Grip Studs in Bud and Lou

I have been on the fence about studs in my bike tires for a long time.  They are an expensive experiment that I was not sure I needed or even wanted until I crashed hard the other night.  The 45nrth Dillinger which is the only prestudded fat bike tire made is $220 per tire.  Even at this price it quickly sold out all over.  The Dillinger has 240 studs per tire.  

The grip studs I purchased are the only real quality option I am aware of for doing it myself.  They are an obscene $1 per stud.  I only purchased 100 studs and wondered if I was a complete fool.  Remember the Dillinger have 480 studs per pair.   Above is the tool for screwing them in.  It has a screw driver handle.  The studs weighed 65 grams per 100 count and have a carbide core.  If they stay in the tire should wear before they do.

 I put 60 in the front tire and 40 in the rear.  They need a lot of tread depth and am not sure I would feel comfortable putting them in my somewhat worn husker du's or old endomorphs.  New Bud and Lou's had plenty of rubber.   

 This shot is really just to show off my new mud shovel fenders.

The rear looks pretty sparse with only about 40 studs.  The studs go in very quickly and are not frustrating to deal with at all with the exception of being afraid I would drop and lose the expensive little guys.

 I test rode them for about a half hour tonight at 17F, front tire at 7lbs, rear tire at 8lbs of air pressure.  I am about 250lbs.  I rode flat smooth ice, overflow like uneven ice, dirt, gravel, asphalt, concrete, rock garden, grass and snow.  They worked great and did much more to prevent slipping than I expected.  I will not be ice racing on them but will not hesitate to ride any ice.  Great confidence on all the ice I rode.  I can hear them tapping on the bare pavement but still had great traction and none came out during my short but varied test of surfaces.

Other benefits I see to my Bud and Lou Grip Stud method over the Dillingers include being able to take the studs out this summer and being able to keep the superior flotation of my 5 inch now studded tires as compared to the 4 inch Dillinger   Bud and Lou just became a little more studly.