Originally Posted by
gkastraveckas
Posted in Winter Cycling, figure I could get good answers here as well.
Just wondering what's more common, do you guys have a dedicated winter bike to grab and go when you need it or just change to studs for the season? Or have studs on a separate wheelset and change as needed?
I don't have a bike that's only ridden in the winter... my fixed-gear MTB has fenders, and I swap between slick and studded tires as needed. A year ago, I made half of the job easier by buying a really cheap front wheel to keep the studded tire on, and I may eventually buy/build another FG rear wheel so that I can avoid mounting/dismounting the Nokian tires entirely.
(If you're really curious, I also change gearing. During the nice months, I run 71", but since the Nokian tires slow me down a bunch even before you consider snow and ice and bulkier clothing and wind, I drop it to 59" in the winter. My rear wheel has a flip-flop hub with an 18T cog mounted on one side and 16T on the other, and I also swap between 42T and 45T chainrings so that I can continue using the same chain.)