Originally Posted by
danr55
I commute to work on a road bike (6 miles) and last year I picked up a used MTB to ride the bike paths to work during the winter.
I met a man on trail riding a Surley Pugsley, you know the one with the monstrous tires. He raved about the large tires in the snow etc. I can't afford a pugsley but I was wondering if anyone has any experience riding a 29er in the snow. the tire has a larger diameter but will that necessarily help in the snow, especially hardpack trails? Is it worth the upgrade from a 26 to a 29er?
The 29'er has a slight advantage is some situations but is worse in others. In slippery snow where you might be accelerating a lot the 29'er is a disadvantage. For commuting would not make any significant difference. Put the widest ties you can get on the 26 incher. Get studded tires if you have a lot of ice to deal with. For hard packed snow and slush studs make little difference. Better big knobbies. For riding on snow and roads I like the widest small knobby tire that I can find. They roll a little better on the pavement and still work well on packed snow.