Originally Posted by
Tundra_Man
My last set of studded tires were Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240s. No qualms at all with their performance on ice, but the resistance on dry pavement was extremely noticeable, to the point where I disliked it so much would sometimes gamble on days I shouldn't have and ride a bike without studs. Had a couple of crashes because of that.
This time around I decided to go with a less aggressive tread and bought the Nokian W160s. We'll see how these work out. Hopefully less rolling resistance but enough grip on ice for a nice, happy medium.
Absolutely agree that for winter riding studded tires are a must. I've discovered that there are different kinds of ice and different tires to fit them. I started out with W160's too but my route has a lot of rutted ice especially on the mup. The W160's don't have enough studs on the outside and I switched to Schwalbe Marathon Winters... which are different than Schwalbe Winters. The Marathon winters have a row of side studs - the regular winters don't. Confused?! The difference is remarkable. Where I used to slide sideways and about poop my pants in ruts I'm rocking the ruts now!
31F this morning. I stayed late yesterday and found out I'd forgotten to charge my headlight. Amazing how it gets darker the farther out in the burbs one gets, directly proportional to the amount of headlight I had left. Fortunately my backup, a little opticube I use for a flasher, gives enough light to not crash!