Winter Cycling - So... a mountain bike?

I've been browsing through these winter bike threads and basically if I want to bike in Ohio during the snowy/icy days a mountain bike is what I should be after? I doubt my fixed gear with thin tires will make it in those January snow days.

I'm trying to get ready for winter now while it isn't a necessity or time crunch.

Any brands I should try to go with?

I also liked the idea of using it as a "trailer/hauler" bike when it's not being used for ice riding.

My Winter Bike has 26 1.9" Nokian mount and ground W studded tires available to put on the wheels.
the Wheels have Sturmey Archer Drum Brake Hubs, I found them a great combination,
smooth progressive braking, no grab, and weather shielded braking surfaces. Now Id get one of their drum dynamo combination front hubs..

I retrieved an Old early generation stumpjumper sport frame ,replaced a broken dropout, and found a Tange replacement fork,
used too , from that era .. 80's non suspension..

If you are happy using a fixie most of the time, a internal geared 3 speed , drum brake may be OK for the winter, the external drive ratio fairly low, 2:1, Normal 3 speed cogs are 1/8" but from Bromptom dealers Ive gotten a 15T 3/32,

Perhaps you can find larger sizes in thinner chain accepting type , then a hybrid 2 chainring set can be put together , chain tensioner need not shift , but spring type will allow you to say have a lower Heavy snow/slush and trailer hauling range , and a higher one when the roads are ploughed and you can get down the road quicker ..


Oh and I may as well mention a Surly Pugsley is it appears a great winter bike ,
3 + inch wide rims and quite wide tires can float on hard crust snow.

How do I figure out what size mountain bike to get? I ride a 60cm track frame.

I ride my fixed gear with skinny slicks in the winter. I also have a fixed with studded tires for the days I think there might be ice. But for winters in Toronto, lots of sluch and slop, skinny, no treads is the best.

How do I figure out what size mountain bike to get? I ride a 60cm track frame.

Go to a store and take some for test rides and see what fits.

How do I figure out what size mountain bike to get? I ride a 60cm track frame.

Convert your track frame to inches, subtract 3 and look for a bike in that range. Likely you'll ride a 19" mountain bike. I'd suggest a hardtail with suspension fork and fork lockout if you can afford it. The suspension does a lot for your control on uneven, i.e. snow packed, terrain. The front wheel will usually climb up and out of a rut using a suspension fork where a rigid fork would not. A lockout lets you pedal a little more efficiently if you don't need the suspension.

I ride my fixed gear with skinny slicks in the winter. I also have a fixed with studded tires for the days I think there might be ice. But for winters in Toronto, lots of sluch and slop, skinny, no treads is the best.

Really? I figured skinny tires would have way more chances of sliding and tipping a bike...


Convert your track frame to inches, subtract 3 and look for a bike in that range. Likely you'll ride a 19" mountain bike. I'd suggest a hardtail with suspension fork and fork lockout if you can afford it. The suspension does a lot for your control on uneven, i.e. snow packed, terrain. The front wheel will usually climb up and out of a rut using a suspension fork where a rigid fork would not. A lockout lets you pedal a little more efficiently if you don't need the suspension.

Awesome man! Thank you for your advice! Yeah, it would be about 20".

+1 for the nokian mount and ground 1.95. I highly recommend mechanical disk brakes.

I've ridden both skinny and fat tires, hybrid and mtn in the snow and ice. Both have their advantages. The hybrid with 700x35 studded tires cuts through the deep stuff, but loses some of the stability that I get with the fat tire on the ice. The mtn bike on the other hand can occasionally get up on top of some semi-packed snow and ride, and it just feels more stable at speed on transitioning pavement (ice to road to slush to ice and so on). Of course the trade out on the fat tires is- speed. Those things are heavy and have a tremendous amount of drag.

I would guess- that if you're really comfy riding your fixed gear you would do just fine throwing some skinny studded on if you've got the clearance to spare. Ride what you know, modify as you learn. Enjoy it! I look forward to Northern Michigan winters without fail.

Oh, and I'll second the bike hauler/trailer thing. It makes perfect off season duty for a faithful companion.

