Studded 'Xerxes' bike tire Grips on snow and Ice

I have been winter biking in Saskatchewan for many years. Haven’t tried these tires, but they seem to be lacking studs that are in contact with the ice when the bike is vertical. The ones I use have this feature, probably make the bike slower, but I feel it is critical.

Hello Warren, the recommended pressure range for the Xerxes tires is 35-75PSI. If you run the tire at a higher pressure fewer of the studs will make contact with the surface. If you are finding you need more acceleration and braking traction then you can lower the pressure so more studs come into contact with the ice. The design was based on the concept of a high-end cyclocross tire, where modulating the air pressure gives you different acceleration, braking and cornering characteristics.

I would love to have those Xerxes on my http://rowereo.pl/product/image/44/earth-1-black-red-matt-png.jpg

but 100 bucks for a tire …to expensive

I commute all year round and I like the way these tire look, but like most studded tires they’re a little out of my price range. My solution a few years ago was to simply make my own. I took an old, worn out set of knobbies and a couple boxes of sheet metal screws and put them together (screws go from the inside out) and WALLA! spiked tires! You do have to pre-drill each hole so it does take time. But they do hook up on ice when nothing else will.

I have a pair of xerxes on my cross bike. The xerxes are fast, but they leave me terrified on ice. I think the lack of studs in the middle of the tire is critical. I have tried adjusting the air pressure with very limited success. In comparison, I have a pair of nokian extremes on my mountain bike and I can ride icey, rutted, bumpy single track with confidence. I think the ideal commuter might be somewhere in between. I would like to try a 30-34mm tire with a shallow tread and 200+ studs. .

I ran a Xerxes on the front of my commuter for the majority of this winter and finally put my old Schwable Marathon Winter back on. On the plus side they are way lighter than any of the other major brands, roll a lot faster, work adequately on fresh snow and slushy snow and slice through better than the Schwable’s or Nokians. On the minus side they are basically like a non-studded tire on the ice. I have tried running tire pressures ranging from 60 PSI to 30 PSI with the same results. You can turn on the ice but it requires a very wide turn and is a leap of faith. If you catch the side of a icy rut you better yank up on the bars really fast or the front will wash out. You cannot stop on the ice because anything more than a light dragging of the brakes and the front end will wash out, and not slowly, you go down very fast. I never had that problem with the Schwables.