45 North Dillinger 5 and Wraithchild Review

I use a 84 Trek Single Track MTB as a dedicated winter commuter. In my small city in Wyoming. Old school 26 inch with 2.3 inch Kendra Klondike studded tire. They are a must have. There are snow smushy days I jones for a floaty mountain bike with 3.5 plus inch tires, but last a minute or so. The best thing I did this fall was take the thing for an overhaul, with new brakes, cables, repacked bearings and fat flat pedals to accommodate winter boots, the thing is a dream on street snow and ice.

I think I'll just be staying the hell away from snow like that, Russ. Thanks for the info, though.

what rear fender is on her bike?

Got 3 years of winter commuting every day on my last pair of Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro tires and I could have easily gotten a fourth year out of them if they didn't sell with the bike I had them on. Considering how many years of trusty service I got out of them the price is very much worth it to me.

100% Wouldn't go another winter without my Dillingers.

Commute all winter long in Winnipeg Canada, love my studded Dillingers, wife runs studded Vee snow shoes

I have a set of each for my Moots Frosthammer; 26" x 5" Dillingers and 27.5" x 3" Wrathchilds. Both are excellent and I wouldn't ride in Southcentral Alaska in winter without them.

Living here in the NW, outside of Seattle, I could live without studded tires (I have an old set of studded cyclocross tires that I'll wip out in a pinch). I use them maybe 2x a year currently, but when i was living/commuting in similar conditions to Missoula (Northern Idaho)id use them for 2 months and couldn't commute without. I think Laura has the right idea, 5" studded tires totally make the ultimate monster winter bike commuter. I think any studded tire can make for a more confident commuter; 26, 29, fat, mid-fat, whatever.If you wanta save money, made a 26er winter bike.. Its all about staying safe out there!l

I love my Schwalbe Marathon Winter tires. Easy rolling and gives confidence on ice and packed snow. They’re great.

Russ; you dont say on which wheel you mounted the single studded tire ... i would have put it on the front to evaluate. My experience with sand [similar to snow] is to use a wider tire in the front and use a lower pressure than normal. With the spikes i feel, should have maintained control when you hit the ice patch and more overall control if the rear slides out. Thanks for the review ... spring is coming!

I use two IKEA Baggmuck shoe mats whenevr I have to take my bike inside the house. One for each tire. They protect the floor and at the same time collect all the thawing snow from the tires.

I got a used pair of Vee tire Snowshoe XL in 4.8" for 200$ and found it to be a good investment.

Putting 45 North's on my early 2000s Trek MTB has changed everything. It really is the difference between getting out on a bike and staying home.

After several close calls in the beginning of the winter, I bought a set of studded cake eaters. I won't ride without them anymore.

Studded tires are not sketchy on pavement! They stud is only a few mm tall and so the tire casing is making full contact unless you are running dangerously high pressure!

After I have fallen on November ice some 7 or 8 years ago, every winter i put on studded tires. I use Schwalbe Marathon winter since larger ones would not fit into my frame. It would be nice to have winter frame that can accept wide tires since studs help with ice but not with deep snow. As for noise, in winter I rarely need to use the bell. They HEAR ME COMMING

I’ve found really good used studded tires in the Summer months at the local bike co-op and put them on my grocery getter. Our winters aren’t as harsh in Boise, but the freedom of having a bike ready for the days that are treacherous is worth a lot...

I can echo everything you said. They are a must in places where you get lots of freezing and thawing. They don’t make you bulletproof, but they keep you riding. Mine are 700x40 schwabel marathon winters, and they are worth every cent!

I commute year around and in the winter I use the Schwalbe Marathons in 700x35. They get me to work on time even on the days where everyone is showing up late cause of the snow.

Love my studded tires in northern Kazakhstan. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but they it possible to bike for half the year here. I use Schwann marathon winter studded tires because that is all that’s available here. I do like them though.

Russ surely they will last years. A worthy investment.

I roll with studded Dillinger 5's on my Surly Ice Cream Truck all winter. Hella expensive, still cheaper than a visit to the ER or MD's office.

Although D5 is an ok tire, and certainly makes icy conditions easier to deal with than summer rubber, they can't hold a candle to Ice Spikers. The difference in acceleration, braking and cornering grip is massive.

I used to ride studded tires in my teens, but much narrower ones, like 30-40 mm wide. It worked, but one drawback was that I was typically going twice as fast when I fell compared to riding without studs.

Yes I use studded tires to commute and to travel off road all winter. I use Vee Tire Snow Avalanche 4.8 Pure Silica

I don't commute but ride a lot of singletrack in the winter...studded tires are a must if one hopes to ride with any regularity. I have DIY studded tires using "GripStuds", the most expensive stud out there and one that takes some work to install but they are lightyears better than the factory studs. I am hoping to get some of the Wrathchild 3 inch studded tires as the studs on them are much bigger and deeper...looks like a fantastic tire. The Dillingers are a great all-around tire with some limitations regarding icy conditions but are a must-use on any icy trails. Thanks for a great review.

