Tire Selection

[emgNH]

This is the year! I am NOT getting off the roads, people.

So... I'd love some help with tire selection. My current commuter is an early 90s Trek 7000 mtb with Ritchey slicks. My commute is a hilly 22 miles (roundtrip) that includes dirt roads, asphalt, and one approximately .1 mile bridge (I mention as such things in my area are prone to early freezing and black ice). Conditions range from powder to slush to black ice with temperatures occassionally dipping, sometimes more emphatically that others, below zero F.

I've been looking at Nokian's site, but I cannot decide what level of studding would be my best selection. Opinions?

Thanks!

[Michel Gagnon]

Peter White describes them fairly well at http://peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp

I have the Hakkapeliitta 700 and find them not too hard to lug around, yet very good on ice or hardened snow (snow ruts that have almost turned into ice). They probably wouldn't work if I were riding in snowed in trails.

So I would suggest either the Mount & Ground 160 or the Hakkapeliitta 106, depending on how well your roads are clear and how your gravel looks like.