New York City winter-- studded tires?

[AlanKHG]

I just moved to New York City after a year in San Diego. I've biked in winter before and enjoyed it.

Are conditions in New York City in the wintertime enough to justify studded tires? I'm in Brooklyn in South Williamsburg along Kent Ave., which is a bit distant from the train and has a bike path, so my bike is preferred means of transportation and commuting.

I have a few bikes, including a rigid mountain bike that I'm going to set up as my winter tank, so tradeoffs in better weather aren't too much of an issue, and cost isn't really an issue if there are days when the tires would make me safer.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-mar...&id=5360053061 Anyone seen a better deal than this?

[SBinNYC]

The Sanitation Department usually does a fairly good job of clearing the streets, unless the Mayor is at his Bermuda retreat. It's usually fairly close to the freezing point so that salt spreaders melt most of the snow. That means there usually isn't much packed snow around for the studs to be useful.

OTOH, I'd suggest you think about mounting full fenders. The salt spray is lethal on frames and equipment. For this reason conventional wisdom had been to use a fixed gear in winter. There's a lot less to clean after a ride. The other suggestion is a beater bike that you can keep outdoors that nobody would want to steal. That's good for taking the bike to a subway station and not facing the chilling wind on the Williamsburg Bridge.

[Mantis Style]

I'd second the beater bike & fenders. And a good lock like the fahgettaboutit, but it seems like they can break just about anything if they want to. Hence the beater bike. But as far as the studded tires go, I don't think you will need them (I haven't) but then again, if there's a bunch of snow on the ground I usually would leave my bike at home. Snow clears out here in about a day or two and I'm not so die hard that I need to ride in snow covered roads in Brooklyn or the city...

[zacster]

It really depends. We could have a winter like last year where there is snow all winter, or we could have a warm one with almost no snow. In either case the snow won't stay long on the roads.

[Cyclerock]

Studded tires are needed if ice developes and it is below freezing.

Last winter, I used 26"x2.35 tires on my 'snow' bike, an old mtb. With low pressure, I could get through most spots. On one of the colder nights below freezing, in the mid 20s, I could have used the studs going over a frozen puddle.

[wai2fast]

As others said already the city does a pretty good job at clearing the snow. The only place I really ever found that studded tires were needed were the bike paths on the bridges (both Williamsburg and 59th St. Bridge). It seemed like those paths got the least attention and the snow that accumulated there turned into hard pack snow and eventually to ice.

[Pug]

. . . unless the Mayor is at his Bermuda retreat. . .I'd suggest you think about mounting full fenders.

LOL on Bloomie goes to Bermuda! Also, second getting full fenders, especially if you might park your bike on the street. Rule of thumb is: if it ain't bolted down, it's gonzo. And sometimes when it is bolted down, it's still gonzo.

[AlanKHG]

Thanks for the advice. I love my full fenders. Right now I use two mini U-locks and a cable, and I have a Kryptonite chain coming in the mail. I'll probably hold off on studded tires.

Any specific experience on how well the Kent path (or other separated paths/lanes) is plowed?

[AlanKHG]

So, my winter tank is just about through being set up:
-Bianchi Milano Alfine
-Planet Bike Cascadia fenders
-Schwalbe Land Cruiser tires

I pretty much just need to mount the back tire & I'll be set.

[Darney76]

Adding my two cents, a little late: I'm in NYC, also. Last winter was my first being really hardcore about commuting to work on my bike as much as possible (4.5 miles each way Upper West to Midtown). There was loads of snow and ice, with patches of ice and black ice for what seemed like weeks at a time. I was running fixed gear (for the first time, DOH!) with some cheap 700x32 PerformanceBike Forte Gotham tires. Riding fixed was fun, but I missed my single-speed freewheel pretty quickly, when I realized I couldn't coast through ruts or otherwise stop the pedals when I needed to. I made pedal contact with deep snow and ice "rocks" many times before the end of the season. Grip-wise, there was lots of slip-sliding around in the slush and snow, with a couple of good falls when I hit some invisibly smooth ice patches (luckily, the worst was in Riverside Park, when I hit a patch going pretty fast that had me slammed to the ground and sliding 15-20 feet before I came to stop and realized what had happened). My whole body was often sore from using all my muscles just to keep the bike upright.

I'd say the greenways are not cleared nearly as well as the streets are, and where we cyclists are forced to ride on the streets is usually full of packed plowed snow, slush, or black ice for as long as it takes to melt after a good snow storm.

Last winter did seem to be out of the norm, so I'm still trying to decide if I should go with a full studded tire this time around or just a nice lightweight cyclocross tire. Those Land Cruisers are interesting, but I'm looking at the Panaracer CG CX. I live in a small studio with my wifey, so I've got only one bike to work with. I do have an extra set of wheels (that I'm supposed to get rid of, because there's no room) that I may outfit with studded tires, to save them for quick swaps when the weather changes.

[Stacy]

Last winter in NYC was really out of the norm.. I think we had record snowfall? The West Side Greenway south of 59th Street and East Side bike path in Lower Manhattan are usually among the first to be cleared because that's where they keep the snow plows. Granted I'm not a daily commuter but I've been able to get through the past 6 or 7 winters with All Condition Armadillos. The only time I had a problem when I was going a bit too fast and hit an ice ridge on Cherry Walk. The bike went airborne but I was able to recover without going down. Conditions last winter were also compounded by the bike backlash - anti- bike lane people were upset that some bike lanes might be cleared before the streets. Let's hope that's not the case this time around.

[hotbike]

Dude, In New York City, you might want to consider studded tires year round, on account of the Slime that oozes out of garbage cans and dumpsters.

[zacster]

So far only snow around Halloween. I was riding in shorts last weekend in Brooklyn.

[Stacy]

I heard it snowed, briefly, on the upper East Side this morning. Not enough for studded tires. At 41 degrees it's not likely we'll see any more snow today.

[zacster]

Another month + has passed and still no snow. We still have another month of winter left, but even the 10 day forecast is calling for more of the same. I hope the studded tires came in handy somewhere else.

[Darney76]

I'm glad I didn't invest in any. I did put on the Panaracer CG CX 700x32 tires and gear down my singlespeed to 38/16. If nothing else, it has added some cush and made riding against the strong winter headwinds a little easier. I actually noticed more confidence inspiring cornering, too, since the majority of NYC corners are peppered with debris and pitted, uneven pavement. Have also taken advantage of the knobs to do some off-roading. Just yesterday, I used them to ride from the UWS to the Croton Dam on the mostly unpaved Old Croton Aqueduct trail, pretending I was a CXer (great ride, by the way, if you want get out of the city). Here's to a continued mild winter!