ieandro

I started commuting a couple of months ago and this will be my first winter .. and came early in Jersey yesterday.

Should I roll with studs or aggressive MTB style tires?

Roads are mostly plowed, but leaves the slush and excess on the sides of parked cars. For those that live in the city, I think you can picture it. Riding on narrow roads forces you to ride closer to that pile.

The bike is a '11 Specialized Sirrus so 700c/29er spec tires.

Blues Frog

I used studs the last three years. I have used the homemade studded tires but I recommend researching it and buying manufactured tires with carbide studs. They don't wear down nearly as fast. Use studs, enough light, and the lime green safety colors to be seen. Sorry to see you folks in the NE were hit so soon in the season. That will be a mess. Good luck and if you need more advice go to the winter forum. Lots of good ideas there.

scoatw

If you're going to buy studs. Get em' now while they last. They tend to sell out quick. Nokians are going for $90 these days. I found them on sale and stocked up.

ieandro

Thanks guys for the quick replies!

I just bought a set of Schwalbe Marathon Winters at biketiresdirect.com after doing some research.

xtrajack

You won't regret the studs purchase. I wouldn't consider riding in the winter at all without studs. I am going into my fourth winter commuting.

formicaman

For commuting, I would siggest a low tread stud over knobbies. In fact, everything that makes knobbies bad on the streets counts double in icy conditions, even if they are better in snow. I'm putting studs on my mountain bike this year and using that in the snow. In past years I rode fixed gear 1" tires in the snow and didn't die.

fietsbob

MTB tires on black ice will still have you going down on your hip,
[breaking bones is not good]
studs are a good choice.

2nd wheel set, then a spare bike, makes taking tire changes
watching the weather forecast, the night before, un necessary.