Studded vs. Studdless - Bicycle Winter Tyre Comparison 

You sponsored yourself. Respect

Just picked up a set of Schwalbe studded tires, live in Canada(southern ontario). We have alot of ice (sheet and bumpy frozen slush) the last couple days. Yesterday took 3 tumbles, averaged 19km\hr on my normal loop.(mostly trails). Today with the studded tires zero falls, and averaged 23km. Im sold on studded tires! yes, they are slower and more pedal work but the confidence you have with traction is amazing.

A superb real world evaluation of these tires. I loved the closeups of the treads and your outside road condition shots.

"This video is sponsored by me!" lol

I really like your video. Winter is coming over here and I've been looking for more information on what kind of tire to use on my daily commuting and your video help a lot, thanks for sharing!

Wow saukki! Really professional video once again.

I live in Canada. I thoroughly enjoyed your video. I have also never seen a recumbent with such large diameter wheels. Keep up the good work. I will be checking out more of your videos in the future.

Excellent job reviewing these two types of tires. I am a MTB person and this video convinced me of getting some studded tires since last weekend the icy conditions mean a couple of falls on turns.

I am very happy with the Top Contact Winter tire on my WAW velomobile this Winter. Where I live in the Northeast USA, the roads are usually plowed and salted pretty well. I think this tire is perfect as 90% of the time the roads are down to bare pavement. I was very pleased how well it did with traction when I did ride on roads that had snow on them. I was also pretty impressed how well it did getting out of my driveway when it was glare ice a few times this Winter. For the most part, this tire is just slightly slower than the Summer tire that I was using and it rolled well as long as the temps weren’t too low like you stated.

Excellent review. I just did a ride without studded tires and I fell in a corner on a cycle path where there was wet black ice . Bruises will heal fine but got a tear in my jacket and pants and clothes can be expensive to. Also luckily there was no traffic around me . I always used to ride wxc 300 on my 26" mtb, good grip . good weight and ok rolling resistance if the pressure was kept high. Now I got a 29" Haven't studded it yet.Thinking about getting the Schwalbe ice spikers.

Great video, thank you. Nice to see someone take winter riding seriously. UK winters are soft compared to yours but people still think I'm mad for riding all the way through. Schwalbe Winter Studded are the only option here and I've been using them for the last 5yrs with no issues and I LOVE the noise. Usually they get put on mid december and stay on until March regardless of conditions.

THANK YOU ! ENJOYED ! BE SAFE ! HAVE FUN ! GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS ON YOUR JOURNEYS !

Very helpful video thanks for the upload!

Great review. I actually have run both of these tires on different bikes for the past two winters here in Winnipeg and I'd say your assessments are very accurate. Continentals run like slicks in slush. I'd say that you don't need to run studded tires at all in winter, until those few days or situations in which you do - but you never know when those situations will come up. If you can't afford studded tires, an MTB tire will carry you through most of the time. I actually really like running the Continentals as a summer all-weather tire as they're sticky as all get-out even in the rain. I thought the rubber would wear faster in 30°C temperatures but after two years of hard riding they're still immaculate.

Helpful! Excellent video.

Nice review Saukki!

Dear friend from Finland, thanks for your video about winter tires, very interesting ! I live in the Netherlands, where we do not have much snow or ice. But several days or a few weeks, there is some treacherous slipperiness. For two weeks there were some spots with black ice on the asflalt road, and I made a very hard fall. Still difficulty with walking, and a very painful hip (first I thought it was broken...) So, I decided to do something about the tires, to prevent falling and major injury. I use the bicycle daily for about 10 km total, on asfalt and also on some muddy/sandy roads. Two bicycles are in my possession, a "mountain-bike" with 26x2.1 tires, and a "hybrid bike" with size 28x37-622. Mostly I use the 26" bicycle. I can buy here two Kenda Klondike 26 tires with 250 studs pro tire , for 80 euro, or I could buy two 28 tires with 100 studs pro tire, for 65 euros. The costs is not the problem. But I can not decide if I should choose the 26" with a lot of studs , or the 28 with lesser studs. What would you choose for the short but tricky winters in the Netherlands , if a safe ride is a concern ? Maybe I could ride the 26" bike with normal tires for normal use, and in icy conditions the 28" bike with studded tires ? Thanking you beforehand for your help and advice !

Your videos are the best!!!!!!!!!!!

