Winter tires for the bike: Tips & buying advice for tires & spikes

Tips & Tricks | Purchase advice: If you don't want to do without cycling in winter, you will encounter unfavorable weather conditions, especially with snow and ice. Do winter tires make sense for bicycles? What's the use of studded tires? Velomotion provides tips and helps you classify different tires and their strengths and weaknesses.

Cycling in winter: the area of ​​application, location and purpose determine the choice of tyres

Winter bike rides in adverse conditions can not only cause trouble. Depending on the route, weather conditions and tires, a journey can also be dangerous. Especially when the snow is warm and wet, almost every ride becomes uncontrollable. A widespread opinion is that you simply have to drive with spiked tires. But these do not always and everywhere make sense. We help with the classification.

The first question to be asked is which bike you want to use to reach which destination. While most cyclists do everyday journeys such as going to work or shopping, there are also die-hard mountain bikers who do not want to give up their sport in winter. And rightly so, because you can have a lot of fun with the right choice of tires, especially when there is a lot of snow! So first of all, be aware of where your area of ​​application is.
Your location plays a big role in this. What are the prevailing weather conditions? In the foothills of the Alps, for example, it is quite possible for the road to be covered with snow for many days, which becomes harder and harder over time and can turn to ice. On the other hand, in the Ruhrpott you usually have to contend with occasional slush. You can find out which tire makes sense where in the following.

Winter tires for bicycles: spikes

Although studded tires are generally known as universal winter tires for bicycles, they do not make sense everywhere. Many spikes work quite well on ice, but are sometimes useless in deep snow. That's because many tires are non-guided - meaning their tread doesn't have pronounced longitudinal channels that provide lateral support when cornering. In addition, some studded tires have a profile that is too closed. So they can only show their strength on pure ice and heavily compressed snow. There really is nothing better than a studded tire on ice. So if you often encounter heavily compressed snow and ice on your rides, you should consider a studded tire. However, you should be aware: Studded tires have a high rolling resistance - so the ride will be more strenuous if you don't ride an e-bike. A healthy middle ground would be to only use spikes on the front wheel. Because if the front wheel starts to slip, the risk of an accident is significantly higher than with the rear wheel.

Pro & Cons Studded Tires

Studded tire tips

• Mount only on the front wheel: The rolling resistance is greater at the rear wheel. So to roll better and save weight, using the front makes more sense. In addition, a slipping rear wheel can often still be caught or ends with a minor fall. But if the front wheel starts to slip, a fall is usually unavoidable and can have serious consequences.
• Air pressure vary: Some studded tires are designed to be driven with high air pressure in snow-free conditions. The spikes attached slightly to the side then do not touch the ground, which means that the rolling resistance remains acceptable. If the road is snowy, you let air out so that the spikes can touch the ground and the contact surface of the tire increases.
  
• Buy at the end of the season: Since a studded tire can cost €100, with a bit of luck you can snag a bargain for half the price at the end of the season.

Conclusion

Studded tires make sense if you often encounter prolonged cold spells with snow & ice and drive in congested areas where the snow packs quickly. For reasons of cost and rolling resistance, you can try the spiked tire on the front wheel first.

Winter tires for bicycles: winter tires

Correct winter tires for bicycles are almost exclusively available in the area of ​​city and trekking tyres. The focus of these tires is to maintain the lowest possible rolling resistance. The profile is based on the lamella profile of winter tires in the automotive sector. However, this cannot be transferred one-to-one to the bike - cornering grip is limited, the front wheel can quickly lose its grip if cornering too much, since the tires have hardly any guide profile. They therefore offer little grip in soft or wet snow. Accordingly, winter bicycle tires work well on snow when the snow is compressed but not icy. Overall, they are mainly suitable for use in regions with little snow and can demonstrate their advantages on wet, greasy roads, for example. Or on slippery roads – but not on ice.

Pros & Cons of winter tyres

Winter tire tips

• Air pressure vary: You can also play with the air pressure with winter tires. If the road is snowy, it is advisable to drive with less pressure in order to increase the contact area of ​​the tyre. However, this only brings significant advantages on firm snow.
• Use tires for gravel bikes: If you don't want to invest extra in winter tires, you can also fall back on Gravel tires. There are models with a good guide profile and at the same time you are better equipped for summer excursions on forest roads.

Conclusion

Winter tires can be of interest to anyone who occasionally encounters short periods of little snow. This can be the case, for example, in large cities. However, they are not really able to cope with really wintry conditions with a lot of snow. Be careful when cornering in the snow. Of course, they are still superior to comparable summer tires.

Winter tires for bicycles: mud tires

mud tires? Yeah right! Mud tires, with their open profile with small but long lugs, are very good at digging into soft and packed snow. The profile also hardly clogs. Mud tires have good cornering traction in snow due to their pronounced lead lines in the tread pattern. They are usually superior to studded tires in snow - unless the snow is extremely compact and slippery, or you are on ice. Mud tires for winter use are particularly interesting for mountain bikers because, in addition to the usually superior grip properties, they are cheaper to buy and roll a little better than spiked tires. But if you often encounter a lot of snow, mud tires can also be considered in everyday life. However, since mud tires are not designed for winter use, you have to be careful with the rubber compound: For example, the soft rubber compound from some manufacturers hardens significantly in cold temperatures and tends to become unusable. Harder rubber compounds, on the other hand, usually work very well in the cold. If in doubt, you should ask the manufacturer.

Pro & Cons mud tires

Tips on mud tires

• Also use in autumn: Mountain bikers who like to be out and about in the wet autumn can switch to mud tires at an early stage. Because the tires offer extreme grip even on wet and muddy trails.
• Buy only once: If you are a mountain biker who rides mud tires every now and then, you can save yourself the investment in expensive studded tires.
• Mount only on the front wheel: As with studded tires, the front wheel needs good grip. In order to keep the rolling resistance lower, you can only mount the mud tire on the front wheel. It can be a lot of fun, especially for riders with good bike control, if the rear wheel is a bit slippery.

Conclusion

Mud tires can be the right choice for anyone who frequently encounters a lot of snow that doesn't immediately turn to ice due to external conditions. For all mountain bikers who also enjoy touring in winter, they can often be the better choice than spiked tires.

Winter tires on the e-bike

Winter use of the e-bike requires an additional level of grip. If the bikes, which often weigh 20 - 30 kg, start to slip, it is even harder to stop them than a conventional bike, especially in curves. You don't need to worry much about the rolling resistance of mud or spiked tires - if in doubt, just do it switch up a support level. For use on an e-bike, we strongly recommend using spiked or mud tires – at least on the front wheel. In addition, the tires should be correspondingly wider. An old saying goes: There is no substitute for grip but more grip. This is especially true for e-bikes.

Winter tire test & information

Velomotion has already tested a few winter tires, here you can find all the information about them: List of the best studded tires Urban

ReTyre's winter tire zip system under test: Retyre winter tires for bicycles: long-term test of the innovative system

General tips for cycling in winter: Safe with the bike in the snow