Make sure the MTB frame and fork has plenty of tire clearance and eyelets for fenders and a rack. Try to get something aluminum. You may want a slightly smaller frame, this helps you sit more upright once the stem is adjusted but still keeps the stable geometry of a mtb. Disc brakes are nice, but you can get away with v-brakes.

How do I figure out what size mountain bike to get? I ride a 60cm track frame.

I ride a 60 cm and a 23 in frame mountain bike is right for me but now days with sloping top tubes and such it would be hard to say, try taking measurements on your 60 cm such as handlebar height and distance from seat, seat height and try and duplicate them on a mountain bike.

Allen

Well - there are a certain number of people who have no problem falling over a couple of times a year on their bike. And if you ride regularly without studs in the winter, you WILL fall on your ass a couple of times when you front tire hits some ice and goes down like a piano onto Wille Coyote.

I am not one of those people though, and for me (and the advice I give out) I would say the #1 thing you need for winter biking is a good pair of studded tires. Schwalbe and Nokian both make good stuff. Studded tires don't come in sizes below 35c (technically one set does, but it's a little lacking in the "number of studs" department and I haven't heard the best things about those ones on ice, so let's say 35c).

So I'd say tire clearance would be my #1 criteria. There are other, bigger studded tires as well for worse winter conditions so the more clearance the better.

In my opinion, I don't agree that front suspension is needed. Most people who winter bike (most, not all) do so without any extra suspension.

Single speeds are actually fairly popular though, as if you grit up the chain and drivetrain with road sand and salt all winter, you can replace the whole chain and cog pretty cheap. It's a matter of opinion though - winter riding can make you wish you had gears even more as additional snow can change your pedalling speed kinda dramatically, even though you're on the exact same route.

I would say a "hybrid" (basically a mountain bike style bike, but with no suspension) is probably the most common bike for winter biking, followed by cyclocross bikes (because of their bigger tire clearance).

Well - there are a certain number of people who have no problem falling over a couple of times a year on their bike. And if you ride regularly without studs in the winter, you WILL fall on your ass a couple of times when you front tire hits some ice and goes down like a piano onto Wille Coyote.

I am not one of those people though, and for me (and the advice I give out) I would say the #1 thing you need for winter biking is a good pair of studded tires. Schwalbe and Nokian both make good stuff. Studded tires don't come in sizes below 35c (technically one set does, but it's a little lacking in the "number of studs" department and I haven't heard the best things about those ones on ice, so let's say 35c).

So I'd say tire clearance would be my #1 criteria. There are other, bigger studded tires as well for worse winter conditions so the more clearance the better.

In my opinion, I don't agree that front suspension is needed. Most people who winter bike (most, not all) do so without any extra suspension.

Single speeds are actually fairly popular though, as if you grit up the chain and drivetrain with road sand and salt all winter, you can replace the whole chain and cog pretty cheap. It's a matter of opinion though - winter riding can make you wish you had gears even more as additional snow can change your pedalling speed kinda dramatically, even though you're on the exact same route.

I would say a "hybrid" (basically a mountain bike style bike, but with no suspension) is probably the most common bike for winter biking, followed by cyclocross bikes (because of their bigger tire clearance).

Yeah, whatever you buy save some room in your budget for studded tires(and li-ion lights) if you're gonna be serious about commuting or rec-riding(sunset at 5pm!). I don't think you need a suspension fork, it might be nice... but not needed, particularly if it is a cheap one since they usually offer poor small-bump response. If you have to pick a single-speed your legs will be spinning out a lot because the ratio you need to power through snow-banks and car ruts is small, if you pick something to tall you won't be able to grind it out in the slippery stuff.

...(and li-ion lights)...

...or dynamo lighting. In many ways it's perfect for winter riding -
1. Batteries (whether lith-ion or nimh) which have lower runtimes in the cold. Dynamo power doesn't - it's the same output.
2. I'm on the fence about whether I can tell whether the dynamo hub has drag, on long trips, in the summer, with smooth rolling summer tires. But with the rolling resistance of studded tires and the ground being covered with snow, any theoretical or slight extra amount of resistance is a non-issue.
3. You're not bombing down hill at 35mph like you are in the summer, so you need less light.
4. It's a lot brighter in the city at night when there's snow on the ground, so you need less light.
5. Modern LED dynamo lights put out enough light for me to bike around in the summer without additional light (albeit, not racing down twisty hills at 30mph or anything).

