I I was to be posted in the South Pole, I would hit it.

If your commute is a downhill ski slope, I guess it would work. As for that track system, seems to me that an aggressive knobbie gives you all the traction you can use. When the snow gets deep enough to need a track, you better have an engine to help push you through. That is an engine other than your legs.

But ... would it work in sand ?

It could have been somewhat useful last year in Quebce city with our wonderful 560+ cm of snow from last winter, but I would worry about the front tire floatation then... :eek:

I know a guy who bikes in winter on the unplowed MUP for 8-9 km, he has a Surly Pugsley with the Large Marge rims. If I wanted to bike in heavy snow, that is the kind of tool I would use rather than that cool attire, which I see more as a tool for a snow bikercross or something more downhill... I guess!

My cheap bike and Nokian 296 Extreme's do me just fine.

This would not work for commuting in a city in winter. It might be okay if you're travelling through fields of packed snow, but it's not good for a city.

The ultimate winter commuting bike is one of the following, depending on your local city's conditions/topography:

titanium mountain bike with rigid forks, and horizontal drop-outs. v-brakes in the front, no brakes in the back, fixed gear, 26x2.0 inch studded tires. dingle cog with 2 front chainrings (ie: it's fixed gear but you have 2 available ratios to manually shift to for days with differing conditions... you could have 46x16 and 44 x 18)

OR

take an old steel mountain bike, build a new rear wheel for it out of an internally geared hub that has an internal drum brake as well, run that with 26x2.0 inch studded tires and slap on a chain tensioner (remove 2 out of the 3 chainrings). This is for hilly cities with tons of snow and ice/really variable weather, like Montreal.

OR

titanium fixed geared bike with front canti brake, 700x35 studded tires, this if for cities with less snow and more ice, more consistent winters.