Winter Cycling - Cyclocross tires on Trek 7.3 FX for winter?

Hey everyone,

I live in Southern Illinois so the winters here are milder than up north, but we still see plenty of rain and a little bit of snow.

I have a Trek 7.3 FX that I love riding, but would like some grippier tires for winter. Right now I am running 700 X 32 Bontrager race lite tires which are great for dry roads, but I worry about how they would perform in winter since they have no tread.

I was thinking about the cyclocross tires pictured/linked to below... I have never ridden in winter before so I am looking for some opinions. Should I get the 700 X 35s? I don't think I need studs or anything because it rarely drops below freezing for long here...

Any comments are much appreciated, thanks!



Link: http://www.amazon.com/Vittoria-Cyclocross-Folding-Clincher-Bicycle/dp/B000OEPU8Y/ref=sr_1_39?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1221236117&sr=8-39

When the snow comes here to the Denver area, I'll be putting CX tires on my Trek Portland commuter. As long as you have clearance through the stays, fork, and brakes, it should be fine.

I have Bontrager Race Lite Hardcase road tires (28mm), Bontranger Jones CXR cyclocross tires (34mm), and Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 studded snow tires (35mm) for my Trek Portland.

If you're not riding below freezing, then you're probably not riding in the snow, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just stay with the Race Lites. I have them on my Portland and they're just fine in the wet on pavement.

Off-road, yeah, the CX tires are helpful, but on pavement, you'll get less grip with them since less rubber is in contact with the pavement. What you know about car tires hydroplaning in the wet doesn't apply to bicycles, since the contact patch is so much smaller.

In the snow, it could go either way, but since snow and ice go hand in glove, I'm concerned with the ice more than the snow, and the CX tires give you no additional benefit there.

Thanks for the input.

I guess I'll probably stick with the Race Lites then and see how they work. I hadn't thought about the contact patch being smaller like that but it seems obvious enough.

Just to pitch in my vote. We have plenty of snow and ice here and I ride Schwalbe CX Pro in 700x28C in the winter and I just love 'em. They eat through road side icy slush like butter, don't slow me down too much and make big storms a lot of fun to ride through. (For the record, I've put about 800km on them through the winter).

My 2 cents.

Hmm interesting...

I actually saw another thread on here about a Motobecane Fantom Cross UNO and it looks like it would be a lot of fun for winter riding...

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/uno.htm

I'm still on the fence about whether to go 1 bike, 2 tire sets, or 2 bikes for winter as well, but I know thats a whole other discussion that has been talked about a lot on these boards...

I'm still on the fence about whether to go 1 bike, 2 tire sets, or 2 bikes for winter as well,

Go with two bikes, each with two wheelsets! ;)

Go with two bikes, each with two wheelsets! ;)

And give one to me :p
Really, I could really use one... I'm gonna have to be bike-less for almost a week now. I haven't taken the transit in like 17 months :cry: (but it's for a good cause, getting my frame powder coated)