Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Product Review: Snow Tires and LHTs -or- The LHT On Ice!

Last Wednesday morning I installed some Innova Tundra Wolf studded snow tires on the LHT(yeah you know me). I did this just in time as Wednesday night became one of the worst DC traffic snarls in recent history. Most everyone I know had stories of anywhere from 5 to 11 hour commutes home. I on the other hand was delighted to be one of the very few people in the DC area who was moving, partly due to my new studded snow tires.



So far they have performed admirably. The studs offer quite a grip and allow for a quick recovery when my tires slide out. Besides the expected noise they do just fine on the 2 miles of pavement I ride each way. I know this will wear them out prematurely but it is what it is. They aren't the top of the line but they perform well and are half the price of most competitors.

I took a video this morning of the Innovas in action.



This is hard packed ices frozen in the shape of thousands of footsteps. The steel frame of the LHT was getting a good rogering as was my skeletal system. It took almost twice as long to get to work but I got there dammit.

Funny thing is, last night I dropped my hat on the trail. I didn't realize it was missing until I rode past it this morning. You can see it come up on the right at the very end of the video. The Great Trail Cycle continues.

Bottom line: Highly Recommended. In DC, might not need them all the time but for at least several weeks a year they're a life saver.
Buy Them If you brag about commuting all year long and you live above the Mason-Dixon Line.
Don't Buy Them If You need an excuse not to ride in the snow.

2 comments:

TrevorW�� said...

Those tyres seem to preform pretty well. Great that you got your hat back.....!!
What camera are you using for this video? I am thinking of getting a helmet cam of some kind to record fast descents of the Pyrenees later in the year.

gwadzilla said...

how about a plow on the front of that bike?

i would love there to be some sort of action to clear the capital crescent trail