Studded tires have become a pretty common sight on bicycles, especially with the crazy winter we’ve had this year. But once the snow starts disappearing, so do the studs. Well, at least they used to. Now it seems that Innova thinks there are benefits to be had with studded tires in the dirt rather than the snow.
Initially aimed towards down hill riding, is this the future of mountain bike tread designs?
Awarded an iF D&I award at the show, there will be two versions of the studded tire, the Little Monster and the Big Monster. Little Monster uses red plastic studs that sit inside the shoulder tread blocks without really poking through. This is supposed to support the shoulder tread while offering a bit of extra grip when really cornering hard.
Big Monster appears to use the exact same tread pattern but instead has yellow plastic studs that are harder, and protrude farther than Little Monster claiming to offer greater support and improved grip on wet trails, or even snow and ice. How well plastic studs will hold up to mountain biking use is anyone’s guess, but it is cool to companies thinking outside the tread block. Both tires will initially be offered in 27.5 x 2.35″ along with a number of other new 27.5″ tires for the company.
