I once fishtailed on ice with a city bus coming up from behind and a hazardous sewer grate ahead of me. I thought for sure I was going down and might also be crushed by the bus. By sheer luck, I didn't fall, but maybe the lesson is that while front wheel traction is most important, rear wheel traction can be just as important in some situations.

If you don't get ice often, it's tough to decide what you should ride. Studded tires might be extreme overkill if you don't end up riding on slippery surfaces often. I rode knobby tires without studs a couple of winters ago, and the squirminess was extremely annoying. Maybe they were just lousy tires or I didn't know how to inflate them, but I'd say there has to be some sacrifice when using winter tires. You just might be best off taking your chances with summer tires.

It's like that here in New Jersey, too. I'm just west of New York City, and the climate is just a touch warmer than the nearby suburbs in New York State. We have occasional winters with large amounts of snow, some winters with none, and a great deal of time with just patches of crap on the road, so there is no easy answer. And this applies to both car and bike tires.