I don't think I ever use any extra light in addition to my dynamo light in the winter. Add them all together, that's probably why (all I know is that I never do, lol).

i don't think studded tires are needed in winter. i have driven some of my bikes all year round for years and have never had and problems with my bike sliding out from under me and landing on my @$$. now i do recommend that you disconnect your rear brakes.
if you are looking for a bike you should keep your eyes open on trash day for something that someone is throwing out. i have found some pretty nice frames in the trash

i don't think studded tires are needed in winter.

I agree with this,


now i do recommend that you disconnect your rear brakes.


though not with this.

I've done two Ottawa winters, tried a mountain bike with 1.75" Marathon Winters and a fixed gear with slick 25s. Last year (second winter) there was literally no ice to deal with, and I used the 5 speed with slick 32s I ride year-round, except I added SPDs.

The slick, skinny road tires were way better in the snow than 1.75" studs. Maybe it's different when you go fatter than that, but unless it's icy out my MWs just slide all over the place if it's snowy or make noise on bare pavement. IMHO, the #1 thing you need for winter riding is a pair of good fenders, unless you'd describe it as an icy winter.

(Should clarify that I'm one of those people who are okay with falling a few times, but it didn't happen any more on narrow slicks than it did with studs.)

I agree with this,



though not with this.

I've done two Ottawa winters, tried a mountain bike with 1.75" Marathon Winters and a fixed gear with slick 25s. Last year (second winter) there was literally no ice to deal with, and I used the 5 speed with slick 32s I ride year-round, except I added SPDs.

The slick, skinny road tires were way better in the snow than 1.75" studs. Maybe it's different when you go fatter than that, but unless it's icy out my MWs just slide all over the place if it's snowy or make noise on bare pavement. IMHO, the #1 thing you need for winter riding is a pair of good fenders, unless you'd describe it as an icy winter.

(Should clarify that I'm one of those people who are okay with falling a few times, but it didn't happen any more on narrow slicks than it did with studs.)

This is an extremely important point to the rest of your post - yes you rode all winter without studs without a problem - In a winter with nearly no ice.

Every time someone says one thing about winter riding, someone else says the opposite. When I say "you need studs", someone will chime in to say "I rode without studs and I was fine". But I guarantee you that if I someone else started off with "you don't need studs", several people will chime in to talk about bad falls without studs. In fact, if you claim that you only need the front tire to be studded, people will start talking about bad experiences where they tried that and had the rear tire slide out and fell over.

I don't feel like writing an entire essay describing the various pros and cons right now, but I will say that no amount of rubber will keep you upright if your tire ends up on a patch of sheer ice. If it's your back tire, you may have time to put a put down. If it's your front tire, you won't have time to react, one minute you'll be up the next minute you'll be down. I speak from experience there (though in the rain, not in the winter ironically, as I've always used studded tires in the winter).

If you put a rubber tire on sheer ice, it doesn't matter what kind of rubber it is or how awesome your bike handling skills are - your bike is going down. The counterpoint is that whether on roads, paths, etc, you rarely see sheer ice. Ice is usually accompanied by some amount of snow which provides some traction for the tire.

There are many people who bike who are more willing to take risks. Professional road bike racers seem to inevitably face a serious crash and a broken bone at some point in their career. Serious mountain bikers I've met seem to have an attitude that they're "going to break a bone or two, but it will be worth it". Less serious mountain bikers like myself inevitably face getting scratched up a couple times when I crash. And for many of these people, they feel it's worth the risk of going down.

But I've read thread after thread from people saying "I rode all winter without crashing on regular tires, then hit a patch of black ice I didn't see and *bam* I went down hard". They don't always break something (in fact, many times they don't) - but occasionally they do. To be fair, there's no shortage of people who have collisions with cars either during the summer.

But a good studded tire like a Nokian w106 costs $44/tire ($88/pair). Compare that with the cheapest flat-resistant summer tires I'll buy at $30/tire ($60/pair) - they're not that expensive. Or compare that to a single visit to the doctor where he doesn't do anything other than take a look at something at around $100.

I certainly have no moral issue with someone choosing not to use studs. If they get hurt, they almost certainly only hurt themselves and that is *totally* their call to make.

