Snow chains for bikes...

Maybe you should go the scandanvian way look into tyre studs.
PM Liv,Norway
 
Wish I had them last Jan. 8 mile ride home took 90 minutes & I came off the Tiger 4 times :blast......... Good fun tho :D I said to the wife....see me....I am a REAL HARDCORE BIKER me......... she then bathed my arm and patched up the hole in my leg and gave me some painkillers as she told me I was very "trying" I thought, there she actually appreciated me trying to get home:augie
 
I was speaking to Sjaak Lucassen in the summer, and he was so surprised that no-one made a proper spiked tyre to fit his R1 that he had to have some specially made :eek :eek:

Chains are a pain, studs are only good on decent compacted stuff (i.e. roads) othewise you need full on spikes.

Frankly if you ride in the snow you are totally bonkers.

DAMHIK :augie [size=-2]please not the standard Tourances[/size]

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I don’t think that studs are an option for the roads in the UK, it is not cold enough and not enough snow.

I can only see me fitting chains once I have tried without them and failed, as I see chains as a last option, but at least it is an option.

I just don’t want to spend £100 if it is known they don’t work of fcuk up the bike or wheels
 
schiannini said:
Frankly if you ride in the snow you are totally bonkers.
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been said many times :D


but if you haven’t tried it, don’t knock it

I have done 1000’s of miles in conditions below 0 degrees C, all you have to do is ride suitably to the conditions.


Yes I have been stuck in snow

Yes I have had great difficulty getting up some slopes covered in ice

But it is a challenge and enjoyable, maybe not at the time, but the joy of getting out of trouble is great.
 
If you really need studs or chains, it's time to hibernate!

Those chains look as though they'd help you fall off quite quickly..:augie
 
cheap and cheerful

I've heard of people using large cable ties? Twist them and fix them around the wheel just as those claws. A lot cheaper, no real space taken up storing a few on the bike. Only single use though.
 
Firefox said:
I've heard of people using large cable ties? Twist them and fix them around the wheel just as those claws. A lot cheaper, no real space taken up storing a few on the bike. Only single use though.
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That is worth a try :thumb2

just saved me £100 :thumb2:thumb2
 
I can`t imagine a larger cable tie making any difference to be honest. I have also heard of people putting rope snaking around in a helical pattern which sounds OK in theory but it must be difficult to get enough tension on it.
I rode to work in the snow last year. Ten miles took me over an hour and the bad cambers on the back roads I use were sphincter twitching!
I reckon the outrigger `skis` which some guy but on his GS were a more sensible idea and they looked like fun!
I am not sure whether I will risk it again this year. It is not me falling off that worries me as I am going so slowly. It is the car drivers sliding into me that is the worry.
 
These claws look similar to something I bought in Norway for my car many years ago.

They were great for getting out of trouble, e.g. getting out of a snow drift, but useless for normal driving on snow.

The big problem is that most of the tyre is uncovered so it is easy to slide or brake when none of the grips touch the ground. Then you are back to normal tyres on snow and a dropped bike. Another problem on cars is that we found once the car was out of trouble they needed removing as they caused the car to vibrate like crazy at anything over walking pace.

I live on a steep hill on the North Downs. Mine get fitted to get the car to the top of the hill, then I take them off.
 
Chain / studds for motorbikes in Norway.

Some of us put studds in the tyre if possible, it depends on the tyre and the size of the studds.
It's Heidenau for snow on the picture. And the studds are the type we use for car tyres in Norway.

I have never seen chain made for motorbikes in Norway, only on pictures on the internett,

I have seen tourists wrapping rope or thin chain around rim and tyre when they really struggle to get up a hill. I guess that help, but I do not believe they keep it on for many kilometres.

The claws in the link in the first post:
I would love to try!
But the rear rim on my bike does not have holes... -Not possible!

It help a lot to put something on only the rear wheel as the main problem is to get up a hill. When you get up you still need a god grip, but you have to realize snow are not like dry tarmac - you better ride slower and be careful.
So most of the bikers who ride in snow over here put studds in the tyres - and that is all.

Clean the tyre!
We have some stuff on two cans;
one for cleaning the rubber, and one that help the rubber to get a better grip.
-It helps!
Just shake the can, spray on, wait a few minutes (can't remember how many)
move a little, repeat, and ride so the dirt get off.
Then get the other can and do the same.
...but it won't help for thousands of kilometres, we only use it when we really have a problem. -But we could clean the rubber more often, that help!

Many of the sidecars over here have tyres for cars.
That is not better then tyres for bikes on snow.
But tyres for cars and studds are best on ice - as long as the tyres are new.

So, are you coming over to www.krystallrally.no ?
Write krystallrally primustreff piggdekk vinterdekk kjetting pigger miljøpigg on google.no - bilder, and I'm sure you'll find some pictures.

Best luck! :clap
:) Liv.
 

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Studs.......!

Hi Liv,

Those studs are what we've had on our jeep in Iceland and they're very good up to 120kph, not even one little twitch or skid.

My friends use the 'ice spikes' on their bikes, they have a spike about 1cm long but I guess they can only use them on ice and not on tarmac like the studs.

I'm thinking about Norway again.........Two of us are going to take our Buell Ulysses's up to the Nordkapp which for me will be the third time in late May so it'll be very cold up there and hopefully we won't see too much snow! Maybe we'll have time to ride all the way to Kirkenes and Grense Jacobselve and see us some 'Russian Bears'!

I can't wait to ride the E6 'Arctic Highway' again I think its a great road but then again I do like the 'Pine Fresh Flash' Inlandsbann in Sweden with its awe inspiring 110kph speed limit........!

Bring on the Pylsa, i'll have dried onions and both types of mustard!

FP.:thumb

.
 
http://www.mv-motorrad.de/cgi-bin/c...10107&file=&gesamt_zeilen=0Tsuche--snow chain

As most of the UK has had a bit of snow this season...did anyone buy these, or use the cable-tie method?

I threw a pack of ties in the topbox as soon as the snow started.

I have been out a few times in the bad conditions, got stuck a few times on compacted snow/ice, but not of long enough to get off the bike and fit the cable ties.

It was so icy that I am not sure I could have got off the bike and both of us staying upright.
 
bandits at 12 oclock lo
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Still off topic but this idea reminds me of the 1960s when "jet" helmets and goggles were the latest kit and visors were almost unheard of. To keep the rain off a company came up with a visor based on the Kent Screen found on ships. I.e. a fast rotating circle of glass that spun the rain away.

The bike version was a frame that fitted the front of the helmet which had an axle in the centre. This was held on the helmet with an elastic strap (like goggles) a circle of Perspex with vanes on the outer edge spun on the pivot so the bottom half of the circle was in front of the eyes.

At high speed (about 45mph then) the disc spun fast enough to spin the rain off but also had a gyroscopic effect making it really hard to turn the head. It - sort of - worked but you looked such a dick wearing it that I gave up after a couple of weeks and they soon, thankfully, disappeared from the shops.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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