Winter commuting - studded tires

[benb]

Originally Posted by mt2u77

Agree on the thrills, disagree on the fitness.

Some of the best winter fitness riding is blasting across a frozen lake on a studded fat bike. I can go as hard as I possibly can for steady state stuff on bare ice as long as I don’t turn or stop too fast, and who needs to when you’ve got miles of barren lake. I occasionally crash, but it hardly matters on ice— just a hip/shoulder impact with no abrasion. Add a little adhered transformed snow cover, and you can put down sprint power.

The fat bike must be hugely better than my 2.2-2.3" Nokians then..

I can't go anywhere near hard on mine without spinning the rear tire.

[Schredder]

My nokian 26” mount and grounds have worked great for winters here in nebraska.

[merlinmurph]

No personal experience here, but just last night, I went to a talk on winter riding put on by the Charles River Wheelers and presented by Rob and Patria Vandemark. These guys ride in anything and everything.

Rob commented how he never thought much of studded tires - until he actually rode them. Now, he's a firm believer, and you could see it in his face. He puts them on the first chance he needs them, and leaves them on for the rest of the winter. They did make a comment about how heavy and dead the Nokians were, and had another tire they like better, though I don't remember what it was.

I ride in the winter some, and only when the roads are in good shape, so I'm not going to bother with studs. I've mt biked in the winter and learned very quickly that ice crashes are fast - next thing you know, you're on the ground. No recovery possible - you're down before you know it. With the thaw/freeze cycles we have here in the northeast, I would definitely go with studs if I commuted or rode in iffy conditions. Anything that keeps you up is a good thing.

My 2 cents.

[charliedid]

I gotta say after a couple days of riding these (37mm) they are insanely grippy and confidence inspiring. I wish I had bought the 42mm and probably will but my short time on them has been more than positive.

The streets were a combination of wet and or hard packed layer of ice on 50% of the side streets (ruts really) which is usually what drives me mad and scares the $#@! out of me riding anything other than an ATB.

'Like'

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

It's snow and ice in Denver today - almost went rubber side up 3 times on my commute this morning. I'm interested in experiences and recommendations for studded tire options for a shortish (6 to 12 miles, depending on time available) commute. Based on bikes and wheels currently in house I could do anything from 27.5x4.5", 29x2.6 or less, 27.5x3 or less, or 700c x 35-45. Is wider better just to put more studs on the ground, or is there value in a narrower tire that will cut through the slush to the firmer ice below? A studded tire would add to my fat bikes capabilities, but i'm also not keen on pushing that huge wheel on pavement or spending $200+ per tire.

Just picked up a set of Cake Eater 29x2.8 on EBay. Haven’t ridden them yet but given your specs wanted to let you know they’re much narrower than expected, so may be an option for you. Mine measured just under 2.6” at the knobs on an i40 rim.