Making a winter bicycle rubber. Tags: bike, winter tires, do-it-yourself spike tires

Winter came and I had to do something with the bike so as not to fall on the ice. I could buy a ready-made studded bicycle rubber - it would cost me 4-5 thousand rubles. Not only because of the desire to save money, but also from the eternal desire to do something with my own hands, I decided to make winter bicycle tires myself.

Was bought: 2 budget tires for 250 rubles. each; 400 pcs. 13 mm. screws (about 100 rubles).

Tires were chosen with large "teeth" so that self-tapping screws could fit comfortably in them. The tire had 80 + 140 + 80 teeth in total. I didn't want to screw in 300 screws, so I inserted the screws through one into the side rows. As a result, about 190-200 self-tapping screws were inserted into each tire. This made the tires about 200 grams heavier.

So, the tires are bought, the screws are also. We must get to work. First you need to make the guide holes in the tires. Without them, the screws will often go crooked and come out in the wrong place. It is very important that the self-tapping screws "look out" from the center of the "tooth" - this will extend the life of the tire. To do this, I took a drill and started drilling holes. It was, to put it mildly, hard, so I came up with a new method: I clamped the nail with pliers, heated it over the fire and made holes in the tires with it. It was no longer difficult, but it still took a lot of time. And then a brilliant idea came to my mind - to make holes with an awl! Sheel was not at home, so I had to buy it. Making holes with an awl is the best option.

The holes are ready, it's time to screw in the screws. I bought self-tapping screws for 13 mm with a press washer. It is very important to buy with a press washer, because only they have a fairly wide "hat". I screwed the screws into the tire with an ordinary screwdriver. I did not turn the tire inside out. The main thing is that the screws are screwed in exactly. You do not need to put them on glue. The self-tapping screw must be screwed in so that at the exit it slightly crushes the rubber under it with a thread.

That's what I did:

The last photo shows that on the side rows the screws are inserted through one. Sometimes there are empty teeth in the center, the order is as follows: 1-2-1-1-2-1-1-2-1, etc.

Self-tapping screws are screwed in, let's move on. Now they need to be sharpened. I didn't have a sharpener, so I asked a friend to sharpen the thorns. The self-tapping screws were hefty strong and the sharpener was more likely to grind off than they. But, all the same, they managed to undermine them. On one tire, the spikes were slightly longer; I put it on the front wheel, because there is less load on it and the quality of handling depends on it. The side row of self-tapping screws can be turned looser (the main thing is that they are not sharp), because they will work only when turning. A tire with turned self-tapping screws looks like this:

Self-tapping screws are screwed in and turned, but that's not all. To prevent the screw caps from damaging the camera, you need to make a lining. For this I cruelly cut two chambers - one old and one, I'm not afraid of this word, new. Now you can collect the wheel. When stacking the camera, be careful not to scratch it on the thorns.

Yesterday I tested my homemade winter bike tires, riding about 25 km on snow and about 35 km on asphalt. When driving on asphalt, a rather loud noise is generated, but this cannot be called a big drawback. When driving on snow and ice, the tires showed themselves in the best possible way - while friends on ordinary tires constantly fell on the ice, I drove absolutely not bothering, as if on asphalt. If we compare studded tires with ordinary tires, albeit with an evil tread, with emergency braking, the difference is simply monstrous. Heaven and earth! With studded tires, when braking at high speed on ice, it does not skid at all, the studs leave a deep mark on the ice.

There is only one drawback - it is difficult to maintain a high driving speed and a little more difficult to drive in general. You can feel it when driving on asphalt, but driving on ice / snow is a real pleasure.

Today we are going to talk about how to self-attach studs to a bicycle tire to make winter studded bicycle tires. We will also consider the methods of mounting homemade studs on bicycle tires with our own hands to ride a bicycle in winter.

Cycling, of course, means riding more in the warm season, but some extreme cyclists do not leave their "iron horses" alone in winter, arranging winter rides in nature or simply using them as an ordinary vehicle.

Running a bike in winter requires not only excellent physical fitness of the cyclist, but also makes special demands on the bike. So, here are some useful tips for winter bike use:

· Be sure to fit winter studded tires. With frequent movement on ice or rolled snow, tires with at least 200-350 studs are required; for movement on city streets, there may be less spikes - from 50 to 200 pieces.

· If the bike has only caliper brakes, then at least one of them (front) must be replaced with disc brakes. The thing is that V-brake brakes working on the rim clamp significantly lose their effectiveness in cold weather due to icing of the rims. The wheel can make up to 10 revolutions from the moment the brake is pressed. What kind of safety can we talk about when a bicycle travels a distance of 20 meters in 10 revolutions? In cold weather, disc brakes also perform worse than in summer, but still significantly more efficient than V-brakes.

· When driving on winter roads, the chain is necessarily clogged with dirt and road reagents. It is imperative to clean and lubricate the chain after each ride.

· When driving on snow, sprockets and derailleurs become clogged with snow very quickly. It is recommended to periodically stop and clean the gearshift mechanism.
· If there are cracks or chips on the paintwork of the bike, paint over the damaged areas, otherwise rust will corrode the frame, and in the summer you will have nothing to ride on.

· Oil seals, bushings and carriages "dubbed" in the cold, letting in dirt and other nasty things. We recommend disassembling and changing the grease of the bushings and carriage every two months.

· It gets dark very quickly in winter, so be sure to install a red flashing light and reflectors on your bike to indicate your presence in the dark, and install a headlight in front, preferably an LED one.

Many cyclists ask themselves the question in winter - to switch to studded tires or not. One of the decisive factors against bike spikes is the high price of quality winter tires. Only one bicycle tire with spikes can cost five thousand rubles - that is not always ready to spend on a bicycle rubber.

But by the way, such rubber is worth its money - the spikes reliably bite into icy areas, allowing the bike to maintain its trajectory.

No desire to buy? You can do it yourself

Let's say right off the bat, it is unlikely that it will be possible to maintain the roll-off with independent studding, but it is quite possible to achieve decent contact with the ice surface.

What we need to make our own studded bicycle rubber:

An old tire with a high tread (completely worn out will not work);
- awl;
- a couple of hundred self-tapping screws with a press washer;
- silicone or shoe glue;
- old bike camera;
- pliers;
- screwdriver;
- file.

Have you found all the necessary materials? Begin!

Decide what kind of drawing you are going to make. It is optimal for most cases - to insert the cleats in three rows - on the sides and in the center. The center can be dispensed with to maintain roll and give the rubber the properties of a winter grip for turns and in narrow ice ruts.

You can also spike in four rows - this is especially reasonable if there are even numbers of checkers in the tread.

Having decided on the patterns of the spikes, mark the punctures along the centers of the lugs (bumps) of the tire.

Turn the tire inside out and start screwing the self-tapping screw into the pierced hole - a small part of it should come out right in the center of the lug. The occupation is dreary and long.

At the next stage, we begin to make a fur coat. For this we need an old bike camera. Cut it open, lay the inner side of the tire (not to the very edge of the cord), measure and align everything again and begin to attach it to the glue. The task of the fur coat is to protect the working bicycle chamber from cuts with screw caps.

