My observations in the midst of winter in Finland: Everybody and his brother was riding bikes. Rationalizing, I suppose if you were to wait for optimal conditions during the year you would not get a lot of time to ride. Yet when I went to do statistics on the bikes parked at racks in that motherland of studded tires I saw that only about 10% of the parked bikes had them. Conclusion: Yes studded tires yield more stability and can convince you to get out of the door, yet they are not a must - you can get by using caution. I continue riding this winter without touching the studded tires and I appreciate the fact that I do not get slowed down on pavement and not bothered swapping tires back and forth.