But I strongly disagree with the sentiment that "Oh, I don't *need* studs, they're not a big deal." I wouldn't ride without them in the winter even if they cost $300/tire. Since they cost only 50% more than a non-studded tire, I think it's a no-brainer. If they didn't exist I simply would not ride in the winter. I have talked to to many people in person (I live in Minnesota) who have done so and ended up breaking a major bone (often a collarbone, sometimes an arm).

Other people are always welcome to express their own opinions as well, I'm just saying that in general I think you are significantly increasing your risk of injury if you ride in icy conditions without studs. You are certainly welcome to decide that is a risk you are willing to take, just be aware that it is an increase in risk.

Yep. Best to have more than one bike. My first winter was very icy, and I wouldn't have been happy with the slicks on a lot of days. However, riding my mountain bike with studs was almost as dangerous on a lot of snowy days as slicks on ice.

Yep. Best to have more than one bike. My first winter was very icy, and I wouldn't have been happy with the slicks on a lot of days. However, riding my mountain bike with studs was almost as dangerous on a lot of snowy days as slicks on ice.

Yeah, trying to decide which tire to use in winter is truly bizzare. :D

Without studs, sheer or black ice is your worst enemy. You can go down without warning, and without a chance to put a foot down or anything. Generally streets don't have much of this kind of ice, but if you run into it it's really really nasty.

With studs, ice practically becomes your friend! It's almost like riding on pavement. Instead, it's snow that's annoying to dangerous. With irregular snow I'd rather be one ice with studs. With really sloppy snow and a skinnier studded tire you can also go down (I speak from experience) - your tire just doesn't have any grip at all, it's sliding all over the place, studs don't help with snow. The good thing is that if you go down on sloppy snow, it will likely cushion your fall - it's not like falling down on hard and icy pavement. And even if you can't keep yourself from falling, you usually have some sort of warning that things are getting dicey, whether it's being able to see the snow in front of you or the feeling from the bike - unlike with black ice which can seemingly come out of nowhere. But if you're on the road and falling means falling into heavy traffic - soft snow probably won't help much.

If there's no ice on the ground and a couple of inches of snow (and ice isn't forming) then a skinny tire can cut through the snow to the pavement and apparently works very well. Personally I don't like to guess about whether ice will form so I stick with 35c studded tires which cut through the snow pretty well. Also - from what I've been told the situation suddenly becomes hazardous with skinny non-studded tires when the snow gets packed down enough, or there's enough snowfall, that your tire can't cut through the snow to the pavement any more.

Bigger studded tires sometimes are better in snow, and sometimes they make it worse because rather than cutting through it they float on top of it, with no traction. (Or so I've been told, finally bought wider tires for next winter to try them out). Like trying to pedal through sand.

It's a total mixed bag. Slushy or deep snow can definitely be hazardous, with or without studs for sure. But there are several reasons that come to mind why I think ice is worse -
1. You can nearly always see if there's snow on the road. Black ice is notorious, whether in a car or on a bike, for seemingly showing up out of nowhere.
2. Roads are usually plowed for snow. No matter how well plowed, they never get 100% of the ice off (without warmer weather melting it at least, and that's it's own whole thing as melting snow can form ice...)
3. Snow usually has some sort of warning you can feel that lets you stop peddling and walk if you're super cautious. If you don't see the ice there's often no warning.

If you want to be safe on those really super snowy days, I highly recommend a pair of snowshoes. :D :D :D

The worst is glare-ice warmed by slightly the sun, not even studded tires will help you(unless you have giant studs). This last winter i could have easily ridden w/o studs. The worst conditions i find is immediately after a heavy storm w/ warming and much precip and then an immediate cold-snap. I don't like that because it leaves rock-hard ice ruts and snow chunks frozen into the roadway everywhere. Those will take you down and at the least increase your posterior soreness. This is why MTB geometry is great, you for sure you crash on a road-bike if you hit one of those.

A thought: none of us mentioned choice of routes yet. Definitely makes a difference. They use so much salt here that a plowed (main) road is usually ice free. Even during my icy winter I probably could've gone without studs if I'd avoided side streets and shortcuts. Shortcuts in particular were often solid ice, usually full of boot holes, while the main roads were gritty, salty, slushy but ultimately free of ice.