Awesome video. Go Kimi!

Excellent review!!!!

great video, thanks

Been looking at studded tires, due to being in Michigan and ice is a reality. I was hoping for something studdless due to the mixed conditions. Thank you loads for showing a comparison and giving options. Kudos

great vid!

I ride studded tyres. A downside I had to find out the hard way is that they have no grip on slick cobblestones, as found in medieval inner cities. Only the right amount of soft rubber will do there.

Excellent and professionally done! I am about to move 5 miles outside of the town and still want to avoid owning a car. My friends think I am crazy.

Great video, thank you so much!

I like my Schwalbe Marathon plus' in the winter......but I don't get snow here in the desert. ;-) I think the studded tires would be my choice if I were living in cold country again. Thanks Saukki.

This video was sponsored by: me! Big ups to this guy.

Very good video!

Nice video bro!! Thank you

Great video!

I enjoyed your video. Lots of good information. I am new to bicycle commuting and this will be my first winter. This is EXACTLY what I was looking for to help me decide. Do you have a video of winter cycling clothing?

I use 45NRTH Kahva 2.2 in front and Schwalbe Ice Spiker 2.2 in back. Nice setup.

Great review. Kiitos

Thank you for the video

The Continental tyre works awesome on the Quest as well

great video mate ❤

Thanks for confirming studs better on ice. Calgary Canada gets alot of meltwater ice from cold/warm temps

I use the Continental Topcontact Winter 50-559 on my velomobile during the winter, very good grip on snowy roads but I'm not sure about the roling resistance compared to summer tyres. I can still maintain reasonable speeds though at 0° like temperatures with 5 bar pressure.

I love my studded winter tires here in Canada. We get a lot of hard-packed snow on the city streets, so I feel the studded tire is the only way to go as most others do in my city.

Wow I'm Dutch, I cycle a lot, and didn't even know studded tires existed. Look pretty awesome, can't imagine they're really good for asphalt though.

Great review thank you. If you had two tires exactly the same but one with and one without studs, would you opt for the studs?

Onpa hassua, tiesin heti muutamalla sanalla että olet suomalainen. Mahtavaa video pakko sanoa.

Good video

I searched long and hard to find studless winter tires, easily the best where I live and ride - in town with reasonably well maintained roads. There’s a very specific condition where studs are more help than hindrance, that condition is very rare and not worth the trade off. On my daily bike I run the non winter specific tires that where in it from new, and I managed all winter until today without a spill.

Well dude i think if we needed the voice of the man who knows about snow and ice you're the man. I think passed a guy from Canada or Alaska, or maybe Iceland Finlanders will know all about snow and ice. which leads maybe to another video - what does a guy wear up there in the white stuff - how cycle and not freeze or sweat and freeze?

Nice video. kiitos!

I've lived in Canada my whole life and I have never a winter tire for a pedal bike until I moved to the Prairies. When I was a kid we just rode around. I live in conditions that can range from +10C down to -40C with windchill. For almost the last 2 weeks we haven't been above -15 during the day time. I wonder if this is a good option or I am better off just walking. Biking is going to be a bit quicker but to change tires, rims, putting the bike back on the indoor trainer would be a pain. I am not sure where to go from here yet? Great video. Thanks for showing that to us.

I keep two front wheels for my bike. One with a good grip unstudded winter tire and one with a studded tire I switch in for those few days a year with bad ice.

Contis are made for regions where you dondt have snow all the time, but when its still cold and your need grip on road, wet ground, or sometimes some snow.

I had subscribed to your channel many moons ago. found it strangely unsubscribed today. Had to subscribe again. Great video anyway.

Thanks so much, I really wanted confirmation that these do anything before spending $200 on a pair of them. One question though, do you run 1 or two of these tires? I normally found my back wheel slipping last winter which resulted in multitude of injuries, should I just replace my rear tire, or both?

I'm trying to figure out what tire to use for a downhill slalom race on a ski slope. I'm also not sure if I should run my Canyon Dude fat bike, or my Ibis Ripmo Trail/Enduro bike. The fat bike has 27.5 x4.8" tires. The Trail bike takes 29x2.6 tires.

Nice bike nice video

Can you combine the tires for example a Continental front and a Suomi rear tire? If I can I use are softer compound narrow semi slick front tire and a wide more treaded rear tire on my bikes.

