I am riding on fairly flat paths, on ice, snow or slush, with my slick little road tyres and a gear ratio (fixed gear) of 48 to 16. I find it great, I seem to be sticking very well to the ice, and still pushing through in deeper snow of a few inches. Of course the deep snow slows me down, but ice has of very little danger, though I must keep it mind. And with the nice control of fixed gear I am much more stable and can easily regain traction on the slippery roads. I used to ride with snow tires, and I feel little differnce in the response form slick road tyres.
The gear ratio is just right too. Plenty of push but an ability to maintain low speeds if nessesary.