Again, it depends.

In my experience living on the shore of a Great Lake, you can probably get by without studs if you also have other means of transport. If you can wait until the salt works and all the ice is melted away, you can even ride with road slicks in the winter. I've done that too--only one of my four bikes will fit studs. I can ride in fresh snow--up to an inch or so of lake-effect--with road slicks.

How are your bike-handling skills? Remember that on a two-wheeled vehicle, studs are not about traction to get going. They're not about keeping you from skidding as you brake. They're all about managing sideslip. When your bike slides sideways out from under you, how do you react? When your bike is stuck in a rut, will you try to ride it out? Bunny-hop it out? Or stop and lift it out? With studs, choices one and two are viable. Without, choice three is your best bet.

How good is your local DPW at salting away all the ice? Around here, four and six-lanes are salted to death. But the neighborhood branch library I work at is on a two-lane residential street. That can go a long time without seeing salt.

But for me, studs are cheap insurance. I don't have health insurance if I fall and break something. I also can't afford to be out of work for weeks while a broken bone heals. My studded tires were $65 each, and I've got seven winters on them, with the eighth coming up soon. I expect to get over a dozen winters out of them. That brings their cost down to $10 per year for the pair. Even if I had to buy new ones every year, it's still cheaper than a hospital stay and recovery.