Submitted by
Horst Linked
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado Date Reviewed: July 24, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Any singletrack
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$90.00
Purchased At:
www.phattire.com
Strengths:
Light weight, great hook up on ice. The do what they're designed to do. Period.
Weaknesses:
Cost...but what do you expect, they're Nokians and they're studded! The only complaint I have is with phattire.com. The d-bag that runs the place (located near my home) insisted that he had to ship them to me and that I couldn't drive 5 miles to pick them up. The guy's a hack that's making money off of shipping costs.
Similar Products Used:
none
Bike Setup:
Hard tail Kona and FS Turner
Bottom Line:
Of course they'll wear on pavement! What do you expect? As far as using them for what they're designed to do, they're excellent. I've ridden them over one winter and have yet to find a weakness. Well worth the money if you're planning on riding frozen trails from late fall through early spring or commuting to work in the snow and ice.
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Submitted by
Philip Bailly
a Cross Country Rider
from Excelsior, MN Date Reviewed: April 2, 2008
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$85.00
Purchased At:
Various
Strengths:
Wonderful grip on ice
Weaknesses:
Bead was non-existent on 1 cm of tire - may have contributed to front blow out and crash. I was lucky and did not end up paralyzed. Lose studs. Nokian is very stingy about supplying replacement studs. The tires wobble a bit and this is attributed to the way studded tires are made by various vendors. I think they wobbled because the bead was defective. I strongly recommend against buying these tires.
Similar Products Used:
Only snow tire I have used. I have used lots of non-winter tires without such problems.
Bike Setup:
Old Univega frame with everything new and mostly mid-range priced strong but somewhat heavier components than top of the line.
Bottom Line:
The slogan for Nokian is "Deserve them." As far as I am concerned it should be "Die on them."
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Submitted by
Dave
a Racer
from Minnesota Date Reviewed: November 29, 2007
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$100.00
Strengths:
Hooks up well on all off road surfaces, 300 carbide studs! Solid tread pattern works well on all types of snow and loose/hard pack conditions.
Weaknesses:
Price, what a shot to the wallet!
Similar Products Used:
Nokian Extreme 296
Bike Setup:
Klein Adroit Race, Trek Fuel 98 with all the bells and whistles
Bottom Line:
The newer (post '03) models have been redesigned to reduce stud loss, any respectable rider knows that equipment wear is standard and studded tires are no exception.
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Submitted by
Philip Bailly
a Cross Country Rider
from Denver, CO, USA Date Reviewed: March 24, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$160.00
Purchased At:
Ebay
Strengths:
Superb grip on ice and shed snow easily.
Weaknesses:
Very soft rubber. If you ride them on a mixture of ice/snow and dry pavement, you can expect rapid wear and losing studs. On the dirt, the treads can rip off. Very Expensive. Not easy to get new studs; supposedly Nokian is going to launch a website in the US where one can buy studs in April '07.
Similar Products Used:
I have not tried other studded snow tires.
Bike Setup:
Old Univega MTB.
Bottom Line:
Excellent grip on ice. Wear quickly if on dry pavement.
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Submitted by
Steven kilburn
a Cross Country Rider
from Old Town, Me Date Reviewed: March 24, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Spider Loop, Okinawa, Japan
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$113.00
Purchased At:
For two on ebay!
Strengths:
Traction on ice and snow
Weaknesses:
Studs come out. However, I contacted Nokian and they sent me some studs and the installation tool free of charge. Great cs!!
Similar Products Used:
Homemade
Bike Setup:
Kona Unit
Bottom Line:
Great tires. They are a bit narrow for my tastes but do they hook up!! I rode over everything super fast this winter with these things. We had absolutely no snow this year but there was ice everywhere. I highly recommend. It was like riding in late summer/early autumn all winter, just colder.
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Submitted by
Nick Vinson
a Cross Country Rider
from Newark DE USA Date Reviewed: March 12, 2006
Favorite Trail:
White Clay Creek
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$96.00
Purchased At:
Wooden Wheels of Newark
Strengths:
These tires are worth every dollar paid. They've held fast on ice, snow, rain, leaves and mud. They stop on a dime every time. Even with some hard use this winter, I only lost 2 studs per tire. Smooth enough for street riding and to be honest, I really enjoyed the scratchy sound of the studs on concrete.
Weaknesses:
Tires will kick out easily going over some obsticles. Snakebites(yes, I use tubes in mine at 60 psi). A tire liner solved that problem. Be careful tire will scartch soft flooring (wood, tile, flagstone, marble),
Similar Products Used:
First time
Bike Setup:
Easy, tire is labeled to show correct rotaion.
Bottom Line:
I removed these tires for spring, rode for a week and reinstalled them. I will ride them year round. Anybody who rides on ice or snow should check these tires out.
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Submitted by
Aivars
a Cross Country Rider
from Ogre, Latvia Date Reviewed: March 10, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$78.00
Purchased At:
www.cyclecomponents.com
Strengths:
Very good on ice and ice with a litle bit snow on it, it's seem like you riding on pavement. Good on deep snow. Very nice tracking whenever you go, snow or ice. Good mud clearance. Minimal weight penalty for the studs.
Weaknesses:
Rolling resistance and noise on hard pack or pavement is very high.
Bike Setup:
ZZK Team frame, Marzocchi MX Pro ETA fork.
