Three years ago, I showed up to a regional race in December that was certian to be icy draws, uphills, and downhills. In preparation, I put a sheet metal screw in each knob on the tire for all three bikes. My thought was that if the weather changed and the ice melted, the studs wouldn't matter, so we opted to play it safe and add screws.
Day of the race...really icy! As other racers looked at our bikes and realized we had studded our tires on all three bikes, the complaints began. The promoter was even going to require us to remove the studs before the event, but a quick check of the rules revealed that no rule existed that precluded our creative solution to traction in an icy offroad race.
At the end of the day, we all three won our classes, while others went home with broken bones.
The next year, you'll never guess what rule appeared...Yup, not studs allowed in the tires.
Often, a real understanding the rules can lead to victory...until they change the rules. Sounds like the NASCAR rule book.
Rick
