I have been using my Bike Friday with both tires mentioned here quite a bit lately,



The one on the front being a Marathon Winter, and on the back, a Marathon Supreme.

I'd certainly recommend the Winter if you are experiencing full ice, the Supreme is fine if the road is wet, but it will *definitely* not save you from full sheets of ice at all. I nearly had a spill the other night when I found that the road beneath was nothing but a smooth sheet for 10 metres solid up ahead. The supreme broke loose and I almost ended up on the ground, only saved by the screws in my boots and the grip provided by the Marathon Winter on the front of the bike.

I would like to note though, that this combination worked very well up until this point: I've been riding around on the ice slicked streets of Edmonton for a while now, and did not feel like I had no control until this patch of practical skating rink came into the picture. One winter tire on the front has been sufficient for most other situations, and Edmonton is a fairly brutal city for winter riding conditions. In areas where there was snow with little bits of ice underneath, the setup worked well, as did situations where the ice was just patchy and not great enough to allow the rear wheel enough time to really break free. It took a true patch of pure ice to mess things up, but it messed things up spectacularly.

I've got another marathon winter coming in the mail, unfortunately the 20x1.6 size has been hard enough to get a hold of that only one was available locally -_-

If you have real ice on your commute, and not just a little coaster sized patch here or there, i'd recommend saving yourself from another accident and simply purchasing spiked tires. It's not worth your health to toy around and fret over a little efficiency.