Originally Posted by
scroca
This is what I did last year, but I don't like changing out tires when it's icy versus not and riding with studs when they are not necessary is tedious and wears them out prematurely. So this year I am building a winter bike i.e. fg with straight bars to accommodate poggies and studded tires.
From December to April I commute 14 miles on Schwalbe Marathons Winter studded tires only. I have not noticed any appreciable wear on the studs for the three past years I've used them. This seems to be the consensus of the Winter Cycling Forum about carbide studs. The Marathons have an insignificant increased rolling resistance on dry pavement compared to my usual fair weather tires, but tires with a more “aggressive” tread are reputed to be more significantly more difficult on dry pavement. Changing tires to suit the ever-changing weather in winter would indeed be tedious.