The next stage involves grinding the screws to an acceptable level. The side ones can be left, but the radial spikes will have to be cut off. Leave the edges of the radial screws protruding no more than 1 to 2 mm. With side ones - to taste.

How to cut? - wire cutters, pliers, file, grinder. With nippers, or pliers, you will make a rough cut, and with a file, you will align for a condition close to what we see on factory rubber.

That's all.

Features of self-made winter bike tires

Not the most ideal roll forward;
- Quite a massive mass of the structure;
- Archaic spike, inferior to what we see on factory rubber;
- Cheap and cheerful!

Video instruction

Is all this necessary?

The thorn is yours for downhill riders, country races, or bike riders.
It is customary to clean downhill tracks before skiing, but the ground will not become softer from this - the spike increases grip on the frozen ground, this is important and you can feel it.

In winter country racing without studs, it is objectively more difficult to work at full strength. While the snow is soft - good, but the sections on the tracks are different.

In cycling tourism, a thorn is safety. When you ride along the trails, think about how dangerous it is to leave a wheel on a sudden ice bump, and off trails - in the forest, on snow-covered areas, a bicycle spike rescues fans of winter cycling.

Buy a good cycling rubber for the winter, or make your own as described in the article above. The roll will be less, but the advantages of its use are still greater.

Cycling is a pleasant pastime for many. But for those who like to ride a bike in winter, other studded tires are provided. Next, we need a tool: a good, suitable screwdriver for self-tapping screws, a head for 7 (8 screwdriver or drill, drill (2-3mm chalk, awl, spacer for the tire. We mark the tire, those places where the spike will sit. You can use chalk or a marker We mark evenly. We take into account the fact that a large number of studs increases the weight of the tire, and with a small number the necessary grip will not be provided. Here you need a creative approach. Also, do not forget about the loosening of the tire, due to the break of the cord with a drill and self-tapping screws. drill with a diameter of 2-3 mm Insert between the sides.

The tires were "made" in one evening with a screwdriver, by eye. Between the camera and the tire, the spacer is a single layer of adhesive tape. Self-tapping screws are the smallest, 2.5x10. Impressions: tires are extremely inconvenient to install, new screws prick. On ice and packed snow, the grip is very good. The motorbike leaves the icy track at a very slight angle without any problems. Holds the road when braking and cornering. It is impossible to drive on loose snow - the resistance force is too great. The photo shows a wheel after 400 km. Half on ice, the other on asphalt. #eleven.
With a screwdriver, we press the self-tapping screw into the slots, from the outside with the head. We tighten so that the first thread appears above the nut. We control visually and manually that the tire is well compressed by the stud head from the inside and the washer and nut from the outside. And so with every thorn. Be careful, the ends of the self-tapping screws are traumatic! Affected: body and limbs, clothing, parquet flooring, lacquered / polished objects and particularly sensitive animals! Do not forget that at speed and during rotation, such a wheel can not weakly injure both its owner and those around it. When assembling the wheel between the tube and the tire. Today I decided to update the worn screws on the rear wheel of my bike. Why only in the back? Because on the front they did not wear off :) Although the front wheel is mainly responsible for handling, I wanted to update the screws on the rear in order to get rid of slippage and drifts on the ice.

So, although the screws on the front wheel have worn off a little, they still have to roll and roll, and I see no reason to replace them, they work well. On the rear wheel, the screws were almost completely erased and the effect from them is already very small: I began to slip strongly on the ice, the rear wheel often blows away. There were no falls, but control over the road was weakened.

I want to tell you more about how the self-tapping screws wear out. Only the central row is stitched. The side rows work very rarely, so they hardly wear out on both wheels. The front wheel is lightly loaded, so there they practically do not wear out. On the rear wheel, everything is more serious. Let's imagine that we have a wheel with new screws. After 10-20 km of driving on the asphalt, the self-tapping screws will noticeably undermine. Then the wear rate will decrease. After 40-60 km of asphalt, the self-tapping screws will protrude from the rubber quite a bit, but they will still provide good grip on ice. After that, the wear rate will decrease even more, and only after 100-200 km of asphalt they will be erased so that they stop working. Therefore, do not be alarmed if you notice that after a few kilometers of asphalt pavement the brand new self-tapping screws have noticeably worn off :) I have traveled a little over 400 km this winter and only now decided to pierce the tires again. Moreover, we must remember that the winter of 2011-2012 until mid-January was practically snowless and I had to drive almost only on asphalt. I think if winter was normal, my thorns would last until spring.

I will also mention the gaskets. After the camera was cut through 3 times with the caps of the self-tapping screws, I decided to go to extreme measures and made a gasket between the camera and the tire from three old cameras on the rear wheel, and on the front one from an old semi-slick tire. The bike has become noticeably heavier, but I'm used to it and can now maintain a fairly high speed.

So, this is what the old worn out screws look like. They hardly help anymore:

And this is how new ones look like, just screwed in. They look scary, but you need to be afraid only for linoleum :)

Replacing self-tapping screws is not difficult. I just twisted the old ones and screwed the new ones. The side rows, of course, did not touch. It took less than an hour to unscrew the old screws. It took a little over an hour to screw in new ones. The rubber, by the way, practically did not wear out and the new screws sat down tightly enough. I also want to draw your attention to the fact that although I use the most budget tires (250 rubles apiece), its condition can be assessed as excellent, despite the fact that I drove at least 300 km on asphalt and only a little more than a hundred - on snow (winter then , damn it, snowless). Those. self-tapping screws have reduced rubber wear when driving on asphalt.

Last time I asked a friend to sharpen my screws to the required length. The second time I don't want to disturb the person, and I decided not to grind the screws at all. As you can see in the photo, they protrude from the rubber by 0.5 cm

I was hoping that I would ride a few kilometers on the asphalt and they would undermine. Actually, this almost happened, only they did not grind off, but broke off a little at the tips. After a couple (rather heavy, by the way) kilometers of asphalt, they were without sharp ends, and after 10 km of asphalt and 20 km of snow (well, snow does not count), the self-tapping screws are quite suitable, slightly hypertrophied spikes that perfectly hold on the ice and protrude only on 1.5-2 mm. Now that they have become shorter, their wear will be noticeably reduced and you can ride safely

Actually, the result is as follows: there is no need to grind new screws, it is enough just to ride literally 2-3 km on the asphalt.

Studded tires for a bicycle allow its owner to enjoy cycling in ice and snow, without fear of being unable to cope with the movement and falling on a bad road. After all, the road is often simply unpredictable during the winter driving period.

Studded tires are similar to car analogues, with a durable metal tread that is located on both sides of the tire. It makes it possible to drive without problems on an icy surface, but under the condition of not strong pumping of the wheels.

The spikes themselves on the tire come in various shapes:

- pointed;

- flat.

In addition, studded tires come in different numbers of studs.

One type is double row tires. They are located on the sides. With good pumping of the wheel, they practically do not touch the surface, only when turning. This applies to those weather conditions when there is no ice on the surface of the asphalt. But if you need to ride on an icy surface, the wheel should be less inflated. And the weather will work exactly those side metal spikes that are necessary for contact with slippery surfaces.

Another type is four-row tires. They are similar to double-row tires, but the difference is that they also have an additional two rows of studs. That is, the number of studs on the tire has been increased by one and a half times. They are more powerful, make it possible to move comfortably where there are no normal roads. But first of all, they are designed for driving on an icy surface, but at the same time it makes it possible to drive on roads.

Important when using such a bus:

1.It does not carry out strong pumping. And then the steep bends and descents will be overwhelming for the cyclist.

2. And then it allows good grip of the tire on slippery surfaces.

3. Absence of harsh braking and spike tires will last long enough.

And after installing studded tires, you need to go through a running-in process. But this must be done very carefully. This is necessary in order not to harm the spikes themselves and the tire. The very process of running-in is carried out precisely on asphalt and for an hour with a slow movement of the bike. This will provide the studded tire with a longer life in good condition and without losing studs. And then any bike ride will be a joy even in winter.

Was bought: 2 budget tires for 250 rubles. each; 400 pcs. 13 mm. screws (about 100 rubles).

So, the tires are bought, the screws are also. We must get to work. First you need to make the guide holes in the tires. Without them, the screws will often go crooked and come out in the wrong place. It is very important that the self-tapping screws "protrude" from the center of the "tooth" - this will extend the life of the tire. To do this, I took a drill and started drilling holes. It was, to put it mildly, hard, so I came up with a new method: I clamped the nail with pliers, heated it over the fire and made holes in the tires with it. It was no longer difficult, but it still took a lot of time. And then a brilliant idea came to my mind - to make holes with an awl! Sheel was not at home, so I had to buy it. Making holes with an awl is the best option.

Yesterday I tested my homemade winter bike tires, riding about 25 km on snow and about 35 km on asphalt. When driving on asphalt, a rather loud noise is generated, but this cannot be called a big drawback. When driving on snow and ice, the tires showed themselves in the best possible way - while friends on ordinary tires constantly fell on the ice, I drove absolutely without bothering, as if on asphalt :) If we compare studded tires with ordinary tires, albeit with an evil tread , during emergency braking, the difference is simply monstrous. Heaven and earth! With studded tires, when braking at high speed on ice, it does not skid at all, the studs leave a deep mark on the ice.

As I said, about 35 km yesterday I had to drive on bare asphalt. A friend who has much more experience said that upon arrival home I would have to change the tires, as the spikes will wear off from the asphalt. But it turned out that the screws practically did not wear off. They only turned and became not sharp, but the length remained the same. However, it is worth noting that there is no need to do it once at a time - I was just lucky with the purchase of high-quality self-tapping screws. In general, it is not desirable to ride on such rubber on asphalt, but it is possible if the speed is not high.

Using a homemade winter studded bicycle rubber. Advantages and disadvantages

I recently wrote about how to make spiked rubber for a bicycle. Some time passed, I managed to ride it and now I'm ready to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of this bicycle rubber.

First, about the merits.

Although some people say that they normally ride on ordinary tires in winter, but, whatever one may say, the difference is obvious. Especially when braking. But it is the quality of braking that is most important when cycling in winter. Well, everything is clear with the advantages, let's move on to the disadvantages and difficulties.

disadvantages

Of course, this kind of rubber is a little harder to ride. But that's not the point. When driving on asphalt, the spikes on the rear wheel are noticeably erased, so the rear wheel is not enough for me for the whole winter (everything is ok with the front one) and I will either have to make a new tire, or unscrew the worn out screws and screw in new ones. But in this case, the tire rubber can quickly wear out, because a new portion of self-tapping screws, most likely, will not follow the existing thread, but will lay a new one. But this is not the main thing either. When I decided to stud a bicycle tire for the first time, one of the main reasons was the lack of winter bicycle tires on sale, or rather, a rarity, and therefore without a choice of options. But now it is on sale, and there is some choice, and you can probably buy any one in online stores.

But looking at the arrangement of metal and rubber spikes in bicycle tires, and understanding how and where there is a desire to ride in winter, the mood did not improve. It's as if the tire manufacturers who invent the products are taking care of their products from too idealistic positions. Either asphalt and flat ice, or rolled snow alternately with a snowless road. And the thorns, as they are specially made so that they are lost rather on hard surfaces, and it would be necessary to buy the next bicycle tire.

As a result of the reasoning - to spend money on what is or to do what is much cheaper, but I chose to do exactly the way it was needed.
Base selection - tires

First, I decided on the parameters - what should be the tire. And taking into account the previous experience of studding old ones, with partially worn out tread, I decided that only a new one and not an accidental one, which will get it for nothing (or almost nothing), but selected from catalogs, or from those suitable that are on sale. In extreme cases, I decided to wait for the one ordered in the internet store, but exactly the one that turns out to be more suitable.

1. - should be folding, since it is much easier to remove and put on in the cold than with a wire frame - tires with aramid frame are softer, more obedient. Yes, and piercing with an awl, drilling, keeping the direction of the puncture and drilling, at the desired angle, is easier, as well as screwing in the thorn screw. If the tire can be flattened. It is easy to press it with a clamp to the plane of the workbench or plywood (board).

2. - should be with a Kevlar cord, since piercing the tire in the cold and then gluing is not an easy task due to the very frost. And the experience of breaking a tire in winter has already happened - I drove along a broken section of a metal fence with a sticking out bar that is not visible under the snow. Then he glued not only the camera, but also the tire - the gap was one and a half centimeters. The procedure took over two hours in the cold. The fire had to be built in order to glue at a positive temperature.

3. - The main point is the location of the rubber spikes of the tire, because in them you will have to install metal spikes. So that the height is no more than 4 mm - less than that of the branded winter ones by 1.0 - 1.5 mm, and the location and quantity would allow driving on hard surface with less losses. And so that when turning and passing inclined ice surfaces, the thorns appear in the place of the most advantageous application of forces - holding abilities. And it is imperative that the spikes are located more often along the contact track, for less mechanical losses when driving on ice.

4. - the dimensions of the rubber spikes of the tire. So that the spike does not have a size, along or across, less than 8 by 8 mm, since it will not be possible to hold the spike under load - the rubber spike will tear in the direction of the load on the metal spike.

On the tire found and liked in all respects, there were 444 spikes measuring 9 by 11 mm and 8 by 11 mm, 4 mm high, located in the best way for the planned winter rides on ice, asphalt and stony roads.

They turned out to be - KUJO DH 2.25 K, for installation on the rear wheel, and KUJO DH 2.35 K, for installation on the front, according to the condition of the turn, and therefore at a greater angle than the rear wheel, to run over (slide off) ice obstacles.

Produced by - IRC.

They also had embossed inscriptions pleasant to the eye - MADE IN JAPAN, and the sidewalls made of red rubber, softer in the cold, prettier than a completely black tire.

Basically, as if everything is on the tires, now you need to find what will then be metal spikes.
Finding suitable screws - studs

The trip to the fastener shops had to be carried out for a long time, because what some offered could be worse than what could be found elsewhere. Only two sellers had visual stands to choose screws, but for clarity, there are only one, two standard sizes on it, and not everything that can be on sale. Yes, and on the sites I had to look for links to articles of self-made people who were ahead of me in such an idea.

In all the articles read, self-tapping screws with sharp ends of screws or washers with curved pointed edges (homemade or furniture with a threaded groove - washer-nut with horns) were used, riveted with blind rivets or ordinary rivets. Both of them have one feature - to tear and tear everything that neither touches nor passes on anything - clothes, wallpaper, linoleum, etc. Another reason for rejecting washers is that those that are furniture must be fixed with a screw with a flat washer, but even with a thread lock, they can be easily lost. But the main thing is that it is impossible not to get hurt by putting on or taking off such a tire, even with gloves or mittens made of strong, thick leather. An attribute that you will definitely need to take with you with other tools if the spikes are so sharp. How to temper them is also a task. And the losses when driving with such washers are large. In general, the washers are not.

As a result, the choice was stopped on self-tapping screws with a washer head, hardened, galvanized with a tip - a drill.

The drill ends of these screws do not scratch hands, do not cling to fabric, fleece, or puffs. They do not stick into linoleum, do not tear wooden surfaces under light load. But since the tips are made for drilling metal, they are harder (harder) than conventional screws. Tried trying to scratch glass with self-tapping drills and sharp ordinary ones. The drills were able to scratch with less pressure and immediately.

Arranged and dimensions - 7.5 mm, 9 mm, 13 mm, and 16 mm in length, and diameters - 3.8 mm and 4.0 mm, which are quite suitable for mounting in tires with different thicknesses of rubber.

True, the 2 smallest sizes were 7.75 mm in diameter and without washer-like extensions. The rest with washer caps with a diameter of 10.7 mm. For some reason, sellers call them pre-washers.

Since the spikes were found and bought, it was possible to buy out the tires I liked that were waiting for me in the Trial-Sport store.
Combining theory, guesswork, someone else's and your own experience into a single whole

At first I had to think about the installation method - screwing in the studs, how to drill and pierce the tire so as not to damage the cord. Trying on a cut piece from an old tire, cutting along the drilled piece at different angles and with different revolutions, with drills of different diameters - from 1.0 mm to 4.0 mm, and changing the sharpening, I came to the conclusion. You need a drill with a diameter of 2.0 mm - 2.5 mm, sharpening at an angle of 45 degrees or more, with a zero or negative angle of the cutting edge, the attacking part of the drill. The best indicator was when drilling with such a prepared drill, but in the opposite direction, as when unscrewing, the direction of rotation - absolutely no damage to the cord threads. But even with the right rotation, the results were not bad - the cord was strained in isolated cases.

The technology is as follows - first, with an awl, pierce the tire where the spike will be installed. At an angle of installation of the thorn. Poke through the outside so that the awl sticks out 15-20 mm inside the tire, so that you can see the place and the angle - the direction of the hole. Take a drill with a drill and reversed direction of rotation. The maximum drills are not more than 1000. It is more convenient if it is a cordless drill with speed control by the trigger trigger. Notice the location and direction of drilling, remove the awl and immediately drill into the resulting hole. Put aside the drill with the drill, take the second drill - an electric screwdriver with a Phillips screwdriver installed in the chuck - a pin, matching the number to the cross for the screw-drill. Place the screw-drill on the tip of the Phillips screwdriver (pin) and screw into the hole at an angle of drilling - piercing with an awl. Check that the screw drill - the thorn comes out exactly in the right place, marked by the awl.

And the same 443 times, and then for the second tire the same amount - exactly 444 identical procedures - "Chinese labor". A little "trick", so as not to pierce the tire under each spike separately, punctured as many holes as you intended to install spikes on a given day (work shift). Then he stuck parquet nails into the holes obtained, and took them out only one at a time before drilling. Then he again inserted nails into the holes obtained, but thicker - 3 mm thick, immediately after drilling. And when he drilled the rate of the day, then he took out three-millimeter-thick nails one at a time before screwing in the thorn screw. So the holes did not "disappear" - they did not tighten, and it is faster and more accurate than repeating all procedures with each thorn.

First, a row of extreme ones, at appropriate angles, pierced and inserted parquet nails (they are inserted easily) - you can immediately see whether the holes are evenly and correctly marked along the protruding row of nails. Then the other extreme row, and then along the rows and the rest. But not all in a circle, but a section - a sector, into which the tire was divided, as in working days. Observing accuracy and attention, each stage of work is visually easily controlled by evenly placed carnations.

It took the listed work, about 30 working hours - two weeks in the evenings.

It could be faster, but after all, I worked out the control technology, it was already beautiful - the result of the work is visible and predictable.

Attention - you need to pierce the tire with an awl once for one spike, precisely marking the place of the hole according to the drawing, taking into account the angle along the red dotted line - 3-5 degrees from the black dotted line, no more.

The tire is 26 by 2.25 inches, screws and spikes of different sizes are used - the middle row is the smallest, blued, then a little larger galvanized, and on the outer rows the largest ones with a pre-washer head.

Close-up on a 26 "by 2.35" tire. It can be seen that in the extreme rows, the screws are screwed in at an angle favorable for holding the ice. All spines are largest, with a pre-washer cap.

I called my friend trial man, asked: - "Are there any unnecessary cameras made of thick rubber with a torn off nipple?" It turned out that there are as many as 3 pieces. It was from these cameras that I cut out the stripes. I cut it in the middle of the sidewalls and used the outer part. Two chambers with a wall thickness of 1.5 mm and one with a wall thickness of 3.5 mm are heavy, the whole chamber weighed 600 grams, like a tire.

Thick-walled chamber, cut off along the middle of the sidewalls. For inserting into a studded rear tire - protects the tube from the studded caps. It is more loaded in the middle rows of thorn screws, small-diameter caps are more prominent.

I installed a thick-walled strip under the rear tire, and a thinner one under the front. One thinner is a spare. Bicycle tubes are inflated, Schwalbe used, at a price of 240 rubles - ordinary, but made of high quality rubber. I bought it from Leader-Sport, on the street. K. Marx.

Rear tire from the inside, visible camera-gasket with traces of the heads of the studs. There were no breakthroughs, there was not even a hint of abrasion - the "gaskets" can be thin.

Testing

This is the most exciting and interesting thing that happened from the Dark Pad station and when crossing Lake Baikal on the ice.

In the beginning, of course, I drove to the central passenger station on the asphalt.

The first impression is the sound, as from a dog running on linoleum or parquet with its claws extended, but stronger. We are going with a friend who has no spikes on his wheels. But since there is no ice, we go quickly and as if without stress, although we are careful not to slip and farther from the cars.

The experience of skating on the rink was surprising, but only for a moment - ordinary skating, turns and braking without problems. But there were no cars with pedestrians on the rink.

So there were no unusual impressions. I tried to slow down sharply, turn around - it's normal. It seemed that my friend was less confident without thorns, but this did not seem to be a certain indicator. We are going by train to Dark Deep. How will it be there?

We arrived, looked down at the path and ... drove. At first slowly, and then somehow inexplicably confident and risking more and more. Braking with the rear wheel, helping and dragging with one foot in the snow, like motocrossmen, and even accelerating and bouncing in some areas. Horror. Suicide slope.

I look around - my friend is gone, his bike too. I had to dismount and search. It turns out that, braking with the rear wheel and discovering that this had no effect on the steep slopes of the track, he began to slow down with the front wheel, but this did not help on a snowy trail. He began to accelerate and ran over a piece of soil exposed from the snow. The front wheel, blocked by the brake, and it had rims, stopped both of them and threw one, over the handlebars of the other, down the hill. But somehow silently - he did not have time to get scared and cry out. Then the bike flew off to the same place. One lies below, in deep snow in silence, and the other, turning its wheels in an inexplicable position, ten meters away. The one without wheels responds with some phrase from an anecdote and unprintable about a close relative. The snowdrifts accepted both flawlessly - they flew alongside huge stones and lying tree trunks.

Looking not at the action described above, for the first time I became proud of my cycling. After all, I never slipped, although I was afraid a lot.

Further down, on the Angasolka river, there was a super test. I ride down the path to the bridge, and from it onto the bumpy ice - snow on top, a layer of wet sludge under it, and ice at a depth of 5-10 cm. I drove to the tree, looked around, and my friend bypasses this ice disfigurement along the slope with a bicycle on his shoulder. Shouts that it is impossible not only to drive, but even to walk - it is slippery and wet. Once you fall and continue to go, you will have to wet.

I let go of the tree and food, no sensations, normal driving, only splashes of sludge to the sides. I even liked it, I rode in different directions, because the ice on the river is bumpy and inclined, like the slope. Amazing, no hesitation, the ride is as easy as dry and hard gravel. I didn't want to go further, an absolutely unusual feeling from ordinary confident riding - you ride easily, switch, accelerate, slow down, but this is a very slippery and uneven place, more slippery than just ice. I didn’t go to such places yet, but on the contrary, I avoided.

While we were driving to Lake Baikal, out of interest, I chose the opportunity to ride on the ice of the river, where it is under sludge, wet, bumpy and whatever - the ride is absolutely normal, there is no stress so as not to slip. It is easy to slide onto the ice and drive back to the shore where the trail goes.

On the shore of the lake, several skiers took skis with sticks in their hands, and went to the snow drift in order to ski across it to Slyudyanka.

Looking at the absolutely even and smooth ice, I was a little at a loss - how will it ride? But having driven down on it, I heard the noise from the thorns and everything ... no other feelings - as if on a flat road. I accelerate, I brake, I make turns such that I almost fell several times, jumped - bucked as best I could and ... NOTHING. It’s even strange, because this is exactly how you can ride on smooth asphalt. He began to scoff at himself and the bike, but no maneuvers or brakes managed to slip or make a skid either on the ice or on a thin crust. True, he turned over the steering wheel several times, both straight and sideways. On that day, only a friend had problems - he was driving no faster than 6-9 km / h, and then on lowered tires. On normally inflated even 3 km / h, the problem is that it fell, slipped every 5-10 meters. I can't imagine how many bruises and bumps I brought home. True, I also brought it - from flights over the steering wheel. One of the flights was due to the fact that one rear wheel braked sharply.

The main impression is the same - NO IMPRESSIONS - normal riding without problems and uncertainty. Self-spikes "stick" to ice or a dense snowy road much better than new tires for summer clean asphalt.

Another time to the Angasolka river, drove almost 20 km along the highway and gravel road - I did not lag behind, sometimes even drove forward on the slopes, although everyone with whom they rode in a small "gang", except me, rode on branded spikes.

We went down to Baikal past the village of Angasolka on a frozen dirt road. I, along the crooked and wet ice on the Angasolka River, and those on the brand spikes, along the path. The owners of the "firm" tried, one even fell, and stopped taking risks - driving on wet ice, and on Lake Baikal they did not risk sharp maneuvers, but in a straight line they could race with firms on an equal footing. True, at the "firm", they could afford to press the rear brake sharply and strongly - the rear wheel skidded slightly to the side, and I could fly through the steering wheel.

It is a pity that I did not take the camera and there are no pictures of those tests. Twice he drove in a company with Diagran (who knows) on his spikes both on the highway and on the snow and on the ice of Lake Baikal - you can't keep up with him and on the highways on the asphalt, he drives his usual branded spikes on ice at 35 km / h - a monster.

On the train, when setting the bike, there was no fear that clothes or fleece gloves could be torn on homemade spikes, I took it on purpose.

By the spring, it became noticeable how blunt - the drills of the thorns become semicircular, but this did not affect the holding force on the ice and rolled snow. True, due to the fact that the spikes have become a little shorter, it seems to be easier to ride on asphalt and ice. And yet - the more dull the spikes-drills, the slower their abrasion occurs - the contact surface area increases. It becomes approximately equal to the area of hardened studs, as in branded bicycle tires, without victorious inserts. I hit about 700 km with thorns in the first winter, I don’t know more precisely, because the bike speedometer "died" after 600 km. On asphalt and concrete with ice, it turned out about 100 km, another 250 km on gravel and dirt roads, the rest about 400 km on ice and dense snow.

I think that during my operation, it will be enough to drive until some of the studs are replaced, at least 1500 km.
A theory proven by practice

The proposed cleat angle was obtained from the reasoning that the greatest shear load on the cleat when braking. And in order for the spike to "bite" into the ice in the best way, it must be installed at a negative angle to the support plane when moving forward.

Lateral spikes are also at a negative angle to the plane of support from the corresponding side, as when driving on a slope or when cornering at speed. And since under shear load, the studs will deflect in the elastic rubber of the tire, this deflection will be less, due to the thicker rubber behind the stud and the greater resilience of the thicker rubber layer.

I did not glue the gasket between the bicycle camera and the caps of the self-tapping screws, since the gluing will not be tight, and water and dust will get in the looseness - there is dirt in it, and it is not difficult to insert and remove this gasket.

How does the water get there?

Let's say you had to ride in wet places, and then remove the tire and the camera in the warmth - water from the inner volume of the rim will flow into the tire.

And you need a lot of glue - 2-3 full tubes per wheel. With a mediocre result - poor gluing quality. After all, the embossed caps will interfere with the ability to stick the rubber of the trimmed chamber to the inside of the tire. And with a thick layer of glue, "chewing" sounds will be emitted, which happened when gluing bicycle tubes to road bicycle wheels on an unnecessarily thick layer of glue - not a high-quality gluing. And since it is impossible to achieve high-quality gluing, why do it badly? After all, if you have to replace any spike, you still have to tear off the gluing.

I hope what turned out in the end, and what gave me the opportunity to be convinced of the correctness of my guesses and the work applied, will help those who are not afraid to spend labor, accuracy and attention for the final result - riding a bike where it was impossible before, but with with such tires it is safe and pleasant.

Recently, to make the ride easier, I decided to pump up the wheels harder. Actually, I didn’t pump them much, but the way everyone usually pumps up the wheels in the summer. I went on business, and on the way back I had a flat rear tire. At home, I pulled out the tire, found two strange holes in the camera, despite the fact that the camera lining was intact. I didn’t get worn out and just taped up the camera. The next day I went on a night ride and on the way my front wheel flattened. The thoughts began to creep into my head that this was the work of self-tapping screws, or rather, of self-tapping hats, which could damage the camera. I disassembled the wheel, pulled out the camera and for sure - the whole camera was in noticeable marks from the caps of the screws, and the hole was exactly along the edge of the mark. In short, it was clearly visible that the screw cap was the cause of the damage to the camera.

There are 3 or 4 such damages on the camera. Moreover, this is not a hole; the chamber does not allow air to pass through. But, of course, you don't want to ride with such a camera, because the crack can open at any moment. Let me remind you that an old camera played the role of a gasket. As you can see, it is clearly not enough.

On a note

After inspecting both wheels, it turned out that only the front wheel was damaged. The rear wheel camera is fine. This is most likely due to the fact that the length of the screws on the front wheel is 2 times longer than on the rear. This is logical: when braking, 2-3 central screws bite into the asphalt / ice and, if they protrude strongly, they bite into the camera with the edge of the cap. Almost the same when hitting curbs. Hence, we can conclude that it is not advisable to leave the screws protruding more than 1.5 mm. In addition, if there are a lot of self-tapping screws in the central row, then a larger number of self-tapping screws will work during braking, which means that the camera will be less affected.

What to do?

It became clear that only one gasket camera was missing. Also, a strip of adhesive plaster will not be enough. In several places on the web, I have seen people using a piece of linoleum as a spacer. I didn't have any extra linoleum, but I remembered an old semi-slick tire gathering dust on the balcony. I cut off the sides and inserted it into the front tire. I had to cut it a little to make it fit. If you do the same, trim the tire very carefully, because if you cut off the excess, there will be a gap between the ends of the spacer tire, which will damage the tire. To avoid this, I sealed the joint with a piece of rubber from the first aid kit.

The wheel has become noticeably heavier and this is bad. On the other hand, if done correctly, I will be almost completely puncture-proof and will be able to inflate the wheels a lot to make the ride easier. Some might say that in winter you need to drive at low pressure, but when there are studs, there is simply no need to increase the working surface area.

Because I have one extra camera spacer left, I decided to add it to the rear wheel. A double chamber spacer should suffice.

Honestly, I don't know what will come of this and how much more difficult it will be to ride. I decided on a desperate act: to make a lining between the camera and the tire from ... a tire. It sounds scary, but in fact, everything is so =) An old semi-slick tire was found on the balcony, the sides were cut off from it. The tire itself was also cut and shortened a little, because it simply did not fit inside the working tire. I covered the resulting joint with a piece of rubber so that the corners of the tire would not damage the camera. The resulting spacer was installed on the front wheel. On the back, I used as many as three (how many were old, I put in as many) cameras as a spacer.

Naturally, the bike became noticeably heavy after such a mockery. To be honest, I assumed that I would not be able to maintain 20 km / h all the time. However, I drove about 35 km normally.

After driving about 100km on these wheels, I disassembled the rear wheel to see how the camera felt. On the rear wheel, let me remind you, 3 old cameras act as gaskets. On detailed examination, no damage, tears or scratches were found. On the camera there were only soft, not sharp prints from the screw heads and nothing more. As I thought, it turned out to be an impenetrable option. The wheels, although noticeably heavier, are quite possible to drive.

I would also like to say about the wear and tear of self-tapping screws. The fact that the rear wheel will not be enough for the whole winter is for sure. On it, the central screws have worn off very much.
Basically, what else can you expect in such a snowless winter? If there was snow, everything would be fine. But I think when the screws protrude only 0.2-0.3 mm, the erasing process will slow down. When they are completely worn out, I plan to unscrew them and screw in new ones. I think to screw in a little more, tk. the more self-tapping screws (and they do not weigh much), the less wear will be. On the front wheel, the screws both stick out by 2-2.5mm and stick out. Even the central ones have not been erased. This is very good considering that the front wheel is responsible for road control.

The tip of the cleat is a carbide tip fused into the steel body of the cleat. It is impossible to blunt such spikes, and if you follow a few simple rules, branded tires can be used for several winters in a row. A bicycle in such “shoes” goes confidently on smooth ice, stands well on frozen and moderately snow-covered tracks, and is perfectly controlled by a cyclist. At the same time, for beginners, driving on an icy track can be veryuseful. All reactions of the bicycle become smooth and, as it were, slowed down, so it is very easy to master the skill of a controlled skid, learn to control slip, and correctly dose the braking forces. Of course, you can't do without falls, but the bike even falls smoothly on the ice, so this does not lead to serious injuries.

But there are also limitations, and significant ones. First of all, these tires are suitable for driving on snow, trampled snow and ice. When driving on frozen ground, and even more so on asphalt, care must be taken to avoid slipping. Otherwise, the spikes will quickly fly out, and the remaining spikes will "lie" along the tread, and suddenly stop holding. Deep snow is a difficult surface for a bike. Riding on it requires the same skills as on sand, with that
the only difference is that it is practically impossible to accelerate on loose snow to the speed of "getting on the glider" (the density is not the same), which is why it takes a lot of effort to overcome snowy areas.

The widest tires will help here much more than the sporting prowess of another cyclocrossman.

The branded bicycle "spikes" have one more very significant disadvantage - the price. Naturally, not everyone is ready to part with such an amount for the sake of a few tricks on the ice of a frozen pond in the country. Therefore, many people spike their bicycle wheels on their own. Some people, without further ado, screw ordinary self-tapping screws into the tire. However, they last a maximum of a couple of hours, and it takes a whole day to make such a "stud" without a screwdriver. But the method of studding with a construction dowel has not yet lost its relevance. True patience for its implementation will require angelic. Both methods described are suitable mainly for ice tracks. Automotive technology can be used to ride a wider variety of rough terrain with asphalt exits.

There are at least two more ways. The first is the installation of car spikes into the wheels of a bicycle with glue. This procedure can be done in a specialized tire service, or you can do it yourself. It is important to choose the right rubber - with a hard, wide and sufficiently high block. For the front wheel of the bicycle, choose shorter spikes, longer ones - back. In the checkers, the tires are drilled (blind!) Holes and spikes smeared with glue are inserted into them. The second option is to purchase special branded spikes with a special screwdriver. In this case, you do not need to drill the wheel and grease the spikes with glue. Just screw the thorn, like a self-tapping screw, into the checker!.

Self-tapping screws are the worst of the self-made options. It takes a lot of time, but does not last long. Branded self-tapping screws with a threaded insert are a good alternative. The kit includes a special screwdriver. Another fashionable trend in winter cycling is the installation of a speedway spike on bicycle tires. The speedway stud is fundamentally different from the cross stud in length. 28mm steel is no joke. The spike is inserted into a pre-drilled hole in the tire from the inside, and from the outside it is screwed with a flat washer. Such spikes are not sold in stores and can only be obtained through ice speedway athletes or ordered at the factory. A bicycle shod in such rubber can work wonders on ice, but you must also remember about safety rules. For one thing, bicycle rubber is by no means designed to have hundreds of holes drilled into it. Its cord is weakened and the service life can be reduced to several high-speed sessions. Secondly, the spikes themselves move quite strongly in the body of the tire, which is why the nuts tightening them gradually loosen and unwind. This also has to be monitored constantly. There is good potential for new ideas. Nevertheless, the pleasure of racing at speed on a bicycle on an icy surface is difficult to compare with anything.
Speedway spikes require careful fitting and regular maintenance. And good equipment - after all, they are capable of cutting not only ice! As the only alternative so far to studs, there are designs that allow you to make something like a snowmobile out of a bicycle. Instead of the rear wheel, a small caterpillar is installed, and a ski is placed in front. Such a system works mainly in deep snow, and there, with a certain skill, you can have very good fun. However, on rolled tracks, on ice and on asphalt, you will have a hard time.

But still, what to do with ordinary street driving? Why can't you just sizzle your tires with regular car spikes, you ask? This technology is known in most tire companies. Good car studs are not a problem either. But everything turns out to be not so simple.

Firstly, even studded bicycle wheels cannot guarantee reliable traction on icy asphalt. If the ice is thin, the spike will cut through it and rest against a hard surface that it cannot catch on to. Secondly, in order for the spike to sit well in the wheel,the rubber must be very hard, and in order for the tire to hold well on the cold and slippery road, it must be very soft.

For car tires produced in millions of copies, there are technologies for our market that combine these two qualities. In addition, the area and shape of the contact patch of an automobile or motorcycle tire, in contrast to a bicycle tire, especially in a slope, to put it mildly, differ. Even if all cyclists

If you want to safely ride a bike in winter (and not only), then you need to take care of good adhesion of the wheels to snow, mud, sand, ice. You can buy studded tires, or you can make studded tires for a bicycle with your own hands.

In this article, let's look at a more affordable and cheaper option on how to do this.

How to spike tires on a bicycle

Option number 1: Alteration of the tire (large tread)

You will need:

deep tread tire
Small flat self-tapping screws (packaging), in this case short self-tapping screws for wood are well suited

1. Purchase a package of self-tapping screws from a hardware store.

2. Take a drill and drill bit 2-3 mm. Drill holes in the places where you are going to install the spikes.

3. Try to screw the self-tapping screw at a perpendicular angle (90 degrees) to the tire, it should not stick out to the side.

Drill the hole and screw in the self-tapping screw immediately. When you screw the holes first, and then screw the screws, then finding the holes will take you a lot of time.

4. After these works, glue the inner surface of the tire with reinforced tape (you can use 2 layers). You can also use special anti-puncture tapes in the tire, which are sold at the bike store, instead of scotch tape. These will help protect the camera from damage from the screw heads.

5. Place the tire on the bike rim. Be careful during installation - you can injure your hands.

How to make studded rubber for a bicycle

Option number 2: Alteration of the tire (small tread)

You will need:

small tread bicycle tires
Packing of short bolts and a set of nuts corresponding to the thread. The bolts should be short, not massive, the nuts should be no more than 1 cm in height.

1. Dismantle the wheels of the bike, remove the tires from the wheels.

2. Determine the places in the tire where you can put the bolts (should be screwed between the rubber protective spikes, always in the center and preferably at the edges, but not close to the rim).

3. Mark the selected holes with a marker. Drill holes smaller than the thickness of the bolts (they will have to be screwed into the tire, but the bolts will not fall through).

4. Thread the bolts to the outside of the tire, then tighten the nuts onto the bolts from the outside of the tire. Then the nuts and bolt tips will act as studs.

5. As in the first option, put an anti-puncture tape inside the tire or glue it with reinforced tape in a couple of layers.

6. Fit the tires, fit the wheels to the bike.

Diy studded rubber on a bicycle

Option number 3: We use pieces of chain as thorns

You will need:

Bicycle or other small chain.
Wire, small bolts and nuts, other metal clamps.

1. This method is simpler, but only suitable for bikes with disc brakes.

2. Purchase the required items.

3. Remove the wheels from the bike, measure the rim + tire girth with a flexible meter.

4. Bite off the chain from the measured length.

5. Secure the cut chains around the rim and tire. This can be done with wire, bolts and nuts, or other metal clamps.

6. Fit the wheels. If suddenly the wheels are not put in place - remove the plastic protection.

Do-it-yourself rubber studding on a bicycle takes a lot of time.
Do not inflate the wheel chamber too much, a slightly lowered wheel has a large area of adhesion to the road surface.
For stable driving on ice, winding a chain on wheels (option no. 3) is best suited. In this case, the wheel should not be wide.
An old bicycle chain is enough to wind one 28-diameter thin wheel. Use a chain pull during work.
Even if you put the chain only on the front, and on the rear - a tire with an increased tread - the resulting bike design will be stable on snow and ice, sand.
Do not try to drive studded tires over stones - studs will not save you from such a road.
To put the chain on the wheel correctly, first lower it, and how to fix the chain, pump it up. The increased pressure in the chamber will hold the chain very well.
An anti-puncture tape can be made from a used tire with a low (slick) tread (bald), cut a strip of the required width from a used tire and put it inside the used one. If this is a cumbersome design, you can cut a strip from the old tube and put it on the rubber glue inside the tire you are using. Such tape protects the camera from punctures better than reinforced tape.

Warnings

You should understand that cycling on slippery roads (snow, ice, mud), even on a bike with this wheel modification, is fraught with falls and injuries. Therefore, if the road is very slippery and it is difficult to ride on it without falling off the bike, then it is better to use another means of transportation.
Self-tapping screws have fairly sharp edges that can pierce the camera if installed incorrectly or inattentively.
Rubber studding is suitable for mountain bikes, it is not advisable to use narrow tires for this purpose.
Do not over-pump the wheels as this may cause you to fall off the bike.
If you have chosen the 3rd option of wheel studding, then you must understand that in the event of a puncture of the camera, you will have to remove pieces of the chain and put it back on after repair.
The 1st and 2nd options are not suitable for tubeless, if you drill the tire, you will break its tightness.

We hope the article helped with the option of studding rubber for a bicycle. Share in the comments what you have done. Also watch a helpful video on this topic.

So, it's winter… (although now, in the winter of 2006/07, sometimes it doesn't seem that way). Sooner or later, every cyclist actively (and not from time to time) riding in winter will have a thought: why not get hold of studded tires? And the more painful and unpleasant the reasons that gave rise to this thought, the sooner it will completely reign in the head of the cyclist ... “Demand creates supply” - in pursuit of our hard-earned banknotes. Now it is no longer a problem to buy factory-made studded rubber in Kazan, in contrast to the winters of six or seven years ago - you just need to hurry up in time. In the sports shops of Kazan, one could even see some variety of studded rubber: as many as 3-4 different models from 2-3 manufacturers. However, at the moment, there is still some incompleteness of the problem of providing everyone with studded bicycle tires ...

Firstly, there was only a little bit of studded rubber. What was in stores was quickly sold out by the season - and some of those who wanted to buy this rubber, could not do it ... Secondly, the choice of models is still small - mainly budget models were brought in, with a small number of thorns, it seems to me, due to the insufficient development of the winter cycling subculture. And finally - about despicable metal. The cost of a set of factory rubber for both wheels could easily be on the order of the monthly salary of a university teacher or other state budget employees. Ce la vie ...

So, studded tires are needed - but not everyone gets them. Conclusion - let's do it ourselves. The method of studding tires presented here is not my invention, in addition, on the net you can find a number of descriptions of studding both with the presented method (using screws) and some others. Nevertheless, it seems useful to describe the entire procedure in detail once again, accompanied by a sufficient number of illustrations.

1. The first task to be solved is finding a suitable tire... Requirements for a potential victim of vivisection:

Hard rubber, because when braking on ice, depending on the tread pattern, usually no more than 8-10 studs work, respectively, and the load will fall on 8-10 tread elements (hereinafter referred to as "buns").

The buns themselves should be as large as possible so that there is enough rubber around the screw to hold it.

The tread pattern should suit your idea of optimal stud placement.

To illustrate the studding process when writing this text, the following tire was chosen (original appearance):

The tire was produced by an unnamed Chinese company, world famous for its quality level, which manufactures its products under the SUPERDIAMOND trademark:

The tread pattern of the purchased tire is as follows:

There are the following comments to it:

the "buns" are somewhat small and, as it will become clear later, the screws with a diameter of 4.2 mm, chosen for studding, will have a rather small rubber "side" holding them in case of careless studding;

The tread is asymmetrical in relation to the plane of the tire, which can lead to "yaw" of the wheel when braking, however, a test drive is still ahead.

Relatively close to the axis of the tire in a "zigzag" position are only 108 "buns" - and 108 more closer to the sides. They may only work in corners ... In total, there may not be enough studs.

2 ... The next task is selection of screws... There are a lot of screws in local markets and shops, and finding something suitable is usually easy. Requirements for screws:

Flat on the outside (or at least no sharp edges) and as large an area as possible (to better distribute the load on the camera).

The length, on the one hand, exceeding the thickness of the "buns" is enough to stick out, and, on the other hand, not too large, since the excess will have to be cut / bite off / grinded - an additional difficult operation.

Hardness - Spikes should not grind on the pavement in one day. "Self-tapping screws for metal" will do.

In our case, the choice fell on "universal self-tapping screws with a press washer" size 4.2x20. The length is too big, but I didn't want to look for others. I sniffed that I liked the first. But the hats are a feast for the eyes! They look like this:

It should be noted that there are the same screws only 11 mm long, but they were not available where I took them. That would be better.

3. We start to spike. For this we need an awl and a Phillips screwdriver. The process is obvious - we pierce a hole in the "bun" - if possible in the center:

If you prick from the side of the tread, it is more convenient to aim, more precisely, the holes are located. Then we screw the screw into the tire from the inside. To do this, you can turn it inside out a little. It turns out something like this:

"Wah-wah-wah! And so 216 times in a row." (with).

A little about how you can speed up this tedious process. It is clear that there is no escape from piercing a hole and tightening screws. But the constant turning of the tire back and forth takes quite a lot of time. This can be avoided by turning the tire inside out right away. At the same time, since the thickness of the rubber in different places is significantly different (where the "buns" are located, it is noticeably thicker), then even when turned inside out, it looks heterogeneous. Where "buns" are located on the reverse side, the seamy surface of the rubber has slight concavities. The following picture illustrates this point:

The desired concavities are shown by arrows (although you can still see it rather poorly in the photo - turn your tire inside out and see what it is about). With some practice, it is possible to pierce holes for screws directly from the inside, guided by these concavities. After some practice, it turns out to prick quite accurately, while the tire does not need to be constantly turned back and forth, which saves time, and the sharp ends of the screws are directed inward, which reduces the likelihood of scratching them. However, those who wish can perform this operation with gloves. It will look like this:

After a certain time, sufficient for tightening all the screws (in our case - 216 pcs.), The tire from the wrong side will look like this:

From the side of the tread, at this stage, it resembles a gutted hedgehog turned inside out:

Turn the tire back to normal. The relationship with hedgehogs is becoming more prominent:

Side view:

Now is the time to put the studded tire on the wheel for the first time. Naturally, the camera must be protected from contact with the screw heads to avoid rupture. To do this, the easiest way is to use an old, cut lengthwise, with the nipple removed, the camera. As practice shows, for the front wheel, which carries a relatively small load, this is quite enough. for the rear, most likely, some more powerful protection may be required. There was a mention of the use of a road tube cut along the road for this purpose.

So, let's take the old camera, which is going to work as a gasket:

We inflate the main chamber, which is to be pumped, a little so that it keeps its shape, but not so much that the wheel with it then cannot be folded up:

We put on the camera-gasket on the camera slightly pumped up in this way:

Then, as usual, we put on a studded tire on the wheel rim with one side, insert a "chamber" sandwich, completely fasten the tire and inflate the wheel. It turns out something like this:

Quite a spiteful hedgehog ...

4. And now it has come - the second part of the Marlezon ballet. The screws must be shortened to the required length. The following options are possible here:

The screws were taken short enough, but the protector, on the contrary, was thick enough - in this case, nothing would be needed to bite off.

Too long ends can be grinded off with an emery wheel. But not everyone has this item on the farm, it is also noisy and dusty. But the option is quite working ...

Finally, the ends of the screws can simply be bitten off with a simple hand tool - all kinds of nippers, pliers, and so on.

For example, here's a photo of a tire with short screws that didn't bite at all:

Now, suppose that end biting is still necessary (as in our case). Let's talk about the tool. It is quite understandable that the tool is different, as well as screws, too. The simplest option available in every home and promising hard work is conventional pliers or nippers with one axis. The mechanical gain in strength is small, so they can bite only thin screws (or only the ends of thicker ones). The screws must be relatively soft - otherwise the wire cutters will deteriorate quickly enough - and there will be little sense from them. A more convenient option is pliers with additional levers (in the figure below; above, for comparison, ordinary pliers):

Such cutting pliers are less common in stores, but I managed to find them from a motorist friend. Since in this case the screws are thick and hard, even such powerful nippers were not particularly enough. Bite off the screws so that the ends remain about 1.5-2.5 mm long. However, it seems that special accuracy is not needed here. As a result, I still managed to bite all 216 screws - but in 5 evenings, that is, after 40 screws on average, I was pretty tired of this occupation, and my fingers were no longer able to press on the handles of the nippers. When working, it is useful to use protective glasses (I wear the most common ones in which I ride a bike) - since the ends of the screws that are bitten off tend to vigorously fly in all directions. Gloves also do not interfere - the screws are now sticking out. The result is the desired studded tire. 216 thorns arranged in two "curved" rows. She still does not pull on a four-row one.

Project costs:

Tire - 160r.

Screws - 216pcs x 35kop - 76r.

Russian-made camera gasket (rubber is thicker and cheaper) - 60 rubles.

Total 296r. Whether it is worth contacting this option - everyone decides for himself. Possible alternatives are either riding without studs (which can be a bit heady), or buying factory rubber (which may not be possible either for financial reasons - or simply because there is no such rubber in stores).

Top view of the finished product: