How to fit snow chains . . . the reality

A snowHead

The first time:

Break fingernails prising up the tabs on the plastic box to display beautifully coiled shiny charm bracelets.

Lift the first one out and watch in amazement as it coils into a glittering twisted lump in your hand. Pick up the second in disbelief as it repeats the same trick.

Spend the next 30 minutes untangling the knots . . . which would have been 10 if the pair hadn't decided to mate with each other.

Separated, they're laid down beside the drive wheels and you look at the instructions stuck inside the lid of the carry box ands realise that your Serbo-Croat isn't what it should be so you decide to go with the pictures.

Which bear no visible relationship to the objects laying besides your wheels

30 minutes later you're soaking wet and shivering with the cold, the rest of your fingernails are caught in mechanical parts you have no name for and everything you touch is now indelibly marked with your fingerprints. You have something that looks like it's slung between two nipple rings, and just as taut, chipping the rust protector off the inside of your wheel arches . . .

. . . but they will get you up the hill.

Arriving at your destination, you take them off . . . which oddly is an absolute doddle, and coil them into their plastic box.

The next season:

Your fingernails are safe; At some time during the Summer the plastic tabs have been knocked off and you lift the lid to an amorphous brown lump that creaks and sheds small pieces as you prise it out of its nest.

The pictures in the lid are now a ragged illegible sticky mixture of paper shreds, ink smear and pulpy hydrated glue so you rely on your faded memory.

Which leads you to spending twice the time and 10 times the frustration to achieve the same miserable result as the last time . . . only now, your fingerprints have a lovely 'burnt sienna' tinge to their longevity.

Next year . . . you buy a new set and repeat . . . 'cos they're a different design.

A snowHead

Now you know one of 15 reasons I've never driven a vehicle to the Alps ... and I had a driving licence in 1970.

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

Alternatively

Prior to departure to the alps on a nice warm day attach spikes spider disks to your wheel hubs it only takes about 5 mins per hub.

When you need to put the chains on, take them out of the bag and using your knee press center onto pre mounted disk, repeat for other wheels, takes about 30 secs per wheel, drive off slowly.

take off by unclipping and dropping to ground, drive foward 0.5 meters pick up chains and drop back in bag ready for next use, you can leave the hubs in place till next year if you want.

The only problem is that the things are seriously expensive, no damaged fingers though

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This is why we continually tell people to practice putting chains on at home first in the dry. Normally about 10 mins job done and away you go.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

D G Orf, like you I use Spikes Spiders - they really are as easy to use as you say. Having been through the hassle Masque describes, the Spikes Spiders are a delgiht to use. Very Happy

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"This is why we continually tell people to practice putting chains on at home first in the dry. Normally about 10 mins job done and away you go." couldnt agree more. the last, and thankfully only time i had to put chains on my ski buddy and i spent almost an hour sitting by the side of the road trying to work out how to put the bugs on, with very little idea of what we were doing. missed a good hour of powder! at least we realised that we needed to put the things on though, unlike a certain skier that day....

http://www.natives.co.uk/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=9&listcatid=56&listitemid=403& happens to the best of us eh?

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

I've always used Weissenfels Klack & Go, practising at home before each trip, usuallly just the night before - and on 2 of these occasions it was actually snowing in the UK! They're fairly easy to put on but still require a couple of minutes fiddling per side, though they are self-tensioning so no need to stop again once they're on.

Got to be said that the Spikes Spiders sound brilliant and I may well invest in a set. snowHead

After all it is free

Drove to the Alps on my own for the first time last year - always had the OH to do the messy jobs previously - and coincidentally found it was also the first time in 5 years that I needed to get the "shiny charm bracelets" onto the not so shiny car. So glad that I had not only read the wisdom on hear but actually followed the advice! Still managed to mess it up slightly and break one of the links but did get myself up and down the mountain without too much angst.

Another vote for the Spikes Spiders. Very expensive, but worth every penny in my opinion. Once you've got over the shock of paying for them the only drawback is that they are quite bulky compared to other chains, so consume a fair amount of storage space in your car.

If I can I always look for a covered car park to drive into when I need to fit chains. It is a much more pleasant experience to fit them when there is no snow on the road and you are out of the elements.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Masque,

But it's not really that bad...maybe 20 minutes the first time (each season)...and then 5-10.

I have a pair of gloves packed with the chains....helps with fingernails and cold. A head torch means you can see under the wheel arch etc when fitting them at night..

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Give your, wife/girlfriend/passing wench a pair of gloves and get them to do it. Stay in car nice and warm. Twisted Evil

ducks and runs for cover!

snow reports

Easy ... Just take somebody along on the trip who has done it before Very Happy

Seriosly ... very acurate description ... particularly the tangle bit ... I don't know why some of those puzzle stalls at flea markets don't just buy up a load of 2nd hand snow chains put them in a box ... shake and sell them as a puzzle to untangle!

This year it took about 4 of us about 30mins to get ONE chain untangled (brand new too!) ... although the somebody who had done it before had no problems after untangling.

You would think that some enterprising bunch of teenagers would stand by the road and offer a service to fit your chains for 10 euros, or something similar - I'd pay.

You know it makes sense.

Ok, I'm convinced Spikes Spiders it is.

I quite like the irony - if you use them often enough to make the Spikes Spiders economical then you're probably proficient enough with chains to not need them. And vice versa. wink

I presume the Sports version are the puppies I need?

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

Equipment = Padded luminous yellow jacket, snow shovel, plastic gloves (thick enough to protect the hands but not too thick otherwise you can't do the fiddly bits), warm hat and an insulted pad to kneel on. Certain chains are easier to put on than others (scroll down to see the four top performers in this test)

http://www.oeamtc.at/tests/ketten/

A snowHead

I think I'd rather top myself

A snowHead

brian

Maybe I've just been lucky but I've never had a problem fitting chains. Puzzled

Admittedly I think I've only done it 3 times (plus one practice in GVA airport car park).

The last set I put on even had colour coded bits and a laminated set of illustrated instructions. Nae bother Very Happy

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PhillipStanton, yep the sport version is what you want, but DB, is right they don't perform as well as regular chains, I needed to buy a set for my Freelander because they are the only chains that won't damage the vehicle wheel arches, as approved by Landrover Shocked

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

stoatsbrother, Driving back from Heavenly to SF airport last March we hit a heavily snowed in situation (as the Americans called it Very Happy

) . I pulled over in the hire car (a Chrysler Grand Voyager) and got out the Snowchains to find they were completely different from the chains I use on My own Grand Voyager. These were the 'ladder type' and took me about half an hour to figure out and fit, in driving snow at the roadside with all the resultant finger and clothes damage discussed above. Half a mile further down the road we cam across a 'chain gang' Shocked

who were offering to fit chains (and sell them if you didn't have any any) for $30.

When we finally got through the blizzard about 3 hours later, we pulled into a lay by and I removed the chains, adding more damage to clothes and fingers, only to find another gang offering removal services for $20.

Just to add to the joys of the day, we missed our flight to Las Vegas by 10 minutes, so If I'd just let the professionals do the job we'd have caught it easily! Ho Hum. rolling eyes

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Another big vote for spikes spiders BIG bonus is that they are adjustable as well so that when you change your car you dont have buy another new set of chains.
BUT

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

If you are driving in Austria and have an accident in winter conditions whilst in a car without winter tyres, it is likely that you will become responsible for the accident and have trouble claiming from your insurance.

In wet conditions a winter tyre stops much sooner than a summer tyre (even in summer temperatures). The chance of you rear-ending someone is much greater without winter tyres.

http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/images/winterdriving/winter5a.jpg

Snow chains / spikes are not an alternative to winter tyres but an additional piece of equipment to help when the conditions become too difficult for winter tyres alone.

After all it is free

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How to fit snow chains . . . the reality

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