tires for winter commuting

[thendenjeck]

i know there's a thread or two on this, but i'm tailoring a bit. anyone have sugestions on good tires for winter commuting in a snowy/frozen city (Chicago)? I'm riding a 29er this winter. i tried Conti Travel Contacts, no bueno. slid all over the place. fat franks as well. tried Rampages, but they were just unbelievably slow, although the traction was nice. is there something in the middle? Geax AKA? Kenda Small Block 8?

[christian]

Nokian Ground and Pound. Done.

[BillG]

If there's ice get Nokians. The only other contender that I know of is Schwalbe, and there much more expensive and better suited to ice racing.
Which reminds me to try to set up an ice crit this winter!

[thendenjeck]

mm, but what about general winter use. sometimes snowy, sometimes icy, but not like glaciers. dont studded tires roll super slow?

[thendenjeck]

also, i dont seem to see that Nokian Mount and Ground in 29

[Toddtwenty2]

I've been using the Serfas Survivor series Drifter tire for commuting in Chicago. I got them last February, and have used them every weekday since then. I think they're a nice medium at 26 x 1.6 and a decent inverted tread. They're essentially the same as the Continental Town and Country tread, which would also be a good choice. You may want to check them out and see if they come in a 29" size.

[thendenjeck]

they dont, but thanks

[Toddtwenty2]

It looks like they do in the model without the kevlar flat protection. Lighter, but sure is terrible when you need to change a tire in the winter...
https://www.serfas.com/products/view/267/referer:products%7Cindex%7Ctires

[thendenjeck]

yeah, i've gotten enough flats with the fat franks. i dont see a 700 in the town and country, either. still lookin i guess. i wanted something bigger than the travel contact 37's i have.

[Likes2ridefar]

I have the winter schwalbe marathons. they are my favorite tire ever. Im actually hoping for snow and ice so I can put them on. they are very heavy and slow rolling but perfect for nasty roads and trails. no flats, you can run almost 0 psi without pinching, and the studs are in abundance for ice.

[thendenjeck]

ao are you just making sure you wake up with enough time to switch tires? have two wheelsets? was sort of hoping for one set of tires so i dont have to switch constantly, which is what i've been doing so far.

[Likes2ridefar]

last year it was really icy and snowy for the entire winter so i left them on all winter. this year nothing thus far so I use the same tire without studs.

they are very easy to change but last year I just left them on until I started riding my road bike again. they are slow but not terribly so. they also have fantastic grip on wet wood (bridges,etc) and roads.

they added about five minutes to my normally 40' commute whenever there was no snow or ice. they are also a bit noisy, sorta like you are riding in sand or grit the entire time.

[CNY rider]

ao are you just making sure you wake up with enough time to switch tires? have two wheelsets? was sort of hoping for one set of tires so i dont have to switch constantly, which is what i've been doing so far.

I commute year round and it is definitely helpful to have an extra set of (junky) wheels to keep your studded tires on.
I only ride front and back studs if it's really bad out. Front is usually enough. If it's bad enough for me to need both it makes me worried the cars will kill me.

[cp43]

I run Nokian Hakapillitta W106's all winter. They do roll slower, but I figure it's a small penalty to pay for not going down when I hit an unexpected patch of black ice. They come in 700x45, which should work well on a 29'r.

I haven't flatted mine yet, but I don't ride in anything like what I'd imagine Chicago streets are like.

CNY rider makes a good point about cars. In slippery conditions you also have to worry about drivers staying in control. I haven't had any problems, but it is something that I think about when it gets slippery.

Good luck.

Chris