With the recent storms hitting the northwest there are a lot of bikers piling on the bus or even driving! Though you can order expensive European-made studded ice tires, you can also modify your own cross tires into effective ice tires with just a few dollars' worth of rivets. These tires will keep you upright on hard packed snow and glare ice.
There are other methods for DIY ice tires (like sheet metal screws in mountain bike tires), but these ones made with pop rivets are elegant and suited to narrower tires used on hybrid/cross/touring bikes.
There are other methods for DIY ice tires (like sheet metal screws in mountain bike tires), but these ones made with pop rivets are elegant and suited to narrower tires used on hybrid/cross/touring bikes.
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A rivet tool.
An awl, or sharp poking thing (not a drill or blade).
A knife if you want to slice off tread blocks (not pictured)
Some steel pop rivets, long enough to reach through the washer and tread. The ones I used were 1/8" capacity, for a pretty ordinary cross tire. If you have very deep tread or puncture resistance layers in your tire you might need longer ones. I wound up using 33 rivets in my rear tire and 90 in the front.
Washers just big enough to fit over the rivet body--some are usually sold alongside the rivets.
Some cyclocross tires (not pictured) -- I got some off the used rack at my local bike shop. You want tires with some good tread to propel you in snow -- the rivets will help with ice and strong hardpack..
An awl, or sharp poking thing (not a drill or blade).
A knife if you want to slice off tread blocks (not pictured)
Some steel pop rivets, long enough to reach through the washer and tread. The ones I used were 1/8" capacity, for a pretty ordinary cross tire. If you have very deep tread or puncture resistance layers in your tire you might need longer ones. I wound up using 33 rivets in my rear tire and 90 in the front.
Washers just big enough to fit over the rivet body--some are usually sold alongside the rivets.
Some cyclocross tires (not pictured) -- I got some off the used rack at my local bike shop. You want tires with some good tread to propel you in snow -- the rivets will help with ice and strong hardpack..
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A lot of our city side streets will have mixed pavement, ice, and packed snow for long periods during the winter. Other roads will clear up after a few sunny days, and be bare cold pavement. It is nice to have a tire that can handle the mixed surfaces, without alot of rolling resistance on the dry.
First off, I only did one tire for my bike, the front. This is a skinny 30c cross tire. I feel the front is the most critical to keep a bike upright when you hit slippery stuff. I can live with the rear slipping once in a while. I cut off the outermost knobs, and placed a rivet every 5th knob, making 20 per side. The knobs are about 4" apart along the circumference of the tire. The opposite side is staggered. When the tire is at or near full pressure, the rivets/washers do not make contact at all going straight on dry roads. If you hit crusty packed snow/ice the rivets make contact. If you are turning, the bike starts to lean, and the rivets make contact. The rivets are at about the same height as the knobs, so they don't really seem to interfere with cornering on dry surfaces. You hear them clicking, but they don't seem to affect the traction (on dry).
On pure shiny ice, I would want more studs, and on the rear, too. But for the mixed condition roads, this is just right. Today, we had fresh snow. I found that lowering the tire pressure helped for that. This is cool, I just learned that biking in the winter can be fun.
I have a blog, and I am going to start a series of articles on thrifty bicycle tips. I will feature this instructable in one of my first articles. Check it out at http://millcitycycle.wordpress.com/ .
Testing out the rear, I would recommend some strips of duct tape lining on the inside for a few of the uglier rivets. Some rivets leave a tiny sharp end on the inside, but most are flush and are causing no problem.
I live in Maine and we have a few months of icy roads ahead. I ride on dirt roads often, and ice is particularly bad on those. This project appealed to me because I saved a ton of cash compared to buying new studded tires, plus I had some of these materials laying around, and cross tires I never used much.
I took a nasty spill on ice last winter while going very slow, so I hope these help. I'll try to remember to post a follow-up after I use them for a while. Great idea. Cheers!
Predrilled all the holes with a 7/32" drill from the outside of the tire. I found that if I didn't predrill, pushing the rivet from the inside of the tire could rip the nub on the outside.
At first I didn't line the inside of the tire with another tube, and instantly got a flat... now both tires are lined with old tubes. Problem solved. These are loud on the road. Took it out on a pond and the grip was surprisingly good.
Overall the task was quicker and easier than I though, and the result really is quite good... But it'll be amazing if anyone actually reads this post by making it past all the flaming comments about how someone reading a dedicated DIY site should just buy studded tires.
Now these things don't seem to matter. Companies lease out their name for products made by someone else or slap their name on something made in China for the lowest possible price.
I think you're right about buying something local that has a good return policy. That's probably the best way to go.
I hope I helped :)