Slushy stuff never seems to cause me much trouble, my worst enemy around here is churned-up snowstorm snow.

The worst is glare-ice warmed by slightly the sun, not even studded tires will help you(unless you have giant studs).

I actually haven't found this to be a problem. Hmm.


This last winter i could have easily ridden w/o studs. The worst conditions i find is immediately after a heavy storm w/ warming and much precip and then an immediate cold-snap. I don't like that because it leaves rock-hard ice ruts and snow chunks frozen into the roadway everywhere. Those will take you down and at the least increase your posterior soreness. This is why MTB geometry is great, you for sure you crash on a road-bike if you hit one of those.

THIS I've DEFINITELY found to be a problem. :D :D :D I don't know about "for sure" crashing on a road bike, I can say it's no cakewalk on my (no suspension) straight-bar bike though!

A thought: none of us mentioned choice of routes yet. Definitely makes a difference. They use so much salt here that a plowed (main) road is usually ice free. Even during my icy winter I probably could've gone without studs if I'd avoided side streets and shortcuts. Shortcuts in particular were often solid ice, usually full of boot holes, while the main roads were gritty, salty, slushy but ultimately free of ice.

Slushy stuff never seems to cause me much trouble, my worst enemy around here is churned-up snowstorm snow.

Since I always ride with studs in the winter I cannot say from personal experience, but from threads on this topic in the past a number of people would usually chime in to comment that they thought this same thing - "I'm riding well plowed roads, there won't be any ice." Their stories then always ended with "So one day I hit this patch of black ice that they somehow missed, or formed after they plowed and salted or something and completely wipe out...".

That's kind of what I was alluding to with snow - a pile enough snow deep enough to cause you traction problems is dang visible. Ice...not as much, especially "black ice".

Funny story - after doing a bunch of research on studded tires, I finally bought a pair. I went riding, did the cringe expression coming up on some ice, but rode through it - traction was great. Rode through some more ice - also great. My dad got interested in winter riding, bought him some studded tires. Went riding. Even rode around a hockey rink for a bit just to try them out - awesome! Still had traction (not as good as a dry tire on dry pavement, but enough). That night I drove over to a friends house, walked around the back of my car, and bam! - almost fell flat on my ass on some ice. I saw the ice, but had totally forgotten that my shoes didn't have studs on them. :D :D

I actually haven't found this to be a problem. Hmm.


Well, what i am speaking about is thick glare ice which has a thin layer of slush/ice slurry on-top from sitting in the sun. When you find it, you'll know! The average tire stud doesn't find hard-ice, instead a sun-melted slush layer which acts like a little magic-carpet slide ontop of the cold glare ice underneath. The worst part is you'll be getting a bit wet if you fall over!

Well, what i am speaking about is thick glare ice which has a thin layer of slush/ice slurry on-top from sitting in the sun. When you find it, you'll know! The average tire stud doesn't find hard-ice, instead a sun-melted slush layer which acts like a little magic-carpet slide ontop of the cold glare ice underneath. The worst part is you'll be getting a bit wet if you fall over!

Oh, yeah, right - same thing when there's ice under a thin layer of packed down snow. The snow gets sloppy, the ice stays ice, it's...unstable.

Lol, how did this thread go from "it's safe to bike without studs" to "even studs won't save you from the horrors of winter traction?" hehe. I didn't think winter was *that* bad!

To me the chances that my studs will keep me upright all winter seem much greater than the chances that my slicks will. It's just a little added security. Sure, on many winter days I probably could've gotten by without them, but on other days I was sure glad that I had them. BTW I use 35 mm Schwalbe Marathon Winters; IMHO they are a good compromise - not as aggressive as other winter tires and therefore not too much extra resistance, but grippy enough to get me out of an icy jam when I need them to.

But a good studded tire like a Nokian w106 costs $44/tire ($88/pair).

