Riding after a snowfall is always harder... our first blast of winter dropped ten inches of snow on us and riding before the plows cleared the main roads and before the side streets built up a base of hard pack things were pretty treacherous and it was really hard work to go anywhere.

Wetter snow will pack up under your tyres which has a really negative effect on traction and cam negate the benefits of studded tyres as they like hard pack and ice and offer no real benefits on loose snow.

For times like this I like riding on skinnier tyres as they cut through to the base pavement better than wider knobbies but once that base is established I am back to riding the long bike with it's 2.1 studded tyres as the roads get pretty rough and ride quality is as important as traction.