I'm curious what types of tires are good candidates for studding out if I were to buy the tool and the studs. I've got a set of Husker Du tires, a set of Minions FBF & FBR, and finally a Bud (for the front) and a MN Frammed tire (basically their version of the Nate) for the rear. I've tried all 3 tire combos and as soon as things get icy around here the bike gets stabled for my cross bike with studded tires.
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First consideration maybe how you want to do the studs, few options here:
Gripstuds are fantastic, but pricey, can be installed on almost anytire
Machine Screws or http://koldkutter.com/ These are cheaper options, but finding a depth that doesnt cut into your tire on the inside can be hard, so youd either need to go tubeless or grind the screws down.
Pocketed Screws, if your tires have pockets you can install the studs that slip into those, I think this is the cheapest and possible one of the better options, but it is required your tires support it. Not sure if any of those do offhand.
Personally i went the DIY route via Kold kutters, and used Vee Bulldozer 4.8 inch tires, it was easy. I put a bit of gorilla glue on each screw while putting it in, and didnt lose a single one during the entire winter season. The downside is that the Kold Kutters are pretty beefy, if you want to use them on any paved surface they are LOUD, but on ice and snow they have extremely good grip. I can ride on a frozen pond perfectly. I'm also running them tubeless, with rolling darryl rims, which was converted to tubeless with Gorilla Tape, and stans sealant. No failures/leaks at all.
May not be EXACTLY what you are asking, just lending my personal experience as best I can.
I am really thinking about going with Gripstuds. I've been looking for some "how-to" videos on putting them into tires that don't already have the "pocket" for studs. I do tend to agree with nugohs's post about selecting the best tire for rubber volume to sink those gripstuds into.
I have some low profile Vee Missions that were absolutely terrible for summer and winter riding that I replaced almost right away. So for the sake of not destroying a nice tire I could stud them out using a cheaper method and see how badly I screw up the tire.
But I'm probably more likely to go with Gripstuds and hopefully do it right the first time.
Gripstuds are the gold standard in my mind, they are just pricey. You can get a Chinese version of them for a bit cheaper that I know a few people in my area have used. Not sure on the exact supplier tho.
Bud & Lou, followed closely by Nates are about the best IMHO for a DIY grip studs, the big chunky lugs have lots of rubber volume to hold the studs' thread.
I can't fit a Lou on the back. I could however stud out both the Maxxis Minions FBF & FBR because they have a somewhat similar aggressive rubber/nob volume.
This really does a nice job of illustrating what I wanted to do (leaning more and more towards the minions).
edit forgot linkage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac6GE9SZq04
I was able to buy knock off grip studs on alibaba for about $.30 a stud versus a dollar per stud. There's no need for pockets in the tires and I rode all last winter and never lost a stud on my Bontrager Barbegazi
studs
Did you buy the grip studs tool to put them in?
They came with a bit. I did it by hand with the bit. I was too afraid to use a drill.