I’m looking for real-world advice on how many studs to install in a new set of Terrene Wazia 26×4.6 Light 120 TPI fat bike tires.
The bike is mostly going to serve as a backup mountain bike / off-season trail bike. I’ll use it on dirt trails when conditions make sense, occasional snow rides, and general winter messing around. I do not purposely seek out ice riding, but I’m in the Midwest and there could definitely be frozen ruts, hardpack, refrozen trail sections, or ice hidden under snow.
I’ve never ridden with studs before. Terrene included more than enough Terrene Triple Point tungsten carbide crown studs to fully stud both tires. I’d like to install whatever studs make sense now while the tires are still new/clean, before mud gets packed into the stud pockets, as I assume they shouldn't be removed / installed each season.
My question is whether I should:
- fully stud both tires,
- partially stud both tires,
- fully stud the front and partially stud the rear,
- only stud certain inner/outer rows,
- or skip studs unless I know I’ll be riding actual ice regularly
I don’t mind if studs slow the bike down a bit, but I am a little concerned about noise on occasional pavement/group rides, plus stud longevity if some rides include short pavement or gravel connectors. I also don’t want to swap tires seasonally on this bike since it’s tubeless and won’t be ridden a ton.
For those of you who have ridden studded fat tires in mixed winter/off-season conditions, what pattern would you recommend for the front vs rear?
Specifically interested in advice like:
- inner knobs only vs inner + outer knobs
- front tire more aggressively studded than rear
- whether full studding is overkill for my use
- whether occasional pavement/gravel noticeably wears or damages the studs
- whether partially studded tires are enough for surprise frozen ruts/hidden ice under snow
Pictures of the tires and studs are attached. Yellow circles added to highlight stud pockets.
by ztbishop
10 Comments
I go full studs with the caveat that I have non studded tires for spring/summer/fall. Ice is not something I want to really mess around with with less stud coverage. But wearing studded tires during the “off season?” Na. Sound and vibration drives me crazy and you may as well just through money on the road along with your quickly wearing studs. You could option for a tire of less width for the non snow season too. Makes the bike a little more nimble feeling.
I run full studs. Winters are long and the freeze thaw cycle can be brutal up where I live. I have a dedicated set of tires for both winter and summer.
Go full studs and use them on snow. When it isn’t snowy, run non-studded tires.
Any amount of studs suck for dirt/rock/roots. Rocks are slippery with them, roots will catch the studs and rip them out potentially damaging the sockets. Mud and dirt are fine though.
In winter every stud socket needs to be filled or you just won’t trust the tires. Fat tires have such a large surface that even full of studs they lack the grip of something much smaller with an equal number of studs.
I don’t think there is a good way to share winter riding tires with roots and rock that won’t ruin the tires for winter. Pavement will wear the tri tips off but the carbide cylinder tips actually seem to get kind of marred up and sharpened by sidewalk rides.
Thanks – this is good info to think about. For now I think I’ll fully stud these tires, and try to use my gravel bike and full suspension for anything that isn’t soft, wet, or frozen – rather than having a spare set of fat tires that would get very little use in my case.
Would the studded tires be okay for occasional midwest summer singletrack as a backup in dry conditions? There are occasional rock gardens and roots, tho I could try to be mindful and try to coast over them.
I hadn’t considered the idea of torquing over roots ripping the studs out…
I have the same tires, northeast WI. Full studs, I swap tires for winter / summer riding. When I take those on the pavement even for short rides – to / from trails. I hate it. The sound is too much and I am not a fan of the wear that could be happening. I do ride frozen dirt, snow, ice, whatever and I love the confidence of full studs.
I used this studded tire on the rear of my e-bike, but it just kept spinning out in winter conditions.
my main tires for the fatty are johnny 5’s – fully studded for winter on 95′ and 4.8 JJ’s on 70’s for summer conditions- a more expensive solution but not a compromise
if you are going to stud, then full studs, you can go more aggressive on the sides and smaller in the middle but don’t skimp
you would hate them for summer though – plus they will be pulling out
I go full studs. Smaller ones in the center, bigger ones on the sides. I have 2 sets of wheels and swap them when dirt season starts. Don’t sweat riding on occasional pavement/dirt in the winter. Likely your tires will wear out before the studs do.