Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106

[UrbanMyth]

After our little flurry of snow on Thursday and a thrilling but wobbly
cycle to work thought I might invest in a set of these tyres to keep in
the shed for next time round. From yesterday's experience knobblies are
fine for holding traction but any deviation from dead straight and you
become a cropper. Not a nice prospect when you've got a bus tailing you.
Has anyone tried these or something similar ?

http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/97-7385

 

[Hbunnet]

I used them or very similar when commuting in mid Norway. They were
horrendously expensive about ukp 85 for a pair > 2" on the front and
narrower on the back.
During a thaw, I could cycle at normal speeds when peds had great
difficulty in walking.

I used them for two winters and they have another two left in them.

But the above was in an area where the roads were white from December to
late March. with hard packed snow. I am now in SW Norway where
conditions are more like NE Scotland, and I haven't bothered with them.

--
Hbunnet : (replace "nospam" with "athome" to reply)
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[Bob Johnstone]

UrbanMyth wrote:
> Has anyone tried these or something similar ?

I bought one of those tyres after slipping on ice and coming off the
bike. I only bought the one tyre because I thought that a back wheel
skid was less likely and less scary that a front wheel skid. Also, I had
a spare front wheel, which makes swapping tyres particularly easy.

The tyre seems to do the job, but it is difficult to be sure. The only
testing that I dared do was breaking hard while travelling in a straight
line over a frozen puddle. The tyre skidded, but was clearly scoring a
groove in the ice, gripping better that any purely rubber tyre would.

One feature that is immediately obvious is the high rolling resistance,
but then I normally use high-pressure touring tyres, not knobblies.

Bob

 

[John Kane]

On Feb 9, 10:54 am, UrbanMyth <[email protected]> wrote:
> After our little flurry of snow on Thursday and a thrilling but wobbly
> cycle to work thought I might invest in a set of these tyres to keep in
> the shed for next time round. From yesterday's experience knobblies are
> fine for holding traction but any deviation from dead straight and you
> become a cropper. Not a nice prospect when you've got a bus tailing you.
> Has anyone tried these or something similar ?
>
> http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/97-7385

Ten years or so, first with another brand and, since then, 6 years
or so with Nokia . I bought my first pair just a few hours after the
crash with the bus trailing me.

Instantaneous improvement that is hard to believe before you try then.
It makes a real difference on streets with icy patches . I have
even managed a 15-20 mile ride on glare ice[1] with no problem when
one could hardly walk on the ice.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

1. Local lake froze nicely on a calm night and I got on it before it
snowed... An absolutely flat surface (excluding a few islands) about
7 km by 4 km. and no traffic, no dogs, no potholes!

 

[Erik Sandblom]

Den 2007-02-09 16:54:39 skrev UrbanMyth <[email protected]>:

> Has anyone tried these or something similar ?


I got some Nokian studded tyres after falling on my face. They gave an
immense sense of control, but that was compared to the cheapest tyres the
bike shop would sell me. I used them almost daily for a few winters (less
than five) and they still have a few seasons left in them.

I later got a pair of Schwalbe Marathons, and these are also an immense
improvement over cheap tyres in snow and slush. I feel the Marathons are
fully adequate for snow and slush, plus you can leave them on all year
round, and they don't feel like driving a tractor.

Studded tyres are not just good for ice, they are also great for uneven
packed snow, especially the ruts made by cars on badly plowed or unplowed
roads.

Since I mainly ride on plowed and gritted paths, I haven't used the
studded tyres in years.

I should also mention that good tyres like Schwalbe Marathon are both
faster and give a smoother ride than cheap plasticky tyres, though I guess
most people here know that.

Erik Sandblom

--
Oil is for sissies

 

[mark]

UrbanMyth wrote:
> After our little flurry of snow on Thursday and a thrilling but wobbly
> cycle to work thought I might invest in a set of these tyres to keep in
> the shed for next time round. From yesterday's experience knobblies are
> fine for holding traction but any deviation from dead straight and you
> become a cropper. Not a nice prospect when you've got a bus tailing you.
> Has anyone tried these or something similar ?
>
> http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/97-7385
>
I commuted by bicycle year round here in Colorado (Summit County, where
Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain and Arapahoe Basin ski resorts
are located) for 5 years, 15 miles round trip, and used Nokian
Hakkapeliitta W106 tires every winter. Very durable, very puncture
resistant, and they offer a great deal of control on ice or hard packed
snow. I was able to cycle in traffic on snow packed or icy roads with a
fair bit of confidence.

When I first got the tires I tried them out on the ice skating pond at
Keystone ski resort. I had a blast, the ice skaters seemed impressed,
but the then CEO of the resort didn't seem too happy watching me.

The location of the studs close to the centerline of the tire rules out
any extreme lean angles while cornering, but otherwise the tires perform
quite well. The front wheel will skid under hard braking on snow, ice,
or dry pavement, but overall control on snow or ice is still far better
than with any tire without studs.

mark

 

[Yannik]

"UrbanMyth" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht
news:[email protected]...
> After our little flurry of snow on Thursday and a thrilling but wobbly
> cycle to work thought I might invest in a set of these tyres to keep in
> the shed for next time round. From yesterday's experience knobblies are
> fine for holding traction but any deviation from dead straight and you
> become a cropper. Not a nice prospect when you've got a bus tailing you.
> Has anyone tried these or something similar ?
>
> http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/97-7385
>

Schwalbe snow stud, 3yrs, on a backup mtb, besides the city bike, in
Brussels, Belgium where I rarely have to use them but can't do without them.
All other trafic comes to a stand still, and I can ride on
http://www.schwalbe.de/nl/nl/fiets/...ch=2&tn_mainPoint=Fahrrad&tn_subPoint=On Tour

The metal studs are off-centered and do not touch the road when the tyres
are at high pressure and you drive straight or in a slight curve.
At lower tyre pressure they touch all the time and work great.

Yannik

 

[David Martin]

I used the W106 and the A10 when commuting in Norway (Oslo/Baerum/
Asker).
Absolutely brilliant on ice. AS you would expect from knobbies in
snow.
Dog slow on bare tarmac.

They will give you a lot of control on ice where otherwise you would
have problems standing up. I have towed a trailer with two kids in up
a 1/10 on sheet ice.

85 quid a pair seems somewhat extreme. I picked up the first pair for
a couple of quid from a jumble sale, (the A10) and then bought some
106 for about 25 quid each.

I have used them once in 6 years since moving to Scotland.
...d

 

[Hbunnet]

The message <[email protected]>
from "David Martin" <[email protected]> contains these words:


> 85 quid a pair seems somewhat extreme. I picked up the first pair for
> a couple of quid from a jumble sale, (the A10) and then bought some
> 106 for about 25 quid each.

Agreed but I bought them from an (excellent) LBS in Norway. I don't
regret the purchase, I was able to go anywhere I wanted until the snow
got too deep.

On tarmac very slow, heavy and noisy. I have never used them in the UK.
#1 son will probably blag them off me when he finds me in a weak moment.



--
Hbunnet : (replace "nospam" with "athome" to reply)
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[Duncan Smith]

On Feb 9, 3:54 pm, UrbanMyth <[email protected]> wrote:
> After our little flurry of snow on Thursday and a thrilling but wobbly
> cycle to work thought I might invest in a set of these tyres to keep in
> the shed for next time round. From yesterday's experience knobblies are
> fine for holding traction but any deviation from dead straight and you
> become a cropper. Not a nice prospect when you've got a bus tailing you.
> Has anyone tried these or something similar ?
>
> http://www.bonthronebikes.co.uk/97-7385

Give them a go - I was two minds because some people said they'd have
less traction when used on non-icy roads, but after reading around on
icebike I decided to give it a try.

I can't fit one between the rear stays, so I only have one on the
front and a Schwalbe Marathon on the back. Whether it's strictly
necessary or not in the UK is probably debatable but for the piece of
mind and sense of safety on ice it gives I'd say it's worth it -
they're only what £25? If they stop you from falling off once then
they've earned their keep.

Rolling resistance isn't too bad, they might take off one or two MPH
and make a bit of a noise (reduces over time), but generally speaking
the performance is nothing to worry about so long as you're not racing
or anything. I wondered whether the studs would wear out in normal
conditions, but so far so good.

The A10 is even narrower, I was hoping to get one for the back, but
despite much searching, I haven't seen anyone prepared to import to
the UK, and get no replies from Nokian by e-mail... :-(

Regards,

Duncan.