Originally Posted by
Burton
I`m guessing snow and ice must be different where you are ....
It probably is.
I'm guessing that the OP is from a part of the world where whatever snow they get is usually gone after a few days as opposed to compressing to ice and building up (unevenly) over the course of weeks and maybe even months.
I could be wrong but either way he brings up some valid points. I see plenty of people riding downtown most of the winter on nothing buy skinny slicks. Now, you don't get the icy buildup on the streets downtown like you do in the residential areas, but it's still surprising.
And there's then there's the ongoing debate over which is better in snow, skinny or fat. Of course the answer to that is: "It depends". One can definitely make the case though for skinny tires.
There are two things that I pretty much accept as gospel:
1. Studs do little or nothing for you in snow.
2. Studs make a huge difference on ice, especially when trying to climb an icy hill.
That doesn't mean that riding over an icy patch without studs automatically means you're going to be on your ass, but you do have to be a lot more cautious. And there may be some areas where you'd be lucky to go 10 yards without falling, - like our alley