Thank you for an informative video. Is there any benefit to mixing the two? If so, which would be best placed in the front? Please advise. Thank you.

what to buy? Continental Top Contact Winter II, schwalbe ice spiker pro, schwalbe marathon winter plus? Ice and asphalt roads. From this video looks like Top Contact Winter II rolling better but without spikes... what about schwalbe marathon winter plus? Saukki please make schwalbe marathon winter plus test!

From my personal experience of winter bike riding - you don't need a studded 2.1 inch 54-559 tyre in the rear of your bike unless your weight is over 100 kilos. Here's why: a tall (number 54 in the size code) and wide tire will not be stable on slush which is the most exhausting, dangerous condition on the road, because it doesn't have enough weight load on the contact patch, so it will float on slush, rather than cutting through it. I own the same nokian tyre just like in the video, and yes its ok on ice or hard packed snow, but it's a pain if slush kicks in - it's floating and wiggling uncontrollably. Since I've changed my 2.1x 54-559 Nokian tyre to a simple all-season Kenda 1.75 x 47-559 tyre my rides have gotten much more enjoyable. It cuts through the slush, it's easy to rotate (it's 40% lighter than Suomi), it's great on hard packed snow. The only condition it's weaker than any studded tyre - is ice, as you may guess. But clean black ice is only 2-5% of my normal commute and for more traction and safety I have a studded Nokian W240 1.9 x 47-559 in the front. For just a little bit more confidence I'm looking forward to buying a Suomi/Nokian 1.75 x 47-559 with 106 studs for the rear wheel. Thus, if you want more grip and control on winter roads where slush may appear right out of nowhere, hunt for a narrow tyre with an aggressive patch. The only place where you might need wide knobby studded tyres is the forest trails with lots of rocks and roots covered with a layer of ice. If your winter commute is laying through residential roads parks etc. where you have slush/hard packed snow upon the asphalt, you don't need knobby tyres, go for some studded semi-slicks.

After using the tires for a while, which one is your favorite now? The one with the large threading is probably quite uncomfortable on regular roads? Good off-road? Do you switch to winter tires on all your bikes or do you keep a separate winter bike? Just curious. I find that with salt and grime I should probably just relegate a bike to winter use only.

Thanks for good comparison. I am interested in the Suomi Tyres. Do you know how wide the tires are in reality when there is air in them? I'm unsure if they fit into my frame.

My 12 yr old ask me to get winter tires so he can bike to school. I'd love you recommendation for a short (1k) commute over a multitude of conditions. Safety over speed as there are no bike lanes or sidewalks. All residential roads.

I would do it myself considering these tires are expensive. I need nobby studded tires for my ebike

Will studded tires give friction on Pure, smooth ice? There is a lot of black Ice where I live and I cannot bike safely at the moment, so I would like to know if these work on black ice.

With what frame do you go in the video? Manufacturer / Model?

top contact .. easily the best winter tyre .

if i was going to do a tour in scandinavia during winter what would be best all round? would one studded one not be any use? or take both and change as you go..

Hi, i saw you use some kind of tube to protect chain, can you comment that?

Hello from where did you purchased continental winter tires

Funny fact: I'm a venezuelan living in patagonia and I had to search about winter tyres in english because most of spanish speakers doesn't even know snow haha

Tuo vertailu on huono siinä että se on eri käyttötarkoitusiin tehtyjen renkaiden vertailu. On olemassa hyvin rullaavia nastarenkaita joiden pito riittää.

I just set up a set of wheels with Ice Spiker Pros. My goal is to use them to get to good ice fishing grounds next winter.

vs Marathon Winter?

I think even a more stud-specific comparison would be between Continental Topcontact (studless) and Continental Nordic Spike (studded) because these tires are nearly identical in every other way except for studs vs. studless. Conti Nordic Spike: cdn.bike24.net/i/mb/68/fd/4e/360739-00-d-777417.jpg

What recumbent bike do you have ?

Who designed that bike Forrest Gump?

I went with a 30mm studless winter and a 4" fat studded like the confused person I clearly am 🤪

Doesn't matter, I crash a lot. One slip and you fall into road.

maaaan these Continental Winter ain't cheap :(

*"Studded VS studless bicycle tyres in deep Finnish winter (-15C)"

No freakin dislikes??

Dat accent tho

thats why the winter is made for tricycles! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0fy_1RB7O_c.html

ahahahaha, "Sponsored by me".

5Head