Making studded tires

[g60dude]

Winter will be here sooner than we think and this year I definitely want to make a set of studded tires. Anyone that has done them before, any suggestions, tips? What type of screw you recommend? Do the screws go in the nobbies or in between them? Should you use new tires, or will older tires do? Maybe if there is some interest, we can do a little get together in someones garage or basement.
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greg

[Tim845]

I took some instructional pics I'd like to post, and a few hundred are on my drive from last years ice riding. Any way we can post/link/? to pics, web dudes?

[g60dude]

[BillB3]

[Kevin]

I made these a few years ago, and I honestly forget what size screw I used exactly. I do know that I got two tubs (300ct each) of zinc plated (or was it SS?) nut/screws from Home Depot. I used 300 screws in the rear and 200 in the front if I recall...I'm not about to count them. I drilled right through the knobbies and bolted it on. I need to line the tire with an old innertube before I try them again..I destroyed so many tubes. Have fun.

[Tim845]

Last year was a great couple of weeks on the swamps, but they also are great for iced over trails. The studs are much better than Nokian's etc.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=152720
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=152269
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=154001

[cfury]

I bought studded tire materials last year but never got around to assembling them. The material list was based on input from Frank Hildenbrand and assembly instructions came from Gordy but now I forgot everything he told me It's not an exact science so I'm sure there are multiple ways to do it.
Materials I got:
Tires - Panaracer FireXCPro 1.8
#6 Panhead screws 1/2"
27" road tires to cover screw heads inside other tires
I guess you have to space the screws about every other nobby towards the outside and then alternate every other nobby on the inside. Something like that. Then the road tire needs to be cut and a small section taken out since its larger than the mtb tire. The road tire provides protection between the screw heads and the tube. I think Frank recommended using a thick walled tube as well.

Craig

[Forest_biker]

2 Tires old or new
200? Pan head screws 1/2"
3/32 drill bit in cordless drill
batt operated screwdriver (black and decker)
duct tape
Bench grinder (optional)
.....and alot of free time!

From the outside, drill a hole through the center of the knob.
From the inside, drive a screw through the hole you made.
...easy, now repeat, spacing knobs at your discretion.

After your finished a tire the sharp points will be poking through, at this point you can leave them sharp or since my riding also included a bit of icy roads, I bring it to the bench grinder and grind the point down to just above the rubber knob top, leaving a small 1/32 of metal protruding.

This helps from having the screws pushed back through the tire if you do alot of pavement riding.

The final step is a healthy amount of duct tape on the inside of the tire covering the screw heads to protect your inner tube.
(Optional) Use tire liners also or instead of duct tape.
I prefer the duct tape method.

I've made three sets of these over the years and they generally last 2 to 3 seasons before I've thrown them out and started over.

[Tim845]

I found duct tape ng because of the need to reapply as eventually the heads wore thru. Ask me how I know that changing a flat in 20* is ng. Fitting a road tire (or Ive cut knobs off an old Mosquito) is a great shield but bulky. Im going to try spray on auto undercoating. It'll take masking, but might be the next evolution in the Alaskan revolution.

[Forest_biker]

I've used old road tires as a tire liners before.

If you take a pair of utility shears and cut away the beads and notch the sidewalls they do a good job of protecting the tubes.

They do make a heavy studded tire all the more weighty.

In the winter I'm constantly swapping the studded tires on and off and keeping a eye on the tape.

I was wondering if anyone knew if those Nashbar studded tires were any good?

[Forest_biker]

Bumping this back into the forum future to answer some recent questions.


...and making them is half the fun!!!

More Studded tire talk!

[g60dude]

Thanks for bringing this thread back from the dead.........I think this year finally I'm gonna make some tires
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greg

[Bawitdaba]

A good article on making studded tires:

http://www.morcmtb.org/morcpages/howto/studded.htm
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[bikejunkie]

[Bawitdaba]

We're making a few sets this weekend, may need them for Gore...
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Support our heros who have sacrificed for our nation
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[g60dude]

Very informative article, with pictures

Thanks
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greg

[g60dude]

So for all you "studs" out there. Do you have a second set of rims for your studded tires or do you just switch tires on the same rim for the particular season. I've heard it's kind of a pain in the arse to get that studded tire mounted on the rim.

<all this snow and ice , is making me wish I had studs right now>
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greg

[bike this]

I only have one set of rims. So once you stud them, just hope for a few weeks of usage. It's probably safe to go studded right now.
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Shut up and ride.!

[Tim845]

I'm down to one bike, so I use 1 set of rims too.

I wear leather gloves, but I can change my studded tires without levers in about 5 minutes total. It all depends on the tire and rim, independent of studs. One thing you can do is glue your liner to the tire, to not have it moving around is a big help.

Hutchinson 1.85 Allligator on Stans Olympic rim
and
Ritchey Mega-Bite 2.1 on Mavic Crossroc rim
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Pedal, b*tches!!