - water from the internal volume of the rim will flow into the tire.
Yes, and you need a lot of glue - 2-3 full tubes per wheel. With a mediocre result - poor quality gluing. After all, embossed hats will interfere with the ability to stick the rubber of the cut chamber to the inside of the tire. And with a thick layer of glue, “chewing” sounds will be made, which happened when I glued the bike tubes to road bike wheels on an excessively thick layer of glue - not a quality gluing. And since high-quality gluing cannot be achieved, then why do it badly? After all, if you have to replace any spike, you still have to tear off the gluing.
I hope that what happened in the end, and which gave me the opportunity to verify 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 - cycling where it was impossible before, but with such tires are safe and pleasant.
Recently, to make it easier to ride, I decided to pump up the wheels harder. Actually, I did not pump them up much, but in the way that everyone usually pumps up wheels in the summer. I went on business, and on the way back I had a flat rear tire. At home, I pulled out the tire, found two strange holes on the chamber, despite the fact that the lining chamber was intact. I did not bother and just sealed the camera. The next day I went on a night ride and on the way I got a flat front tire. Thoughts began to creep into my head that this was the work of self-tapping screws, or rather, caps of self-tapping screws that could damage the camera. I disassembled the wheel, pulled out the camera and for sure - the whole camera was in noticeable marks from the caps of the screws, and the hole was exactly along the edge of the mark. In short, it was clearly visible that the head of the self-tapping screw was the cause of the damage to the camera.
There are 3 or 4 such damages on the chamber. Moreover, this is not a hole; The chamber does not let air through. But, of course, you don’t want to ride with such a camera, because a crack can break up at any moment. Let me remind you that my old camera acted as a gasket. As you can see, it is clearly not enough.
On a note
After inspecting both wheels, it turned out that the camera was damaged only on the front wheel. Everything is fine with the rear wheel camera. This is most likely due to the fact that the length of the screws on the front wheel is 2 times longer than on the rear. This is logical: when braking, 2-3 central self-tapping screws bite into the asphalt / ice and, if they protrude strongly, they dig into the camera with the edge of the cap. Pretty much the same when hitting curbs. From this we can conclude that it is not desirable to leave self-tapping screws protruding by more than 1.5 mm. In addition, if there are a lot of self-tapping screws in the central row, then a larger number of self-tapping screws will work during braking, which means that there will be less impact on the camera.
What to do?
It became clear that the spacer alone was not enough. Also, a band-aid pad will not suffice. In several places on the Web, I saw that people used a piece of linoleum as a gasket. I didn’t have extra linoleum, but I remembered the old semi-slick tire gathering dust on the balcony. I cut off the sides of it and inserted it into the front wheel tire. I had to trim it a bit to fit. If you do the same, cut the tire very carefully, because. if you cut off the excess, there will be a gap between the ends of the tire-gasket, which will damage the tire. To avoid this, I sealed the joint with a piece of rubber from a bicycle kit.
The wheel has become noticeably heavier and it's bad. On the other hand, if done correctly, I will be almost completely puncture-proof and will be able to inflate the tires hard to make the ride easier. Someone may say that in winter you need to ride at low pressure, but when there are spikes, there is simply no need to increase the working surface area.
Because I still have one extra spacer chamber, I decided to add it to the rear wheel. Gaskets from two chambers should suffice.
Honestly, I don’t know what will come of this and how much more difficult it will be to ride. I decided on a desperate act: to make a lining between the camera and the tire from ... tires. It sounds scary, but in fact, everything is true =) An old semi-slick tire was found on the balcony, the sides were cut off from it. The tire itself was also cut and shortened a little, because. it simply did not fit inside the working tire. I sealed the resulting joint with a piece of rubber so that the corners of the tire would not damage the camera. The resulting gasket was installed on the front wheel. On the back, I used as many as three (how many were old, I put in as many) cameras as a gasket.
Naturally, the bike became noticeably heavier after such a mockery. To be honest, I assumed that I would not be able to constantly maintain even 20 km / h. However, normally drove about 35km.
After driving about 100km on these wheels, I disassembled the rear wheel to see how the camera felt. On the rear wheel, let me remind you, 3 old cameras act as a gasket. Upon closer inspection, no damage, tears or scratches were found. On the camera there were only soft, not sharp prints from the heads of self-tapping screws and nothing more. As I thought, it turned out to be an impenetrable option. The wheels, though noticeably heavier, but it is quite possible to ride.
Separately, I want to say about the wear of self-tapping screws. The fact that the rear wheel is not enough for the whole winter, that's for sure. On it, the central screws were worn out very much.
In principle, what else to expect in such a snowless winter? If there was snow, everything would be fine. But I think when the screws protrude only 0.2-0.3 mm, the erasing process will slow down. When they wear out completely, I plan to unscrew them and screw in new ones. I think to screw in more, because. the more self-tapping screws (and they don’t weigh much), the less their wear will be. On the front wheel, the self-tapping screws both stick out by 2-2.5 mm and stick out. Even the central ones did not fade. This is very good, considering that it is the front wheel that is responsible for control on the road.
So, it's winter outside... (although, now, in the winter of 2006/07, sometimes it doesn't seem so). Every active (and not occasionally) cyclist riding in the winter will sooner or later have 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 supreme in the head of a cyclist ... Cycling culture is slowly moving from the West to our dense steppes, and after it, merchants have followed, driven by the truth well known since school times - “demand creates supply” - in pursuit of our hard-earned banknotes. Now it is no longer a problem to buy factory-made studded tires in Kazan, unlike the winters of six or seven years ago - you just need to hurry up in time. In sports shops in Kazan, one could even see a certain variety of studded tires: as many as 3-4 different models from 2-3 manufacturers. However, on this moment, there was also some incompleteness of the problem of providing everyone with studded bicycle tires ...
