Studded Tires Back On: Schwalbe Marathon Winter

I finally gave in to the terrible road/bike path conditions and installed my winter tires. My 700c tire of choice is the Schwalbe Marathon Winter (35). If I remember right, this is my third winter on this pair.

A couple observations:

1. The extremely durable tungsten-carbide core studs still have plenty of life left. The tread design lends itself to long stud life, as the center section of the tire tread is stud-free. On those sunny and mostly ice/snow free days, I can run the pressure at 80-85psi with a fairly respectable rolling resistance. In this scenario, the studs engage on cornering, which is when ice/snow riding gets sketchy (without studded tires) in my experience. When the snow and ice cover the roads and paths, I drop the pressure about 20psi and fully engage the studs. I have even ridden across a frozen lake with this setup:





Lake Mendota last winter.





2. In addition to having plenty of remaining stud life, I didn't notice any studs missing from the tread. A common occurrence is for a tire to lose a stud or two here and there (Schwalbe sells replacements in packs of 1 dozen). I believe Schwalbe recommends setting in the studs by riding with the new tires on dry pavement for a few dozen miles. Perhaps I did this? The Marathon Winter boasts 240 studs per tire, which is evident in the bulldozer-type feeling one has while churning through the ice and snow. I'm not talking about fatbike snow riding quality, but instead about the relative performance to a regular tire, or even a treaded tire. The Casseroll is transformed into a tank-like vehicle for a few months each year, only to be released into 28c Pasela bliss come springtime. 

Of course, some pics of the before and after:

This is with the Paselas installed.

Snow and ice build up like crazy around the brakes and clog up the fenders.

Even the mudflap packs on huge chunks of ice.

All the space in between the tire and fender is full of ice w/o studded or treaded tires. 

With the studded tires installed, the fender stays much cleaner. 

Notice the stud length.

I love winter riding, and with careful investment in well-designed gear makes it that much more enjoyable. 

Happy trails...