Fitting Chains

A snowHead

Just a reminder to folks
Had a go at fitting my chains as it was a decent day
Found chains had got tangle
Took about thirty minutes to sort out and fit
Real pain in the ar**
Think the chances of doing it in the dark and snow would have been close to zero
Worth having a practice
I think the last time I used in anger was 2010

A snowHead

Good idea, bought some last winter for our Duster, tried for ages to fit them to the car, no joy.
Tried fitting to the spare wheel as it was less hassle than grovelling in the wheel arch and it fitted perfectly Puzzled

Checked the size of chains/spare/tyre on car, all correct.......
Put the spare against the wheel on the car and it was about 3cm lower, hence why the chains fitted the spare and wouldn't go on the road wheel which was the exact same size on the sidewall, luckily the wheel I was trying to fit the chain on was a summer tyre and the spare is the winter tyre which is a good thing Very Happy

Just goes to show................

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I bought chains for my new car about a couple of weeks ago and the garage providing them showed me how to fit them - very easy. Then I tried myself a week ago - and failed miserably Embarassed

Haven't tried again since then, though about 6cm new snow fell here overnight Very Happy

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Sun 26 Nov must be the day to try the chains, I put ours on this morning having changed the wheels to winter.
No matter how often any of us use chains it is always worth a practice at this time of year. Ideal conditions, daylight, dry and no stress.
Don't think you can take them from the case and put them on the wheels in the dark, 10cm snow and frozen hands!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Don't relish my chances with a hire car and a set of used chains halfway up an alp Shocked

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Too cold to practise here atm rolling eyes

I tend to avoid driving when it's that bad. Winter tyres deal with most. Agree with the sentiment though.

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Mrs G's car we run on winter tyres
Try to borrow hers if weather is bad or get her to run me to work.

After all it is free

A few years ago I bought my chains, practised fitting them at home and a few weeks later in Chamonix - Le Tour, the car got stuck and I fitted them within about 5 mins. Fast forward to the following year, I’d forgotten how to fit them and couldn’t do it. Hands completely frozen but luckily there was a breakdown guy near who fitted them for me. Clearly need to practise before each trip.

I practise every year. Might be tomorrow.... it is chilly, but dry. And there's no snow on the ground. So should be a cinch.....

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Get a beach ball. £1.

Blow it up 3/4 and practice fitting chains around that. Obviously chains that fir your real wheel. The way you don't need to lie on the ground to try.

If you have room and you know it is going to snow. Travel with chains around the beach ball so you know they aren't tangled.

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@GlasgowCyclops, whaaaaaat?

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You know it makes sense.

Far too complicated. Once you've worked out how they work, undoing any tangles isn't a problem. 'Snot rocket science, chaps...

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Yes, I practice fitting them to the spare wheel first. It's much easier than with a car attached Very Happy

- Especially if they're of the type that need you to roll the car forwards.

You can also see how the chains should fit around the back/inside, which often helps.

Some chains fit a range of wheel/tyre sizes: so if they're new, the links are likely to need adjusting. Again, much easier with a spare wheel lying flat on the ground (the wheel, not you).

And also as suggested, get some plastic etc. to separate the two, if the chains go back into the same bag, to avoid chain spaghetti.

Don't forget to pack the chains with a small carpet square to kneel on, and some old, thin gloves (I assume you'll have a torch in the car, obviously).

A snowHead

Carpet square 2 pairs of blue nitrile gloves AND A HEAD TORCH

A snowHead

All of above AND a stick to knock off the snow & ice which will have stuck to the wheel arch. Would suggest marigolds - they are thicker & therefore warmer.....

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Just done my practice. 9 minutes for the two, which were in their separate plastic bags (rusty as hell despite the WD40!!). Not v good - had to have two goes at one of them, and that was on an easy, flat, concrete drive. Reminded myself that having ensured there are no tangles, shove the front end forward behind the wheel - then hold both ends and give it a really good shiggle to and fro, so any new tangles are shaken out. Shove the heavy wire right down over the back of the tyre, to give yourself more slack on the bits that need to do up in front. If one of the two ends you have to marry up is too short/stuck under the wheel, try to turn the thick wire behind the wheel in order to give a bit more slack (that normally means turning the top of the wire, that you can reach (making your sleeves filthy, don't wear your new white ski jacket....) away from that side.

And always try to stop after a couple of hundred yards to tighten them up - and check at every sensible opportunity that you can't get them any tighter. Loose chains can create all kinds of mayhem. The ones called "self-tensioning" often aren't, IME.

I don't wear gloves - find it much quicker in bare hands - can normally do 2 in 5 or 6 minutes before frostbite sets in.

A child's beach spade can be handy to clear away the snow all around the tyre (there is sometimes quite a lot, and it makes the job much harder).

Have a big black bag to drop the things in when you get them off. Which can be even harder, and usually involves driving off them, IME.

But above all - SMILE! Remember the reason you have to put the chains on is that it's SNOWING!!

