We’ve had about eight inches of snow down here in Bath, and it hasn’t stopped yet.
It’s not great for productivity in the sense of people actually being able to make it to the office, but on the other hand it’s great testing weather for the reTyre system from Norway. The premise here is that you don’t need studded tyres all the time, and when you don’t need them they’re draggy and horrible, and when you do it’s a faff to change them over. reTyre works by having a studded outer that you simply zip over the standard city tyre as and when conditions demand.
But does it work? Well, we had a go. Watch the video to hear our first impressions…
9 thoughts on “Video: trying out the reTyre zip-on winter studs”
So how easy to zip on are
So how easy to zip on are those outers going to be on those 3/4 days per year when the zip on the everyday tyre is clagged with road crud. Judging by how the zip on my seat pack jams up – not very easy!
A genius idea – but at 67
A genius idea – but at 67 Euro a tyre – it’s a bit of an investment for the few snowy/icy days I’d be riding in. Great for hardened commuters though.
Great idea. Would be
Great idea. Would be interested to see how they handle on road though, both icy and normal. How tight do they fit? Any slippage and so on?
Worthwhile investment? hmmm..
Worthwhile investment? hmmm…
1. How do they ride in ‘normal’ mode?
2. What’s the price of a decent set of ‘normal’ road tyres and a decent set of spike tyres, and then
3. is it really that hard to swap those normal tyres over?
4. for the number of days of dodgy weather we have, is either option actually worth bothering with?
I suspect the answer to 1. is OK but not as good as a decent ‘normal’ road tyre.
I’d imagine the answer to 2. is the two sets combines will be pretty similar in price (I’m thinking the pretty decent Conti Ultra Sport or similar and the basic Schwalbe winter tyres).
Answer to 3. is really not very. Longer than zipping those reTyres together.
And 4. …. probably not.
If the tyres ride pretty well and you are doing a long distance ride of some sort where you are going to get changable conditions, maybe they’ll be worth it. Otherwise, not so much.
could you duct tape over the
could you duct tape over the zip? to shut it up and smooth its transition through the frame
Wot no helmet?
Wot no helmet?
You have the wrong type of
You have the wrong type of snow in the test. Any knobbly tyre will work equally well on fluffy snow in the park. Studs poke into hard, compacted snow and ice to give traction.
flat4 wrote:
I guess it was the only type of snow available.
simonmb wrote:
That’s just excusing lazy jouralism 😉 why aren’t the road.cc hacks hunting out hard packed snow and ice instead of larking around in the local park?