Winter commuting - studded tires

[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.

[tuscanyswe]

Unless there is ice there is very little benefit from studded tires. Here in stockholm maybe 10 days a year or something i prefer to have studded tires or something like that.

I used non studded winter tires last year and was pretty happy with those actually. Better tires for anything but black ice, then the studded are better.

Wider tires helps to imo. I bought to narrow as the 38s were more like 33s IRL or something like that. So if i bought again would go with the wider version.

The ones i got were: Continental Top Contact Winter II

[mtechnica]

They work pretty well, make sure to get nokians with carbide studs. None of them are great in deep snow but they’re pretty much a must have so you don’t crash on ice, since you can’t always anticipate where it will be. You can ride on solid ice just fine with studs.

[mtechnica]

Now that I think about it I’m pretty sure I still have my Nokians, they are 700c, I’ll sell them cheap if you want them. I live in CA now so I don’t need them.

[jamesdak]

Just watch the slush with consistency like pancake batter. I've never found any tire that will work in that stuff, studded or not.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Just watch the slush with consistency like pancake batter. I've never found any tire that will work in that stuff, studded or not.

I feel you on this. Even my fatbike slips around in that stuff.

[Jaybee]

Another option to throw out there: DIY studs in my existing tires. Anyone do this?

[benb]

I agree with tuscanyswe, they have specific use cases where they work and the rest of the time in the winter you shouldn't need them.

Do you MTB? I only ask cause MTB skills make more difference than the tires. Riding in snow & ice requires ultra smooth bike handling. Studded tires mostly make a little difference (a few % points?) in what you can ride if you have good skills.

I've got Nokian Extremes for my MTB. An excellent bike handler can ride across a frozen pond/lake on them. An average bike handler will crash very quickly no different than unstudded tires.

I have a set of 35NRTH 700x35c studded tires for my All City Space Horse.. they have fewer studs and it's nowhere near as good as the MTB. More security than anything else.

Neither set of tires will help at all if you fail to notice a patch of ice and you ride through it at speed while cornering or you are going straight and you mash the pedals or brake hard on the ice. You can't do the roadie zone out thing in winter riding, you need to be watching the road the way you watch a technical MTB trail. And both sets make the bike feel like a tank. We are talking serious serious extra weight and slow acceleration. I haven't even put them on in a few years it's such a buzzkill to ride with them.

On the flipside if you get a set they last a long time.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by benb

I agree with tuscanyswe, they have specific use cases where they work and the rest of the time in the winter you shouldn't need them.

Do you MTB? I only ask cause MTB skills make more difference than the tires. Riding in snow & ice requires ultra smooth bike handling. Studded tires mostly make a little difference (a few % points?) in what you can ride if you have good skills.

I've got Nokian Extremes for my MTB. An excellent bike handler can ride across a frozen pond/lake on them. An average bike handler will crash very quickly no different than unstudded tires.

I have a set of 35NRTH 700x35c studded tires for my All City Space Horse.. they have fewer studs and it's nowhere near as good as the MTB. More security than anything else.

Neither set of tires will help at all if you fail to notice a patch of ice and you ride through it at speed while cornering or you are going straight and you mash the pedals or brake hard on the ice. You can't do the roadie zone out thing in winter riding, you need to be watching the road the way you watch a technical MTB trail. And both sets make the bike feel like a tank. We are talking serious serious extra weight and slow acceleration. I haven't even put them on in a few years it's such a buzzkill to ride with them.

On the flipside if you get a set they last a long time.

I MTB more than anything else, am comfortable with black diamond trails, and I think it's my comfort with loose traction situations that kept me off the deck this AM.

Your post is kinda confirming what I was thinking, which is that there will always be some risk and studs are only mitigating a small % of that, especially for a place like Denver that does get snow fairly often, but also has it melt fairly quickly and doesn't spend weeks on end at sub-freezing temperatures.

[jamesdak]

For me when riding daily outside in the winter I found the peace of mind with constantly using studded tires well worth it. You just never know when you're going to hit ice in my experience. Plus, just consider any penalty of running them to be a training bonus.

[muz]

Nokian studded tires are amazing. I used them when I lived in Minnesota, I could even ride on frozen lakes, in places I could not walk without slipping. When it's cold, all tires are slow, carbide tipped tires were noisier but not much slower.

[JStonebarger]

Originally Posted by muz

Nokian studded tires are amazing... I could even ride on frozen lakes, in places I could not walk without slipping...

+1. Amazing on ice.

[David in Maine]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

For me when riding daily outside in the winter I found the peace of mind with constantly using studded tires well worth it. You just never know when you're going to hit ice in my experience. Plus, just consider any penalty of running them to be a training bonus.

I agree. A few years ago I rode to work on a sunny cold morning with only a few ice patches here and there. No problem to avoid them so I skipped the studded tire bike. On the way home with a light dusting of fresh snow--a different story. Went down hard and instantly--no chance to use my mountain bike skills

David

[JAGI410]

I'll take studded fat tires (4"+) over skinny tires any day. Sure they cost a heck of a lot more, but I find you get much more control and don't fall into ruts nearly as much. That whole "skinny tire cuts through to the pavement" stuff doesn't work for me. Then again it's insanely cold here and I don't deal with the mashed potato snow often.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by JAGI410

I'll take studded fat tires (4"+) over skinny tires any day. Sure they cost a heck of a lot more, but I find you get much more control and don't fall into ruts nearly as much. That whole "skinny tire cuts through to the pavement" stuff doesn't work for me. Then again it's insanely cold here and I don't deal with the mashed potato snow often.

This makes intuitive sense to me as well.

Add to that it would expand my fatbiking range to include some of the higher altitude areas where we get serious freeze/thaw - places I either got dumped or had a sketchy hike-a-bike last year. For contrast, a 700c studded tire is only gonna be used on my commute. Currently thinking something like Dillinger 4s or Cake Eaters, or grip studs on my MinionFBF/FBRs