Does your town plow at all? If it does and you end up riding in the ruts, heavily studded tires will make you skitter right off the road. I ride here in Albany in the foothills of the Adirondacks, and I didn't even bother with studs last year because I was mostly riding on well-driven roads. This year I'm thinking I'll buy a pair of Hakkapeliitta 106's and keep them around in case it's a heavy snow year.

BTW, excellent choice on the Nokians, I used to performance rally in a Scooby on Hakkas. I would trust none other.