Winter Cycling - Are regular mountian tires enough in a city with good snow service and salt?

I commute in Cleveland. From my experience last winter (before I started to ride) the snow is cleared away fast, and salt is sprayed (a separate problem for my bike, I know) all the time.

As I usually ride only one direction (home, in the afternoon), I was wondering if regular mountain bike tires are sufficient, as I don't remember encountering ice last year when driving my car.

I used a cheap Walmart FS mtn bike the last two winters but this winter I am using my Surly Pugsley with offset 29er SnowCat wheelset and 29x2.35 Big Apple tires. They have Kevlar belts and have never had a flat in the last six months of daily use.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a21/jogiba/29erSnoCatfrontsideview.jpg

I commute in Cleveland. From my experience last winter (before I started to ride) the snow is cleared away fast, and salt is sprayed (a separate problem for my bike, I know) all the time.

As I usually ride only one direction (home, in the afternoon), I was wondering if regular mountain bike tires are sufficient, as I don't remember encountering ice last year when driving my car.

Do yourself a favor, and get a front studded mtb tire. It will save you some serious bruising. Don't ask me how I know. :o

... Brad

I commuted last year with regular mountain bike tires with no trouble at all. The roads I ride are lightly traveled and go from having soft, fresh snow to being cleared and salted. I didn't often have to ride on hard packed snow or ice which might cause problems without studs. Plus I only ride 4 miles each way and can stay very focused on the road while riding carefully and still not loose too much time.

This year I'm going to try to commute on Nashbar Urban tires which have a decent negative tread patern in case I get caught in some snow. I'll also have my MTB standing by with studded tires to ride when there is a high probabilty of snowy roads.

In my opinion you can get by with just regular knobbied MTB tires.

Are regular mountian tires enough in a city with good snow service and salt?

Yep! I commuted for several winters in Winnipeg with regular mtn bike tires. They clear the road quite quickly there, so most of the winter the roads were bare and dry. I thought about getting studded tires every winter, but there was no point.

However, I usually let out a bit of the air in my tires (from 50 psi down to 30 psi or so) which provides more traction in snowy conditions.

I used a cheap Walmart FS mtn bike the last two winters but this winter I am using my Surly Pugsley with offset 29er SnowCat wheelset and 29x2.35 Big Apple tires. They have Kevlar belts and have never had a flat in the last six months of daily use.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a21/jogiba/29erSnoCatfrontsideview.jpg

Dual disks on the walmart?

I just got a bike I'm establishing as a commuter, but I'm a few months late in my plan. Depends - on how the old brakes clean up and new pads go in though. Thinking about studs - never rode with them and while I like to mess around in the snow with the mtb - I like to be steady on the road with a commute. Dunno - I usually take a couple months off commuting - mostlly cause I've had a few bad experiences - normally from the Fall months. This year, my commute is a bit different and taking full advantage of not being totally on-road - hey I'm safer.

Still thinking studs though on the commute build - and just get it on the road.

For some damn reason that this Merkin can't fathom, the Canadian city that I live in (Penticton BC) doesn't believe in snowplows!

True, that this area doesn't get alot of snow, but by leaving what little does fall on the roadway, it slushes up, then freezes into a bumpy/slick obstacle course.

Thank GOD for studded tires!