When I bought my first "winter" bike in 2018, I was hoping that I could just ride out of the store and cycle all winter long. Then came the first storms.
It quickly became obvious that the "urban" tires that came with the bike were not enough, especially on smaller streets that don't see much traffic. They were simply slipping around and not providing enough traction.
The first winter, I just decided to store the bike away for the months of January and February, where Eastern Canada gets the most snow, and rode the metro instead. I thought that having a bike rideable 10 months out of 12 was still great. And it was.
Nevertheless, public transit has never been my favorite means of transportation. It took me longer to commute than biking, even in winter, and I missed that feeling of being free to go anywhere at any time. The second winter, I decided it was time to upgrade those tires and try to get the most out of this bike. The LBS recommended studded tires and they had some Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus in stock. I did not pounder much and bought a pair!
The Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus (SMWP) is a great all-around winter tire when the street is reasonably plowed. It has four rows of studs providing great grip on ice and hard-packed snow. The tread pattern is tight and not very deep which gives it great rolling capability on asphalt.
I equipped my bike with the 35mm version which is narrow enough to cut through piles of snow.
Where the SMWP shine the most is after freezing rain. Whereas cars and pedestrians would really have a hard time moving around, these tires makes you feel like you are riding on pure asphalt. You can brake or turn quite hard and won't feel like you are losing an inch of control. Of course, there are limits, but with some common sense it's really hard to get destabilized. It was really quite a surprise to see that level of performance on ice on two wheels.
On the other hand, I find that they can lack control on deeper snow, especially that which has been squished by cars and compacted into tracks. They do offer more grip than my summer tires in those conditions, and I could usually ride my way through, save during or right after heavy snowstorms. However, there are those moments when they can be uneasy to handle, when riding in the lesser plowed right hand side of the street for example.
With those tires, I found myself basically having to stop cycling for 2-3 days after heavy snow, until streets got plowed and traffic created tracks. At the end of the day, these tires need a hard surface to be safe to ride.
I have changed my own tires since I was 14 and never really had any issues. However, I must say that those SMWP are extremely difficult to install and remove! I even broke a tire lever doing so and had to buy metal core ones from Park tools to make sure it would not happen again. I could see someone giving up and having to go to the LBS for this usually simple operation.
This is a big downside to me as winter biking involves changing tires at least twice a year. I get that they have reinforced lining for puncture resistance, but in my opinion, these tires are more appropriate for a separate winter bike (or hiring a mechanic).
This year, I went on the lookout for a new set of tires to help on those days where there is a bit more snow and steering is tricky. For a given bike, winter tires basically have three parameters to choose from:
I wanted to keep studded tires for those icy days. There is nothing worse than hitting a patch of ice while braking on studless tires. One question that came up is the ideal tire width. For now, I decided to keep the width in the mid-30s which I feel is more appropriate for urban settings than wider tires.
From what I could gather, slightly wider tires just grip less while not providing enough float on snow to make a difference, unless going all the way to a fatbike. One thing I did want to improve was the tread pattern to help with steering in the snow.
After some research, the Suomi Hakkapeliitta W106 seemed like a good fit. Suomi is the former bike tires division of Nokian which has been sold and renamed. As a side note, it looks like the Hakkapeliitta tire has been rebranded as Kide which I find a shame personally - Finnish words for winter equipment just sound cooler!
These tires have 2 rows of studs as opposed to 4 on the SMWP but have a deeper tread pattern.
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Regarding logistics, I had to order them from the US as I did not find a distributor in Canada (though I did not look very hard). Suomi does not seem to have a large market share in North America. Maybe by calling various local stores one may find one that has some in stock or that can order a pair. There are sometimes deals on eBay for new or used Suomi tires that might be interesting for people on a budget.
The version I ordered is the 37-622, which fortunately Peter White Cycles still had in stock, though not anymore. If anyone knows how to procure those in Canada easily, I would love it if you could shoot me a message!
I have just installed them and am yet to be able to give a fully balanced review. The installation was a breeze, there is absolutely no comparison with the reinforced liner of the SMWP! That is definitely a big plus to me.
One thing that came as a surprise is that they definitely look narrower than the SMWP despite the Suomi being nominally 37 mm in size, versus 35 mm for the SMWP. I rode them during a very heavy storm and found that the bike was easier control when following compacted car tracks than it would have been with my former tires.
Tire pressure seems important, less pressure in front really helped in difficult conditions. I yet have to test them on ice - I am curious to see whether the reduced number of stud rows will make a difference here.
Note: I will update this entry when I have a better overall appreciation of them!