And by 32 miles I mean each way. My round trip to and from work is 62 miles. I don't actually commute THAT often, but that is due to the fact I work from home as much as possible. So when it is feasible and I have to go into the office I ride as much as I can. Good excuse to get some good miles in.

This is the first winter I have considered keeping up with the commute. Yesterday we got our first snow and the roads are snowy and icy (it got cold too). I realized that unless it is nice and dry, studded tires would likely be a good investment.

My issue comes in that the only bike I own that could handle studded tires is my old Mtn bike. It would make my already long commute even slower. I could do the drive/bike to split up the distance.

I guess I am just looking for someone to kick me in the direction of buying some nice studded tires. They would be good for Mtn biking in the snow too right?

-D

Your mountain bike doesn't likely need studded tires, unless you're riding on a lot of skating rink glass. If it's snow or slush, studded tires would be doing you a disservice.

^^ I disagree, though the zip code gives me pause.

32 miles one way would necessitate a shower and changing facilities. But once in a while? Sure.

Go buy some nice studded tires!!!

*kick*

Even in Minnesota you don't need studded tires every day during the winter for commuting. In fact most days you probably don't but you wouldn't know that by this past week. In Minneapolis, a lot of people keep on riding their skinny tire road bikes all year, - though I'm not one of them.

If you're not commuting every day and can sort of pick and choose the days, then just stick to the days with good road conditions.

I probably wouldn't do a 32 mile commute because I'm chronically short of time as it is and it wouldn't matter even if it was in the summer. The other problem is that for me that would be a long time riding in the dark. I don't mind it for an hour or so but I think it would turn into drudgery pretty quick.

I might do it if I thought of it more of as a recreational ride that happened to take me to work.

I don't, but it hasnt been a problem so far.

Luckily I like riding in the dark. Yes it makes for a long day, but it beats leaving the family for a large block of time during the weekend for the same mileage.

-D

I wouldn't do a 32 mile commute in the summer. Not enough time in the day.

It would be all about time and commitments after work. Maybe you can throw the bike in the car and drive halfway, bike the other half.

+1 to the split commute

Once a week I drive 34 miles, park in a shopping center lot, and bike 28 miles into work. I take it easy on the way in so all I really need is a wipe down with a washcloth. I have a drawer full of toiletries for the grooming. 20 minutes is all I need for a cool down/cleaning/dressing. I did it yesterday...14deg. Just dress appropriately, watch for slippery road conditions, and you'll be fine.

I've done 60-mile round-trip commutes year round before but sans the snow and ice. It was a good three and a half to four hours a day on the bike depending on equipment and exertion level. I've backed it down to the mimimal 50-mile RT for times sake.

I've heard that the Virginia/Maryland area has ice under the snow. In that case, you may need studded tires if the ice is persistent. Being from the south, I'm way out of my league and have only ridden in flurries and sleet but I would humbly recommend, based on the distance of your commute investing in a 'cross bike that can handle 35 mm tires. If you can get a disc-version, all the better. There are several nice 700c studded tire options in 35 mm sizes available from Peter White. I have a disc-cross bike now but with road-width rims. I can get away just fine with skinny tires since we don't get much frozen precipitation, but I will be testing out some larger tires later this winter.

Unless your MTB is a hard-tail, I wouldn't recommend trying to do that distance unless you don't mind spending 5+ hours a day on the bike. But if you've got the engine, go for it! Give it a try but build up your mileage slowly and watch for fatigue and be careful with lack of sleep. I've found the more my ride time goes up, the more I need to sleep at night, approaching nine hours if I've put 3+ hours on the bike.