All good stuff.
A fellow Minnesotan here who commutes all year. And has done it one a few different bikes a few different ways.
- 26in with mount and grounds; this was good and pretty easy to get around as long as there is not a ton of snow.
- 29er with fat front and studded rear tire; this did ok and was really nice when the snow got deep since the front would push the snow apart and let the rear Nokian Extreme ride in it's wake problem with this setup was ice.
- Fat bike; this was a ok option to, the snow I see on our roads is considerably different then what I see on our trails so it's not a 1:1. There is a lot more stable snow on a singletrack trail then there is on the road it all wants to brake loose. Plus was it pushed out all the ruts
- 29er with studs; this is my favorite option as of now it works for me and is most importantly predictable.
My biggest suggestion for all year commuters who are especially just starting out is yes get a studded tire for your winters the greenways here do not use salt so they just get scraped and become shear ice. But also get some pogies and leave them on all winter, I have two sets now one for the fatty and one for the commuter. I can now wear a thin 45nrth wool glove all the way down to about -35F and even then my hands just sweat if I push it too hard. And for goodness sake if you do not wear a helmet all year, wear one at least in the winter. Some many chances to randomly fall over.