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@pam_w Well done, and as we all know, this sort of practice is a mystical oblation to the Snow Spirits that means having made all that effort, you will not need to use your chains again this winter. Had you not sacrificed your skin and hands and muttered the magical incantations of "f--ing useless, f---ing chains." the Spirits would not have acknowledged your self-immolation and dumped a ton of snow on you at the first automotive opportunity ..... You can now rest easy.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

ah! That's good to know - thanks @LaForet. I don't think I used them last winter - but most winters I've had to use them several times. I'm arriving at my apartment late at night on Thursday, with heavy snow forecast (depending on the forecast you look at). Minor road, quite hilly (especially downhill Skullie

) and I'll be tired, having driven from Hampshire! If the snow forecast still looks heavy I'll have to try to get there before the last pass of the snowploughs.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@jafa, a Škoda Octavia Scout. Running well so far, including a 5000 km trip to Poland, Belarus and Lithuania. Haven't tried it on snow yet.

After all it is free

A friend of mine who is in the army recommends practicing putting them on whilst blindfolded (your wife's pink sequin eye mask is perfect for the job, as my husband will testify). No real life snow conditions, head torch or no, could be trickier than that.

Hmm. I think I could probably put mine on blindfold on a flat dry easy surface, given a bit of time. But I'm not about to go out and try it and prove myself wrong. Laughing

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Do I need snow chains if the car has winter tyres? I'm renting a car at Memmingen airport and the rental company has said that the car will have winter tyres

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Where are you driving to, @conor90?

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That would have been useful to include, St. Anton

Much easier now, than when I started skiing. Only ladder chains were available then. They had a nasty habit of tangling without it being obvious, you had to reach behind the wheel to secure the back link, and the spare links, after tightening, would often come loose and shot-peen the guards.

You know it makes sense.

We have snow forecast for the next few days and I have to drive to the valley. Currently have limited use of my right arm, so I need to have a practice in the parking area to make sure I can actually fit them. In theory I shouldn't need them, but I need to know I can get them on just in case!! Shock

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

Stopped using snow chains years ago. Bought a set of SPIKES SPIDERS. Take a minute or two to put on and a minute to take off. Easy peasy, No getting down in the snow and wet to lock chains behind the wheel.
There are other similar system around. Yes they are more expensive but absolutely worth every penny.

A snowHead

@conor90, if driving from the Innsbruck side (rather than Switzerland and over the Pass) it's very unlikely you will need chains to get to St Anton along the valley road. However it also depends where in St Anton you are staying/parking - some of the side roads can be very steep and icy.

If coming over the Pass, unless you have 4x4 there is a non-negligible chance that you might want chains too.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

+1 for Spike Spiders EASY Sport

Yes, they were £299 but I wish I'd bought them sooner, as they fit a far wider range of wheel/tyre sizes than conventional chains, plus as mentioned, are really easy (hence the name) to fit/remove. If I'd got these to start with, I wouldn't now have two sets of chains in the garage from previous cars. The Spikes Spiders would have fitted them and my current car.

For many people with an SUV and for many performance car owners, the wheels/tyres are too wide to take conventional chains anyway. Thank the manufacturers for assuming UK Owners never see snow or ice and fitting UK versions with lower-profile tyres.

If you do go for front-fitting ones like the

Spike

Spiders

Spike

you do need to allow a hour or so up-front to adjust the links to you specific wheel circumference. Trying them on first isn't just good practice - they will probably need adjustment.

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And if you do have to adjust the links keep the bits you have to remove, as you may need them again if you change cars!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You do also need 10 minutes to fit the mounting plates on the hub. I leave mine on all winter as I spend 5 months in the Alps + also have a new set of winter tyres all round so although the Spiders are useful they aren't used too often.

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Spiders are great, bought mine for an Audi A5 adjusted them for an Audi S3 and again for a Ford Focus great investment and still sellable if I stop driving to the mountains. Hardly ever used them but so easy to fit when you need them.

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I've used my Spider Sports more often than I can count (and they look a bit tatty as a result) and have replaced parts to change their size significantly. No parts have, so far, worn enough to require replacement although I do have a few spare bits in case.

The main advantages of Spiders are their ease of fitment, their front only fitment and their longevity. If I have to put them on, I don't mind as it only takes a moment. There's no risk of damage to the braking system as they don't go round the back. Finally changing the car may mean a minor adjustment or replacing a few parts at worst.

If you expect to need chains for some years, they're great. If you don't expect to use them for more than a year or two, then they're expensive for an easy fit you may not need.

Me? I've been a fan since the first time I fitted them.

After all it is free

£420 is expensive.

SOCKS . . . light, simple, perfect for occasional use and work well . . . Plus if you screw up fitting them they don't break things if they fail. I've seen wings ripped off by chains as well as holed fuel tanks.

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@Masque, I agree that for occasional use socks make good sense.

I sing the praises of Spikes Spiders only because they work well for people who expect to need them relatively frequently. For the occasional user, socks are more cost effective.

Help!!

Fitting Chains

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