HA,HA,HA, no not in Canada. The W106's cost around $90/ one tire, that means $180 per pair plus tax. The Nokian Extremes cost around $150/ tire, that's $300 plus tax. Few years ago I bought them only because they were cheaper and I got a really good deal on them, plus I was still new to commuting and my riding skills weren't that great yet. From now on I will continue to make my own studded tires. I tested some out last winter and they worked great. But to be honest most of my last winter was spent on a fixie with skinny touring tires, studs are only neccessary few rides each winter. Now I am not a cheapskate, I have a lot of expensive stuff... but I will not be spending $300 on tires that will only see few rides each year, if it's very icy then my homemade ones have been proven to work very well. For the cost of one pair of studded tires I can get a ton of other cycling stuff and accessories which will see daily use. Sure tires are important but winter riding is more then just tires, riding skills and lot's of finnesse is very important too.

HA,HA,HA, no not in Canada. The W106's cost around $90/ one tire, that means $180 per pair plus tax. The Nokian Extremes cost around $150/ tire, that's $300 plus tax...
That may be true if you buy directly from your LBS. Check out biketiresdirect.com (http://www.biketiresdirect.com/). You can get the W106's for $89.90 a pair plus $21.04 to ship via USPS. Since our dollar is close to par with the US right now this is a smokin' hot deal compared to your LBS prices!

Oh, yeah, right - same thing when there's ice under a thin layer of packed down snow. The snow gets sloppy, the ice stays ice, it's...unstable.

Lol, how did this thread go from "it's safe to bike without studs" to "even studs won't save you from the horrors of winter traction?" hehe. I didn't think winter was *that* bad!

Haha, yeah, OP is gonna throw in the towel in the middle of July! It's rare to encounter that glare-ice i was talking about, but the snow over ice is common, which is why it is a good idea to remember where the large ice patches are... or you soon won't forget!

I've been using a dept. store full suspension mtb for a couple winters. Nokian 26x2,1 Extreme 294s are great. Just about as good traction on black ice as on bare pavement. My only real problem so far is rusting cables from road salt. I'm getting ready to replace them with Teflon coated stainless cables w/ new housings. I like the rear suspension for better traction and control on frozen, rutted slush. To me, it's worth any extra maintenance headaches for the better control and safety.

I've been using a dept. store full suspension mtb for a couple winters. Nokian 26x2,1 Extreme 294s are great. Just about as good traction on black ice as on bare pavement. My only real problem so far is rusting cables from road salt. I'm getting ready to replace them with Teflon coated stainless cables w/ new housings. I like the rear suspension for better traction and control on frozen, rutted slush. To me, it's worth any extra maintenance headaches for the better control and safety.

Lol.

Cost of bike - $100.
Cost of a single tire? $88.
Cost of tires + new cables, housings, and parts that rust? $350.
Leaving out those additional costs and telling people the bike you ride only cost $100? Priceless.
Evidently, haha.

(Now to be fair, you might have to replace the cable and housings on a more expensive bike with more durable versions as well).

I could be wrong (though the only way to tell would be to switch up riding between 2 bikes), but I would be very surprised if the rear suspension on a $100-$200 bike does much. The fat Nokian tire provides a decent amount of suspension I bet, though.

I ride gravel roads and have found deep tread tires (mountain or hybrid) to hold in loose gravel. I bike on country roads in Alberta and don't see a lot of heavy snow around for most of the year until spring (March and April). Have been quite successful riding hybridized old 10 speeds before this weather shows up. That is until I hit some ice. Try hitting a patch of frozen, exposed gravel at 15 kmh. Any mountain bike tire or 32x630 will do a reasonable job keeping you upright in our conditions. The big issue from my perspective is when you're changing the direction of your momentum. If ice is in the mix - you're goin' down. Studs are a good insurance policy for those one off situations. It only takes one good pile up to ruin an otherwise enjoyable winter.
"Better to go slow in the right direction than fast in the wrong direction"

I could be wrong (though the only way to tell would be to switch up riding between 2 bikes), but I would be very surprised if the rear suspension on a $100-$200 bike does much. The fat Nokian tire provides a decent amount of suspension I bet, though.

I've done a/b comparisions w/ hardtail vs. cheap fs on the same off-road trails, and even a p.o.s. rear suspension does a very good job; so yes, you are wrong.

Lol.

Cost of bike - $100.
Cost of a single tire? $88.
Cost of tires + new cables, housings, and parts that rust? $350.
Leaving out those additional costs and telling people the bike you ride only cost $100? Priceless.
Evidently, haha.


