For years I have been nagging any member of Brompton staff that stands still long enough asking for a set of spiked ice tyres to fit on the Brompton. After many years of such nagging, Schwalbe, maker of some of the finest bike tyres around, now makes a spiked tyre to fit the Brompton.
I decided to treat myself to a pair of spiked tyres for Luna (my Brompton), so that I wouldn't face another winter where I can't keep cycling all the way through it due to ice or snow. The Brompton sized spiked tyres aren't as wide as the standard tyres, which may seem slightly weird, you'd think that you would want a wider tyre in snow, but because the spikes stick out from the tyre, it has to be slightly narrower than the standard Marathon Plus tyre I took off (30mm vs 35mm). Also because the way the Brompton folds, the tyre contacts the frame at two points. This isn't a problem with a normal tyre, but with a spiked one, it'll strip the paintwork off.
So with a shiny set of spiked tyres in hand, my usual bike tool kit, a 3.2mm veg tanned leather hide, some 3mm bungee cord and a bone needle, I just spent 2 hours in full contact wrestling with two rubber coated sets of spikes from Germany. Yeouch these things bite back. Lessons you learn fast: the spikes hurt. I put two bits of leather on the frame, laced on with bungee cord, I may have to tighten these over time, but for now they are protecting the frame. Getting the tyre on the front was more of a battle than the back, seems it didn't like that rim so much. When I took the existing tyre off the front, looking at it up close made me realise two things, It's the original tyre, and the original inner tube. The tyre doesn't have much depth left, and the inner tube wasn't playing nicely, so I've replaced it.
Now that the tyres are fitted I have 40km of gentle riding (no heavy acceleration or braking) to bed the spikes in before I can relax a bit and ride normally. These tyres are designed to work at two pressures, at 4.5bar when in icey conditions where the greater contact is needed, and at upto 8 bar when the risk of ice is low and you want the quieter journey (the spikes are noisy on normal tarmac).
I'll post photos in day light. But for now, Luna is ready for winter!
J
PS I know people who have carefully fitted spiked tyres on their bike, then fallen over when they put their foot down. For that, I have a set of Kahtoola Nanospikes.
PPS Bring on winter!
I decided to treat myself to a pair of spiked tyres for Luna (my Brompton), so that I wouldn't face another winter where I can't keep cycling all the way through it due to ice or snow. The Brompton sized spiked tyres aren't as wide as the standard tyres, which may seem slightly weird, you'd think that you would want a wider tyre in snow, but because the spikes stick out from the tyre, it has to be slightly narrower than the standard Marathon Plus tyre I took off (30mm vs 35mm). Also because the way the Brompton folds, the tyre contacts the frame at two points. This isn't a problem with a normal tyre, but with a spiked one, it'll strip the paintwork off.
So with a shiny set of spiked tyres in hand, my usual bike tool kit, a 3.2mm veg tanned leather hide, some 3mm bungee cord and a bone needle, I just spent 2 hours in full contact wrestling with two rubber coated sets of spikes from Germany. Yeouch these things bite back. Lessons you learn fast: the spikes hurt. I put two bits of leather on the frame, laced on with bungee cord, I may have to tighten these over time, but for now they are protecting the frame. Getting the tyre on the front was more of a battle than the back, seems it didn't like that rim so much. When I took the existing tyre off the front, looking at it up close made me realise two things, It's the original tyre, and the original inner tube. The tyre doesn't have much depth left, and the inner tube wasn't playing nicely, so I've replaced it.
Now that the tyres are fitted I have 40km of gentle riding (no heavy acceleration or braking) to bed the spikes in before I can relax a bit and ride normally. These tyres are designed to work at two pressures, at 4.5bar when in icey conditions where the greater contact is needed, and at upto 8 bar when the risk of ice is low and you want the quieter journey (the spikes are noisy on normal tarmac).
I'll post photos in day light. But for now, Luna is ready for winter!
J
PS I know people who have carefully fitted spiked tyres on their bike, then fallen over when they put their foot down. For that, I have a set of Kahtoola Nanospikes.
PPS Bring on winter!
