Take that bike out of snow storage, people — the folks at Dutch Bike Co. have a handy way to give your two-wheeled ride some snow tires for cheap — all you need are zip ties! The Seattle-based bike experts were looking for a good alternative to pricey studded tires when they happened upon this genius substitution. Just snap the ties on your wheels, clip off the excess, and you’re ready to go zipping through the winter wonderland covering much of the United States right now. The folks behind this genius discovery assure you that the zip ties will cut into snowy and icy surfaces enough to make sure you won’t go slip sliding away.
Awesome idea.
But… aren’t the twist ties a one time deal? Once you cut them off you’ll have to discard the plastic which might last for a while in a land fill, then end up circulating in the ocean for a few hundred years before choking the last remaining polar bear on earth – all so some hipster can save a few bucks from buying studded tires so they can buy more of that cool Pabst Blue Ribbon bear in a can while the rest of us are biking on studded tires and ‘just don’t get them’ – sheesh, hipsters, what’s up with that?
Do you leave them on all winter long, even if the snow melts away before the next snowfall? OR… you could spend more for pricey BUT reusable studded tires. OR, move you and the band to San Diego already! OR… maybe there’s a new invention lurking here somewhere?
All I’m saying is “plastic bad… reusable good!”
please note that these will not work with rim brakes.
These fall off too easily and break when the weather is under 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
wrap small rope or a heavy string around your tire in a similar manner. Do a spiral through the spokes and you only have to tie the ends together with one knot. It worked for motorcycles back in the day.