First, studded tires were imported just a little. What was in the stores quickly sold out by the season - and some of those who wanted to buy this rubber failed to do this ... Secondly, the choice of models is still small - mainly budget models were brought in, with a small number of spikes, it seems to me, due to the still insufficient development of the winter cycling subculture. And finally - about the despicable metal. The cost of a set of factory tires for both wheels could easily have been on the order of the monthly salary of a university teacher or other state employees. Se la vie...
So, studded tires are needed - but not everyone gets them. Conclusion - let's do it ourselves. The method of tire studding presented here is not my invention, in addition, on the net you can find a number of descriptions of studding both by the presented method (using screws) and by some others. However, it seems useful to describe the whole procedure in detail again, with a sufficient number of illustrations to accompany the text.
1. The first task to be solved is finding the right 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 spikes 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 satisfy your ideas about the optimal placement of the studs.
To illustrate the studding process, the following tire was chosen when writing this text (original appearance):
The tire was produced by an unnamed Chinese company world famous for its level of quality, producing its products under the trademark "SUPERDIAMOND":
The tread pattern of the purchased tire is as follows:
It has the following comments:
the "buns" are somewhat small and, as it will become clear later, for screws with a diameter of 4.2 mm, selected for studding, with careless studding, a rather small rubber "side" holding them will remain;
The tread is not symmetrical relative to the plane of the tire, which can lead to wheel “yaw” during braking, however, a test drive is yet to be.
Relatively close to the axis of the tire in a "zigzag" are only 108 "buns" - and 108 more closer to the sides. They, perhaps, will work only in corners ... Total - the spikes may not be enough.
2 . The next task is choice of screws. There are a lot of screws in local markets and shops, and finding something suitable is usually not difficult. Screw Requirements:
Flat on the outside (or at least without sharp edges) and as large a hat 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 off / bit off / grind off - an additional difficult operation.
Hardness - the studs should not grind down on the pavement in one day. "Metal screws" will do.
In our case, the choice fell on "universal screws with a press washer" size 4.2x20. The length is too big, but I did not want to look for others. Clawed that the first liked. But the hats are a sight to behold! 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. This option would be better.
3. Let's start the stitching. To do 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 protector, it is more convenient to aim, the holes are more precisely 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 tedious process. It is clear that there is no escape from piercing holes and tightening 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 immediately. At the same time, since the thickness of the rubber in different places significantly different (where the "buns" are located - noticeably thicker), then even when turned inside out, the inside looks heterogeneous. Where on reverse side"buns" are located - there the wrong side of the rubber has small concavities. The following picture illustrates this point:
The desired concavities are shown by arrows (although the photo still shows quite poorly - turn your tire inside out and see what it is about). With some practice, it is possible to pierce the holes for the screws directly from the inside, focusing on 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 screws), the tire with wrong side will look like this:
On the tread side this stage it resembles a gutted hedgehog turned inside out:
Turn the tire back to normal. The relationship with hedgehogs is becoming more and more noticeable:
Side view:
Now it's time to put the studded tire on the wheel for the first time. Naturally, the chamber must be protected from contact with the heads of the screws in order to avoid its rupture. To do this, it is easiest to use the old, cut along, with the nipple removed, the camera. As practice shows, for the front wheel, which has 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 of a highway tube cut along for this purpose.
So, we take the old camera, which will work as a gasket:
We will inflate the main chamber, which is to be inflated, a little - so that it keeps its shape, but not so much that the wheel with it could not be beaded later:
We dress the camera-laying on the camera slightly pumped up in this way:
Then, as usual, we put a studded tire on the wheel rim with one bead, insert a "chamber" sandwich, fold the tire completely and inflate the wheel. It turns out something like this:
Quite a vicious hedgehog...
4. And now it has come - the second part of the Marlezon ballet. The screws must be shortened to the required length. The following options are available here:
The screws were taken quite short, and the protector, on the contrary, is thick enough - in this case, you won’t need to bite off anything.
Too long ends can be filed off emery wheel. But not everyone in the household given subject it is also noisy and dusty. But it does work well...
Finally, the ends of the screws can simply be bitten off with a simple hand tool- all kinds of wire cutters, pliers and other things.
For example, here is a photo of a tire with short screws that did not bite at all:
Now suppose that biting the ends is still necessary (as in our case). Let's talk about the tool. It is quite clear that the tool is different, as, indeed, screws too. The simplest option available in every home and promising hard work is ordinary pliers or wire cutters 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. More convenient option- wire cutters with additional levers (in the figure below; above, for comparison, ordinary pliers):
Such wire cutters are less common in stores, but I managed to find them from a friend of a motorist. Since in this case the screws are thick and hard, even such powerful wire cutters were not particularly enough. Screws should be bitten so that the ends are 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 off all 216 screws - but in 5 evenings, that is, after 40 screws on average, I was pretty tired of this activity, and my fingers were no longer able to press the handles of the nippers any longer. When working, it is useful to use safety glasses (I wore the most common ones in which I ride a bicycle) - since the bitten ends of the screws tend to scatter 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 spikes arranged in two "curved" rows. She still does not pull on a four-row.
Project costs:
Tire - 160r.
Screws - 216pcs x 35kop - 76r.
Laying chamber Russian production(tire 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 crazily), or buying factory-made tires (which may not be possible either for financial reasons - or simply because such rubber is not available in stores).
Top view of the finished product:
