Winter riding on the Zen Photon.

[DrewInSK]

Having been badly bitten/injured by ice here which is the state of sask roads for much of the time(on another brand of bike with not-these Johnny Watts 365, no complaints about them so far), I'm looking into doing a tire swap to be 100% sure I hurt less this winter. So far, am thinking the Schwalbe Ice Spike pro in 27.5"x2.6" -- has anyone else swapped into something studded? Any recommendations beyond what I'm looking at?

I had been pondering hanging it up for winter, but now I'm thinking the opposite. Why Else have a belt!? Still having a blast out there on this bike now before deep snow/freeze sets in -- and even then, I have the gear

Might even swap seatposts as a result -- did we ever get the authoritative sizing on that? I saw the clamp used somewhere was 34.9? Is that right?

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Having been badly bitten/injured by ice here which is the state of sask roads for much of the time(on another brand of bike with not-these Johnny Watts 365, no complaints about them so far), I'm looking into doing a tire swap to be 100% sure I hurt less this winter. So far, am thinking the Schwalbe Ice Spike pro in 27.5"x2.6" -- has anyone else swapped into something studded? Any recommendations beyond what I'm looking at?

I had been pondering hanging it up for winter, but now I'm thinking the opposite. Why Else have a belt!? Still having a blast out there on this bike now before deep snow/freeze sets in -- and even then, I have the gear

Might even swap seatposts as a result -- did we ever get the authoritative sizing on that? I saw the clamp used somewhere was 34.9? Is that right?

The seatpost is 30.9mm, and depending on the customer's request for a suspension seatpost, we would have included a 27.2mm post with a shim or a 30.9mm post.
The Ice Spiker Pro is an excellent tire for Saskatoon. For milder winters in places like Vancouver, Johnny Watts 365 might be a better choice.

 

[DrewInSK]

Ah perfect! Mine's got the suspension seatpost, but I've had my eye on the thudbuster for some time now, and am seriously considering it...soon

Thanks for the confirmation on studded tire, too!

 

[Blunoser]

Hi Drew, I can second the Spiker pros as being a great tire on ice. I use them on my MTB in the winter. Even on bare ice (on a lake for instance) they grip pretty much the same as biking in the summer on hard dirt. They are fairly slow rolling of course, but won't matter with an ebike. Keep in mind the ice gets pretty hard@ -20c and below. We don't see these lows here on the East coast. You might get less bite in those conditions?

 

[mclewis1]

The Spiker pros are indeed great tires but their suitability is totally dependant on the conditions you intend to ride them in. As mentioned they are excellent on smoother hard surfaces (packed snow, ice, etc.) but like most other studded tires you have to be really careful on very hard smooth surfaces (smooth concrete). Rougher asphalt is generally not much of an issue but even so there is some reduced grip (compared to aggressively lugged and studded tires) there. The Spker pros are really ice specialists.

So if you're riding in urban environments that included lots of slush covered roads and paved paths they wouldn't be my first choice, but if I was riding on a lot of paths/streets and trails in really cold well frozen conditions they would be. They also might not be the best choice if those paths were often covered in deep snow.

For me the tire characteristics when riding primarily in the following conditions ...

Ice/hard pack - Spikers
Deep snow - lugged as wide as possible, optionally with studs
Urban snow/slush - narrower well lugged with studs