The MacGyver Approach to Winter Biking (Zip Ties)
dutchbikeco.com
dutchbikeco.com
My recommendation: Don't trust your life to a couple dozen plastic zip ties. If you're dealing with ice on a regular basis, pick up some Schwalbe Ice Spikers. 304 tungsten steel studs per wheel. They're expensive (about $100 each), but I've never had a fall or lost a stud in 4 years of daily winter biking... and I live in Ottawa, a city that regularly experiences -20c weather (cold enough to make plastic very brittle).
[1]: http://www.dutchbikeco.com/_blog/Dutch_Bike_Co_Weblog/post/A...
Much better are the Nokian W 240.
These can be got from Peter White Cycles who have a great selection of winter tyres: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp
What make these better is a higher stud count, studs on the side knobbles, studs are embedded and won't fall out easily, and they have a lower rolling resistance than full gnarly off-road winter tyres.
Oh, and when Peter White refers to aggressive riding... he means skidding. If you skid a studded tyre on a clear surface you can rip the studs out and damage the tyre such that you lose the benefit. When you're on clear roads, avoid skidding.
I mean, even MacGyver didn't invent his own Swiss Army knife everytime he needed it... though he probably did once.
But now that I think about it, that would seem to be implied, because if something is lasting, it would work with and not against reality.
Compare this to what London, Ontario has been facing. It's basically had a years worth of snow before winter has even started. Places around it had over 2 meters of snow fall within a period of a week.
I know here in the GTA I regularly see over 3ft of snow in the bike lane in winter. I think if the plows had shifted over 2 meters off the road surface, even the most determined biker will say fuck it when the bike lane has snow higher than them.
Also -5c can make 'all season' rubber become hard, brittle and reduce grip. So regardless, if you're biking in true winter conditions, you're better off to get winter tries made of actual winter rubber that will stay soft (usually) down to -35c.
Also, taking that stuff off looks like it would be just as much work as putting it on.
I've never ridden in snow except as a lark in Portland, OR (I was safe from cars then cause Portlander wouldn't drive in the snow).
If I did live where it snowed, I think snow-tires or don't ride makes sense. Perhaps you could carry this stuff on a road trip but that's the only use I could possibly imagine.
Definitely desperation time.
I have multiple bikes for multiple reasons: Long hauls, short daily commutes, exercise, and winter/off-road riding.
I also make sure to keep enough gear around for different conditions that may come up. Normally I don't ride with fenders, but if it's raining, I'll grab the winter bike, which has them and replace the snow tires. 10-15 minutes of work in the spring and I'm ready to go through the summer.
That said, I like the temporary hack here, provided it stays temporary (and is only done on bikes with disc brakes). Seattle doesn't get a ton of snow, so there's not much reason to keep studded tires around.
If you have a good pair of snips it'll take you literally a second or two to get them off. However if you're using a crappy dollar store pair of scissors, it'll take you 5 minutes.
Given that you should be storing enough non-perishable food for 2 weeks in case of an emergency, there really shouldn't be a reason to go out if you get freak weather beyond your local norm.
In short, if there is one thing in your life you don't try to get away with as cheaply as possible, make it tires. (though, I suppose with bicycles it's not quite as life-or-death as motorcycles)
You can put the heads on the tread side for studdedness but then they break right the hell off the second you hit clean pavement. You can also put the heads on the rim side for a plain paddlewheel effect. They still like to break off easy, especially with cheaper zipties.
Overall it's not worth it at all, since they don't last and don't help on ice where it would actually matter. Even true carbide-studded tires from Nokia or Schwalbe aren't really worth it unless you live somewhere with ice on the ground from freeze-thaw cycles for months out of the year.
If it's just slush, relatively narrow normal tires will cut through to the pavement just fine. If it's snow, larger volume tires at lower pressures helps more than anything, and knobs are relatively pointless (much less studs) — you just want to float on top of it like sand.
Yes - they've been somewhat expensive. With shipping I've payed about 110 Euros. But I'll prefer investing some money in good tires, compared to crashing and landing under a car.
Cable ties are also used to ward off magpies in Australia during the nesting season.
I was told about this method several years ago by an old Harley biker. He said zip ties should be in your bag incase you get stuck off-road or surprised by some snow. They won't last long, but they'll get you out of a jam.
I've never used 'em, but I keep a package of extra-long zip ties in my bike's saddlebags just in case.
PHYSICS PRIZE: Lianne Parkin, Sheila Williams, and Patricia Priest of the University of Otago, New Zealand, for demonstrating that, on icy footpaths in wintertime, people slip and fall less often if they wear socks on the outside of their shoes.
These could probably be improved further by ditching the zip ties for something reusable like velcro.
Carbide-tipped studded tires made by Schwalbe, Kenda, or Nokian are definitely the way to go. We've operated a bike delivery business for the past 18 years in the upper Midwest US and have tried almost everything. Nothing else works as well nor as reliably. The tires will last a few years so the cost per year is not huge.
If you're commuting, just buy studded tires. Amazon has them and two-day shipping is free :)