Originally Posted by
PaulRivers
Fyi, don't know if you've seen this before, but while the 35mm Schwalbe Marathon Winter used to be the skinniest decent studded tire (there was the Nokian A10 to but reports weren't great on it), 45nrth now makes what sounds like a good 30c studded tire:
45NRTH Xerces Studded Tire
I mention it in case it might happen to fit your current drop bar bike, or it might make it a bit easier to find a used bike that it would fit on. I know a 30c tire, for example, just fits onto my older Specialized Seqouia (I know because they put one on, I didn't like the tire they choose so they took it off) - and this was one of the models where there's not really clearance for wider tires, fenders, etc.
I just tried the 35mm studded tires on my Giant Rapid and they are okay. There's enough clearance for it.
I was in contact with a couple of CL sellers this morning. One for this bike:
2010 KHS CX 200 - Small
Almost went for it. But the other seller was one selling part I need for the drop bar conversion of the Bianchi. Almost went for that too, but the prospect of having to do that work frankly fills me with dread right now.
So I'm postponing the inevitable. I mounted the studded tires on the Giant Rapid 2. Yes, it's still not a drop bar, but it's more aggressive position, and it's got bar ends. It's not perfect, but it's cost effective and it's something I can live with for the time being.T
The other issue might be the mudguards. I had them on the Bianchi, but this one will not take them with the 35mm tires. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.