[Brigadier]

Tonight is going to be my first night ride in winter conditions. We just got snow yesterday, so the ride into work was dicey at times even with Nokian studded tires (mainly in the soft pack snow at the edge of the road). Two thumbs up to whoever is responsible for the bike paths - they were clear this morning :D Anyways, armed with Nokian studded tires and a Trail Rat 2.0, what should I expect?

The more advice you can give the better - I want to keep commuting through the winter at least three times a week :p

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[Satyr]

I personally just take my riding less aggresively, and put my foot down when I need to. This gets me through most ice patches without studs, at least on flat areas. I personally would not trust my beater's breaks on something incredibly steep.

Lowering tire pressure is amazingly effective, too.

[BikeInMN]

As already mentioned, just take it easy and you should be fine. Studs help on ice but in soft snow don't do much of anything so just take care when cornering and leave yourself plenty of room to stop.

[Jerseysbest]

I wonder if studded tires are really needed for anything besides ice, I rode my mountain bike this morning and in the afternoon, and the skinny road tires I put on that are competely smooth (rear has some tread on the sides) did fine cutting through the snow. Think we got somewhere around 4 or 5"

[Bikepacker67]

We just got socked with 15" of the white crap, and after the chore of clearing the driveway, I did a 10 miler around the neighborhood (unplowed streets - but well travelled, so the snow was packed down)

No studs, but just knobbies at about 45psi.

Basically, you have to take it easy. There will be no max heart rates reached!

[iceratt]

Bikepacker, you are amazing if you didn't hit your max heart rate plowing through 15 inches of snow.

Generally, I find that a moderate speep helps me get through the thick patches, but I noticed, on my way home from the grocery store last night, that a lot of weight in my paniers, over the back wheel, helps with stability too. Try traveling with your brick collection!

BTW, I have a 1 inch slick in front, and a big old studded tire in back. I figure that I can slice through the drifts with my front, and the studs will help with stability when I hit icy patches. So far it's worked. I'll switch to two studded tires when I start riding on the lakes.

[Roody]

I wonder if studded tires are really needed for anything besides ice, I rode my mountain bike this morning and in the afternoon, and the skinny road tires I put on that are competely smooth (rear has some tread on the sides) did fine cutting through the snow. Think we got somewhere around 4 or 5"
Yes and no, in my experience. I have been trying slicks on my bike for the first time in winter, based on something somebody wrote here about them cutting through the snow and giving you a stable ride. I found that slick tires did work great on the fresh powder snow as it was falling. But 24 hours later, when the car tires had made the snow into that "greasy dandruff" looking crud, the slicks were no good at all. I ended up walking my bike for about 2 blocks because I just couldn't get any drive traction.

I'm fortunate and happy that a kind person is giving me a set of studded tires so I go better in the greasy snow. :)

[kuan]

Don't ride like a superhero through snow and at the end put your foot down on a piece of ice. :mad:

[rajman]

I have studs in the front and knobbies in the back, both underinflated. This seems to work relatively well on hardpack snow, but the system tends to fall apart as the snow softens up. Hills are also a problem, climbing or descending.

In head to head competition, the bike has better stopping distance than a mazda 3 with all season radials on hardpack snow, but the bike doesn't perform as well in turns. Essentially, if you turn and skid, it's bad news on the bike but not a biggie in the car.

I'm quite happy with the studs performance on ice and hard packed snow - I'll probably keep on riding them through the winter.

[2manybikes]

Don't ride clipped in. If you have 26" Nokian big knobbies run about 25 psi. It will help keep the bike from sliding out a little bit. Turn without banking the bike.