My neighborhood hardly ever gets plowed so if it’s slick on my street, the studs will be on. It’s not uncommon to have stretches of a few weeks without precipitation. I don’t really want to ride 800-1000g tires 12 miles each way unless I have to. I do have the ability to work from home if roads are really bad. If it’s a typical winter, I should be able to ride street tires 50% of the time. I think studded tires will get me to work 90%+ of the time. That’s my prediction anyway. My boss doesn’t mind swinging past to pick me up if he needs me in the office, he runs morning errands before work within a mile
or two of my house. I consider myself quite lucky regarding my current employment.

38mm tires will NOT fit under fenders on this bike, so the Gravdals are out. Too tight at the
chainstay bridge.

Edit: I don’t want to delude myself about it, so if push comes to shove I’ll leave the studded tires on. I’m sure I’ll appreciate it more when street tires go back on for the first time in however long. I did the commute for a few weeks last winter on knobby 26” tires. It’s doable but I wouldn’t want to do it all the time.

For what it’s worth, the rolling resistance of the studs and low pressure compared to slicks was way less than I thought on pavement. Yeah, it’s noticeable, but in the context of winter clothes/gloves/goggles/biking safely/traffic going a bit slower, I don’t really notice it.

Im sure switching back to slicks in the spring will be freeing, along with shedding some of the winter gear, but I’m just gonna ride my studs until I know I won’t hit black ice. After all, we’re commuting, not racing

On a different note, any good rim brake pad choices? I’m thinking I’ll just do Salmons unless someone has a better recommendation (I’m pretty sure the pads I have are original/hard af).

Not my thread but wanted to thank all for the info/recommendations on studded tires. I ended up ordering the Schwalbe Marathon Winter Plus in 35mm. I missed a good sale on them a couple weeks ago but since I already had to wait for fenders I just saved up a little more money to get em. I’ve changed my tune about their use as well, after a little more critical thinking I realized that sometimes morning conditions and afternoon can be vastly different. NWS hasn’t been hitting the forecast very well lately. I also have access to compressed air at work so if things clear up from am to pm I can ostensibly enjoy a little easier ride home without having to kill my arm using my minipump. So I’m planning to just leave them on all winter. I just wanted the peace of mind from 4 rows of studs, and even though I don’t mind changing a tube when I puncture, I’d much rather just not when it’s really cold - the “plus” is I guess an added puncture protection layer. I understand their rolling resistance is surprisingly good when pumped up. Should be here Tuesday and if NWS is having a good week with their predictions will be enjoying sunshine and warmer temps until then. Cheers all, especially those still out riding in this cold weather.