just best aggressive tire for snow/ice riding. Very hard to pedal on the road, but then you go off-road - you the king! Pedaling in the deep snow, pedaling on the flat ice, pedaling ever you want. I Ride my first studded tire (old Freddie 2.3 DH) and for today, it's more than 5 year of frezzy riding (4 month per year)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
tscheezy
a
from Kodiak, Alaska Date Reviewed: December 14, 2005
Favorite Trail:
All of em
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$125.00
Purchased At:
REI Anchorage AK
Strengths:
Simply the best traction available on ice, period. New lighter weight. Decent volume, nice tread profile, Nokian Quality. Alloy-sleeved, pointy-tipped carbide studs. Cheap compared to getting a concussion when you wipe on non-studded tires. A pair is cheaper than any of my HID lights.
Weaknesses:
REALLY hard to find.
Similar Products Used:
I own 6 Extreme 296, 2 Hakka 300, 2 W240, 2 Mount and Ground 160, and now 2 Freddies Revenz.
Bike Setup:
Turner 6-Pack, Turner 5-Spot
Bottom Line:
I just got some Freddies after riding various Nokian studded tires (mainly the venerable Extreme 296s) for many years. The Freddies are VERY hard to find. REI in Anchorage got some and I scooped them up for $125 each, which is expensive for a tire, but cheap in the sense that I can ride any time all winter I want which is worth $$$$$$$$$$$ to me!
The Freddies are this year's and are much lighter than they used to be, about 940g each. The studs also don't stick way out of the knobs anymore. They are set down into the knob like on the other Nokians. Weight wise, the Hakka 300s are impressively light at 670g each, but have a much smaller casing and narrow, tall and somewhat squirmy knobs. The Extremes (Nokian no longer make the 296s; now they make the 294) have a burlier build and stiffer knobs than the 300s but are considerably heavier.
Both the 300s and Freddies use an aluminum mushroom head sleeve to hold the tungsten carbide pin stud which saves weight. The old Extremes use a steel sleeve. I found the alloy sleeves pull out of the tires more easily, but that may be a function of the softer rubber on the 300s allowing that. My Freddies have only lost one stud during break-in, and I have not been very kind to them. I only did about 10 road miles before carefully riding them offroad. After about 30 miles I started going hog wild on them and don't pay particular care other than to avoid side loading on sharp rocks. Meanwhile my 300s shed studs like a Repunzel on chemo losing hair for the first couple of months. They have stabilized now after about 3 years. I keep an old blown-out Extreme around to canibalize studs out of.
Traction on ice on all of them is similar, with the Freddie having a slight edge. Whether the pointed studs of the Freddie and 300 hook up better than the squared off head of the extreme depends on the ice temperature imo. Cold ice benefits from the pointed studs, warm ice is complimentary to the square ones. The Freddies and Extremes offer similar float on snow, with the Freddies having a small advantage in casing width, though the area of tread profile is almost exactly the same. Overall I like the Freddies the best, but like I said they are hard to find, and cost almost twice what the Extremes do. Production seems slow.
Note that a lot of the other non-nokian studded tires out there use hardened steel studs and not carbide pins in a carrier stud and so are far more subject to wear. The Nokian tires will last for many many hundreds of dry pavement miles with virtually no wear to the studs. The rubber on my Nokians cracks and the sidewalls blow out after about 5 seasons of use and the studs look nearly like new.
I have many hundreds (thousands?) of miles on Nokian studded tires and recommend them without reservation. An excellent product. The Freddies are the cream of the crop and if you really ride in the winter and have been stymied by ice, then they are worth every penny. They are just hard to find.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Vit
a Weekend Warrior
from Hamilton, On Date Reviewed: February 20, 2003
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$60.00
Purchased At:
Freewheelcycle - Dundas
Strengths:
Excellent grip on Ice - shed snow extremely well
Weaknesses:
Weight, MSRP (I got mine on sale!)
Similar Products Used:
Tioga Factory Mud - great for mud, not so great on ice
Bike Setup:
Bonty Privateer Rasta - pretty much stock XT/LX mix. minor upgrades include Time pedals, Thompson post, etc.. I've got this tire on the front - not enough clearance to run on the back where I run a Nokian 296Extreme.
Bottom Line:
These things are amazing! I haven't had any problems on icy trails - this is an excellent choice for the front as it provides positive steering and braking. Not only that, I got a smokin' deal, hence, the value rating. The only problem is that they're a little heavy and too big for the rear - not many XC frames have enough clearance, ergo, the smaller Nokian for the back. It's good too but doesn't provide as much float in loose snow. If you want to play in the snow - buy this tire!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tom Shearer
a Weekend Warrior
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Date Reviewed: February 28, 2002
Favorite Trail:
ForePlay
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$400.00
Purchased At:
Fresh Air Experience
Strengths:
Amazing gripping capability
Weaknesses:
Not with these tires
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
2001 Giant AC1
Bottom Line:
I have used them for some time now and have found that as long as the surface is hard-packed snow or ice, they are unbeatable. I have been riding up hills of solid ice with no difficulty. Just remember when you step off that your shoes do not grip as well as the tires. The price makes them prohibitive to most and because of that I have noone to ride with. Boo hoo. So get them and go have fun.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tom Shearer
a Weekend Warrior
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Date Reviewed: January 16, 2002
Favorite Trail:
ForePlay
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$380.00
Purchased At:
Fresh Air Experience
Strengths:
Hard packed snow or ice
Weaknesses:
soft snow on top of hard packed snow or ice
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
Giant AC1
Bottom Line:
We received approx. 4 inches of snow the very next day so I went out again to the same hill. The snow compressed just enough to compact then slide along the ice underneath. Going down was still fine but I couldn't make any sudden turns. Forget about going up. When the manufacturer says for hardpacked snow or ice and professionally groomed trails, they mean it. Still, heck of a lot of fun if you can find a hard packed trail.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tom Shearer
a Weekend Warrior
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Date Reviewed: January 15, 2002
Favorite Trail:
ForePlay
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$380.00
Purchased At:
Fresh Air Experience
Strengths:
336 Carbide teeth!
Weaknesses:
None so far.
Similar Products Used:
None
Bike Setup:
Giant AC1
Bottom Line:
I have only used these tires once but I felt compelled to write. I tried them out on a hill near my house that is completely hard packed and iced over. I zig-zagged up the hill (to test the tires and save energy) and they never slipped once. I did wide and slow curves then short quick curves down the hill. Never slipped. I rode straight up the hill on the iciest stretch. Didn't slip. I gave out before the tires did. Best part is that they don't even destroy the terrain. The cost is a bit prohibitive but hey, I'm worth it.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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