Bottom Line:
Studs matter, especially 300 studs. Very good winter tire, performs very well on ice and snow, right on the spot, where that matters. Good quality, I'm ride about 250km for now, and still didn't lose none of studs. So, for now, Hakka WXC300 is very reliable tire. So, if you want winter tire for narrowa and hard winter condition, this is it. Very reliable tire whenever you in winter go and whenever fast you go. But if you perform more riding on streets and similar surfaces, better chose some tire with less suds for lower rolling resistance and noise.
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Submitted by
Rodney Strader
a Cross Country Rider
from Magna, Ut Date Reviewed: December 30, 2005
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At:
Phat tire
Strengths:
Excells on ice. Very light, half the weight of my downhill tires even with the studs.
Weaknesses:
Product came advertised as UST. Could not get either tire to hold air for very long. One leaks through the bead and the other around every knob on the case. Had to install tubes. $200 for two tires, that is twice the price of my studded tires on my car.
Bike Setup:
Giant Warp
Bottom Line:
Very pleased with the performance on ice. With this tire I was able to ride trails covered with thick ice and water running down over the ice. (not hikeable without cleats) I had to install tubes in these tires which was disappointing because they came wrapped in UST labels. I used plenty of sealant and am no stranger to running tubeless, but these tires would not seal. They should take notes from Maxxis on how to build good UST tires.
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Submitted by
Albert Zweistein
a Weekend Warrior
from New England Date Reviewed: December 31, 2004
I was so psyched to finally get some tungsten carbide studded tires for winter riding. These tires are $125 a copy and have 300 studs per tire in 4 staggered rows across the carcass of the tire.
I broke them in according to the manufacturers instructions (30 road miles), then I took an easy 7 mile ride on some snow covered (~6") trails through the woods. A portion of the trail was rocky, with some roots and log crossings, all covered in snow. I even rode around a frozen pond. That is where studded tires rule. Temperature 21°F
After the ride, I inspected the tires: 1 stud was missing from the front tire, and TWENTY-TWO (22) studs were missing from the rear! At least one stud in the rear was turned on its side. And I was riding easy because I did not want to pull any studs out.
I posted a message the usenet news group rec.bicycles.tech and found another user who experienced the same problem with the HAKKA WXC300. He recommended nokian extremes as a more reliable tire.
At this rate, I could shed all the studs in 100 miles. I expect more from a tire than costs more than any tire I have bought for my car, van, truck; and I get over 50,000 high-speed miles from them. I have used light weight sticky race tires that last only half a season, but these will be dangerous (useless) on ice after a few rides. Ridiculous!
I will contact nokian and see what they have to say. If I get a response, I will share it will you.
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Submitted by
Adriaan
a Cross Country Rider
from Edmonton Alberta Canada Date Reviewed: December 9, 2004
Favorite Trail:
west gorge
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Pedalhead
Strengths:
When I bought the tire I was going on word of mouth. I honestly did not think that studs would matter. I was wrong. The tire works great, and since it is a Kevlar bead, it is lighter than some of the other tire alternitives.
Weaknesses:
The studs are not yet available in canada, so if a few pop out or wear out, you have to remove some from somewhere else on the tire. The side wall was a bit weak in my tire and I had to sew in a bit of sidewall from an old tire that was dead. Perhaps Nokien can make the casting a bit better.
Similar Products Used:
I have a IRC mad mud on the front. the tire did not come with studs but it is made to accept studs. Since I am a bit shore of studs on the front I don't have much of an opinion of the front tire. The studs from the Nokien fit but it comprimizes the traction by taking studs away.
Bike Setup:
Rocky Mountain Hammer Race Suntour XC pro topmount shifters, Tecktro Brake levers, Zoom handle bars, no name stubby bar ends, no name wheels, Rock shox rubber elastometer forks, clipless pedals, Shimano DX clipless street shoes, Giro full face helmet.
Bottom Line:
If you can get replacement studs for the Nokien it is probably worth it if you expect ice. The IRC Mad mud is not worth it if it has no studs. I think bike couriers would like the Nokien. It is reliable, easily fixable, light, and grips nice.
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Submitted by
Barry
a
from North Vancouver Date Reviewed: November 15, 2004
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$91.00
Purchased At:
Universal Cycles
Strengths:
Make wet bridge decks and roots like pavement, ice seems to be no obstacle either. Good mud clearance and good snow grip with the big knobs, especially in good snowball snow as opposed to the slushball snow. Minimal weight penalty for the studs only 695gms total.
Weaknesses:
there is the noise on the hard surfaces between trails, when riding on pavement it sounds like you have a portable gravel road that you're bringing with you. Rolling resistance on hard pack or pavement is very high, not an issue on mud/snow
Similar Products Used:
IRC Blizzard
Bike Setup:
Rocky ETSX70
Bottom Line:
If ice and wet roots and bridge decks are your nemesis these tires are worth a try. As long as you don't have long commutes on dry pavement to the trails the stud noise and rolling resistance won't phase you. The studs are aluminium barrel with carbide centres so you can expect that they will stay pointy as they wear. Having cracked ribs falling on slimey wet wooden bridge decks or slid off the bridge like they were sprayed with Tri-Flow in the past, these tires are worth the bucks and drawbacks to reduce the winter carnage. They aren't as aggressive as chain rings for carving through wood obstacles but you wouldn't want to run over anything you cared about with the rear wheel spinning (like your dog or living tree roots). They don't work especially well on wet rocks so watch out for really hard things that are only wet. They do what they were designed for quite well.
$ 125.00
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