Quick query...what’s difference between the dillinger and the wratchilds by 45nrt, before I buy the 5stud Dillinger 4.8 for surly big fat dummy

That jones bike is sick..you already know that though...

Do you switch wheelsets for the winter or just the tires? If the former, is that simple or a lot of adjustments required?

Studded tires are a real game changer if you live where there is ice and snow and ride all winter roll with a pair regardless if there 45 north but, check out 45 north other studded tires

I put studded tires on all three of my trails bikes come winter, won't ride without them.

MN winter commuter/trail rider. My fattie only sees singletrack with plenty of snow but when said trails demand studs, then ill stud only the front and ride level ground across frozen lakes and wait for more snow. Otherwise, my singlespeed commuter gets Xerxes studs all winter for road use.

I've rolled many winter tires riding through the winters around Minneapolis. I love my Dillinger4 for my Pugsley these days. Back in the day, I rode Top Contact Winter on a 26er ... They were shockingly good without studs. But truth is I'll stay with studded tires for winter riding.

well....
before I got old, which f-ing sucks, I rode the winters using worn-out (therefore treadless) road tires. they tracked just enough that with attentive riding I was fine, rare slip-outs.
Now I use some Schwalbe (sp) marathon tires. they're not super expensive, they've done fine. because of their design they're not terrible on dry pavement, either.
Do what you want, go all brand-y and crap, or you can spend $60 on a pair of road-sized tires that will do the job hard-surface ridign.

Healthcare is basically free in Finland, so I'm probably going to cheap out on the spike tires. :D

Great review overall. Loved your personal experiences with both a Fat Bike that is studded and a Mtn Bike studded with a 3” wide tire (I presume that would equate to a PLUS tire size). I have a Mtn bike and don’t plan to change to a Fat bike and also live in a wintry region of Canada (Edmonton), somewhat similar to the commentator from Winnipeg (Winterpeg) who would know what winter driving is all about. 👍 PS, We drive with winter tires on all our vehicles and one even has studded (the best for icy conditions, period!!!).

Hurt my wrist on a big fall 2 years ago. Wrist was sore for 3 months. I was using Schwalbe ice spike pros 2.1" mountain bike tire on the front and back. This is a challenging section of the commute which was downhill, cambre, glare ice and a 'nice' steel pillar in the middle of the trail at the bottom of the hill (probably to ensure motorbikes don't use the trail in summer). I switched to a fat bike with 4.5" Wrathchild with concave studs on the front and back. I don't care about the cost, the rolling resistance and the noise - all of which are very high. Without these tires, I wouldn't be winter bike commuting any more - at least not in that area.

What do you call those handle bars?
and where to find...

Totally agree. Live in Michigan and get a lot of icy conditions. Fell on ice a few times last winter so decided on the Dillinger’s for 21-22 winter.

I just bought one 45nrth Kahva studded tire for the front wheel on my bike and i'm going to use a Continental Top Contact Winter II unstudded Tire on my back wheel. I was actually told by a person at a local bike shop that I don't really need 2 studded tires, he said as long as I have the studded tire upfront then I'll be good since I'll need that grip upfront when turning. I'm mostly using my bike (Hardtail GT Agressor Pro) to commute to work which is about a mile and a half away. I'll be on plowed streets and probably not plowed to well side streets the entire time. This will be the first winter that I ever used my bike.

Dillinger 5 studded all the way

Studded are the way to go! So much less stress. I commute around the year in Finland and winter is very snowy even in southern areas. I have Dillinger 5 in fatbike and 37x700C Continental something in gravel bike so studded in both bikes.

I have had the Dillingers on my Farley 9.6 fatty for two years,in the winter, and they are amazing! Complete game changer and allows me to ride my bike under any condition! I would highly recommend them.
Oh, and I believe they do make you invincible on ice! Lol really a blast!

The lack of a studded tire had less to do with the wipeout vs you having clipless pedals. You're crazy, who rides clipped in with ice and snow buildup, you couldn't bail in time lol.

I'm up in Clark Fork Idaho, I put them on the 4" they work wonderful, the bike with 27.5x3" I still need firmer conditions but fun with good snow.

I just got my first fat tire bike after wanting one since they first came out. I went for studded tires and am very happy I did. I've had no loss of traction at all so far, on ice or packed snow. There's quite a bit of drag on clear pavement, but I'll put up with that when I have to. There's a bonus for when I'm jumping curbs and riding on rough trails. I'm already planning on a set of non-studded tires for this summer. I originally only planned on riding my fat bike in the winter.

Schwalbe al mighty EVO 4.8 studded, any chance you can do an independent review of said tyres

I have the dillenger fat bike studded tires and just purchased the Wrathchild 29x2.6. I’m hoping the Wrathchild set up is better because I find my fat bike to be too slow. I want more speed, especially whilst urban commuting.

27 x 4.0 45 NRTH's on my bike for winter riding in the Kootenay mtns. Couldn't do the winter rides without 'em.