Hey, I'm moving to philadelphia soon for school and I'm not very familiar with real winters. I plan on living within a few miles of school so I have high hopes for commuting year round. I am currently running 700x38 maxxis overdrives on my 29er. I have heard of studded tires and it got me thinking; I just wasn't sure if there are better winter tires I should get?

I roll with the Nokian Mount & Ground W106's
Peter White will be able to hook you up with what you need. And, yes, they are worth the money.

I use Schwalbe Marathon Winters. The less agressive tread pattern may not be the best for deep snow (but then again nothing short of a Surly Pugsley with Endomorph tires is), but for 95% of winter conditions they are IMHO the perfect commuter tire. The carbide studs stick to ice like glue. I found myself looking for iced-over puddles to ride upon. The reflective stripe is a bonus safety feature. No flats all season, either.

Another Marathon Winter user here. I'm very satisfied with them, holds ok, rolls ok although a bit heavy but all winter tires are heavy. These are the tires for cleaned roads with some ice and snow. If you want to go trough unplowed roads or paths, you need more aggressive tires.

Whatever tire you decide on you'll be good to drop the psi on bad snow days for better traction. Nokias are great for studded, but unless it's a real severe winter you wont need them, most likely. Also. you may want to go to 45mm if they'll fit to give a little more surface area. Talk w/other commuters in you area and see what they use.

I use the same tires in the winter and love them.

You should look at the Winter Cycling subforum . . . Marathon Winters are probably the best all-around studded tire for commuting. The Philadelphia winter is about the same as DC, and I have found the Marathon Winters roll pretty well on bare pavement, are great on ice, and not so great in snow. If the roads are really bad, I drive my car to work.

First off I recommend wider tires, the wider the better. Also don't fill the air up all the way, slight underinflated will provide better traction. Spiked tires are good, Peter White gives a lot of good information.

Awesome, thanks so much for all the suggestions. I read about the tires on peter white, I think the marathon's look like what I want. I'll get them in the widest too. It looks like 700x42 is the widest.

+1 on Nokians and the Schwalbe studded---either will do the trick very well. it's just cool as hell to hear the "chatter" and "rumbling" of the studs on pavement. and it's even cooler to not hear them when you cross sheets of ice (and still remain upright). but as peter white admonishes his readers: don't let the tires give you overconfidence!... when you get off your bike your shoes aren't studded.

Very important to remember.

Yes... happened more then once - stepped off the bike and flew all over the ice I was riding on moments ago. They should invent studded shoes. That would solve the problem. Yes.

You can find these at Wally Mart for not much $$$.



I don't know how effective they are, but I read about them in the Winter Cycling forum.

I have them, and I use them, I can run on glare ice with them. When I need to put my foot down, it doesn't slide out from under me.

They exist, but for a different sport.

Schwalbe Marathon Winters here.

Remember that tire pressure is just as essential to grip as tread and stud count. Lower your tire pressure in sloppy or icy conditions.

I guess i'm in the minority but i would wait to see what the actual conditions are like. I rode year round and only a few times (less than 5 times) have i felt i needed studded tires. They plow and salt the roads pretty well where I live and my commute was only 3 miles each way. I won't discount anybody's purchase of studded tires and their necessity, just giving another perspective. In my situation I just couldn't justify the cost and my perceived ROI.

Exile makes a valid point, but I look at it this way: Why take the chance? If studs will keep me from taking a hard fall it only makes sense to use them. My reasons for wearing my helmet and using active lighting are based on the same principle.

All valid points, but a helmet and lights won't slow you down 10-15% like studded tires. That said, I have Marathon Winters which I used last winter. They're great on hard packed snow and ice, but terrible in soft rutted snow. I'm debating whether or not to get some more aggressive studs for another one of my bikes (a mountain bike) to use on really bad days. It may only be 2-3 times per year where the roads are unplowed, but it would make a big difference on those days. I could also use them for trail riding on the weekends, so they'd get a little more use.

I never really found any appreciable difference in speed while using my studs. That being said, once I switched back to the slicks after the winter was over I felt like I was flying. I looked at it as three months of training. For me the biggest difference in winter riding is the handling; riding over the "mashed potato" consistency snow (that has been compacted and mashed by passing cars) can get pretty squirrelly. IMHO the balancing act made me a better rider.

Like jeffpoulin stated, a back-up bike with more aggressive tires would be ideal, but I found my hybrid and 700c Marathon Winters was good for the majority of my rides. For those really bad days I wish that I had one of these:

Coming from Ca. to Pa. I would suggest you start stocking up on some winter clothing so you can enjoy your studded tires. If your not used to cold, bitter temps in the 'teens' with a 25mph headwind whipping across the plain you'll be in for a big surprise. Cold weather isn't bad if you're prepared for it. +2 on researching the Winter Forum. Take it from people who know.

Let's not forget that Philly had a blizzard last winter.

That Pugsley looks like a sweet ride.
I have read somewhere that there were two schools of thought concerning winter riding. One school used to think thinner tires (to cut through the snow to the road) were better. The other thought wider tires (to float on the snow) were better. I am not sure where studded tires fall between these two schools of thought.

I rode through the Rochester NY winter on 40mm Kenda Klondike studded tires. They make a world of difference on ice and hard pack. That said, when leaning into a corner the studs can lose contact with the road, resulting in the bike sliding out from under you. It's not a fun experience.

Also, if your bike doesn't already have them but can mount them, you may want to think about switching to disc brakes. Rim brakes tend to not work so well when caked with ice and snow.

I love my disc brakes. When I took the Traffic 101 course, we did emergency braking drills, I stopped quicker than anyone else in the class. I was the only one with disc brakes.