Originally Posted by
jwarner
Absolutely. An unstudied 3.8" Surly Nate will go though snow a studded 2" Nokian Extreme tire will not. The difference is remarkable actually,and the fat tires are way more comfortable on frozen chunder. Studs don't help in snow. They are meant for biting into ice. Lower ground bearing pressure does help on snow. So wider tires run at low pressure (which increases contact patch) have lower ground bearing pressure and "float" over the snow. The trade off in both cases is speed, and in the case of studs, noise and ride.
Wanted to add, just because fat bikes have become so faddish, that I'm not a fan boy, but it is one of the tools in my stable that I go to when the conditions call for it.
The issue with non studded fat bike tyres is that the low contact pressure makes them a bit of a nightmare on ice.
My old Raleigh mtb with non studded 2.2 tyres will go through most things my Pug would and it is better on ice, my Extrabike with 26 by 2.0 studs will crawl through a foot of fresh snow.