I'm sorry I neglected to mention lights, fenders, and GPS receiver. Busting a gut yet?

I've done a/b comparisions w/ hardtail vs. cheap fs on the same off-road trails, and even a p.o.s. rear suspension does a very good job; so yes, you are wrong.

(rolls eyes) I've used front suspension on an $800 hybrid and found it absolutely worthless on the road, so yes I have had some experience with worthless shocks. :-P

(rolls eyes) I've used front suspension on an $800 hybrid and found it absolutely worthless on the road, so yes I have had some experience with worthless shocks. :-P
"on the road" is a key qualification here. On a reasonably smooth surface, suspension is not necessary, and rear suspension is especially undesirable. Off road is a different can of worms. My brother has a no-suspension mbt. When he tries to ride the rocky dirt trails that I like, he can barely see where he's going because his eyeballs are rattling around in their sockets so bad. What I dislike most about my cheap rear suspension is the amount that it pogos. You lose a lot of good peddling energy that way. I would definitely prefer to have lockouts on a full suspension bike.

"on the road" is a key qualification here. On a reasonably smooth surface, suspension is not necessary, and rear suspension is especially undesirable. Off road is a different can of worms.

It all depends on " how skilled the rider is" . I am not an expert but I can ride my singlespeed rigid mtb on some extremely gnarly and rocky trails. It's all about picking the right lines and using your legs and arms as suspension. I have seen some very skilled riders on rigid bikes do some amazing riding. So far I have had no problems keeping up with guys on full suspension rigs. Riding a full suspension off road is so easy it's almost boring. I love the challenge of riding my rigid bikes off road, it's a different experience alltogether.

It all depends on " how skilled the rider is" . I am not an expert but I can ride my singlespeed rigid mtb on some extremely gnarly and rocky trails. It's all about picking the right lines and using your legs and arms as suspension. I have seen some very skilled riders on rigid bikes do some amazing riding. So far I have had no problems keeping up with guys on full suspension rigs. Riding a full suspension off road is so easy it's almost boring. I love the challenge of riding my rigid bikes off road, it's a different experience alltogether.

Probably depends on how old the rider is (I'm 56). Even young guys probably get tired of standing on their pegs after several miles.

Probably depends on how old the rider is (I'm 56). Even young guys probably get tired of standing on their pegs after several miles.

I agree that age and fittness levels have a lot to do with it. I am only 40, still very young.

I rode a fixed gear with slick 32s for the last two winters in Minneapolis and it worked out quite well for me. Bike slid out from under me occasionally when turning on ice (especially ice hidden by a fresh layer of snow) but never anything more than a skinned knee. Did buy some narrow studded tires for the same bike for this winter though.

I've been commuting in Columbus for the past two years, and I'd guess that the weather is similar in Dayton. So far, I've driven between five and ten days of the year because I didn't feel safe on the snow and ice. This winter, I plan to get studded tires and not drive at all. I commute on a fixie most of the time, but have a touring bike with fenders and lights for wet days, long days, or for carrying lots of stuff. I'm probably going to put the studded tires on the touring bike, but only because it already has fenders and lights, and I'll definitely want the former in the snow, while the lights will give me the most versatility on that bike. If I had lights and fenders on the fixie, I'd consider putting the studded tires on that. If you have the clearance (and low enough gearing), there's no reason for a new bike.
Personally, I don't think you'd need suspension at all, but it's up to you.

Lol.

Cost of bike - $100.
Cost of a single tire? $88.
Cost of tires + new cables, housings, and parts that rust? $350.
Leaving out those additional costs and telling people the bike you ride only cost $100? Priceless.
Evidently, haha.

(Now to be fair, you might have to replace the cable and housings on a more expensive bike with more durable versions as well).

I could be wrong (though the only way to tell would be to switch up riding between 2 bikes), but I would be very surprised if the rear suspension on a $100-$200 bike does much. The fat Nokian tire provides a decent amount of suspension I bet, though.

My current bike for the past two winters has been a Wally World aluminum hybrid with Marathon Winters 700x35.

Other than the spokes not being stainless (they are FUGLY looking), the bike has held up pretty well. The 1x7 drivetrain is pretty simple, and has never froze up on me.

But yeah: $130 bike with $110 tires (which I scored on sale at Niagara Cycle Works)