We don't get enough bad weather to warrant buying some, but today I wished I had them.

Yesterday we got about an inch of sleet. It wasn't too bad for walking. But today, when the sleet had had a chance to melt a bit and refreeze, things were worse.

I did try to pedal to the supermarket a mile away, but I didn't make it out of the apartment parking lot. I could see that the lumps of ice could send my bike sideways at any time. After I put my bike away and started walking through the driveway to the store, a boy passed me on his BMX and promptly dropped it. He gamely got up and tried again.

Later, when returning from the store, I did see some BMX tracks in the snow about half a block from home, but the cyclist had turned around rather than go down the slight hill. I guess it was the same boy and he had decided that continuing was a dubious decision. The wisdom of that idea was echoed by the 3 car collision just a few yards from the apartment driveway.

Pretty day, but slippery.

I totally understand your situation. When I first moved to Montana I bought a recumbent bicycle. It arrived three days before Christmas. I rode it around a bit and really enjoyed it. The Primo Comet tires did OK on the ice but not great. Those tires have almost microscopic diamond nubs on them. At a distance it looks like a slick and probably is considered a slick. I did some sliding and ordered some Inova studded tires. These were low pressure fat street tires. The riding became slower and cushier but it worked great. The only time I slid was in loose slush.

For the past two years I've used Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tires. This year with solid inner tubes to make getting a flat tire impossible. These tires work great up to about twenty miles per hour. If I had to choose another winter tire it would be studded knobby tires. The Marathon Winter tires do great on ice but they are almost useless on slush. Every intersection that has sand, slush, and snow built up due to cars turning and creating berms requires caution. I must go slowly everywhere there is snow on the road. If the road is covered with ice the studs do their magic. I'm much safer riding the bicycle on ice than walking on it. Even with studs turns must be done slowly. Winter riding makes me appreciate the warmer months so much more.

Icy roads are ideal for studded tires. I have often pedal in to work and, after parking the bike, discover that the surface is not walkable. The only clue you are on ice on a studded-tire bike is the familiar crunch of the studs suddenly goes silent; you know the studs are digging in at that point.

They do require some additional leg strength. I'm very lucky if I can average 10mph on them over short distances.

However, if you seldom get ice or other winter conditions, it is probably a bit too expensive to mount them on your bike. Most winter commuter either have 2 bikes or simply ride the studs all winter long.

We get a couple of winter weather "events" a year, usually I can just wait them out, but every now and again I am tempted to get a set of studded tires just because. This last round we got 3" snow, 1" sleet and 1/4" of ice. Walking is a challenge (overcome with Yak Trax) cycling on the hard frozen stuff is a no go. I do have a 4x4 with chains but why bother unless it is a life threatening emergency.

Aaron

I love my Nokians! I'm running some 700x42s on my 29er. I gave my fiancee my old 26x2.1 Nokians. They're at least 10 years old but still in great shape with only about 3 years of full-time commuting on them.

Right after Christmas we had a big snow, and it made a big mess, with ice, packed snow on the roads, up until that time I had been commuting on studded tires. Two nights in a row I had the bike slide out from under me, both times half a block from home. So I packed up the tires and got off the bike for a month. The only place I have found studded tires worth the effort is on snow pack, or really warm ice, this below freezing ice we get in MN is rock hard, and nothing bites into it.

I came across a patch of pathway the other day, that was so obviously ridged,rutted, and solid ice, positively glassy, that I had doubts about riding over it. As i debated stopping and walking, it occurred to me that I couldn't walk around it, and walking across it was going to be problematical. Took a deep breath, and let the bike roll as straight as possible right across, with feet ready to dab at a moments notice. Bike didn't even twitch. Full studs are the bees knees.

I run Marathon winters all winter long. The rolling resistance isn't bad but they are not that great after the snow gets more than 2" deep. Great for ice though. The way I look at it they should last a few seasons so being able to get out when it is icy is worth the expense. I have a vehicle but never drive for errands. The only time I drive is with the family as they think I am crazy Studs are great.

Studs certainly get you through most winter conditions (but not all, as naisme said). I use them all winter on my main bike.

One year I got caught in an early ice storm before i had put the rear stud on. I was getting along fine until I hit a slight upgrade. The rear slick tire was just spinning in place, so I was pedalling as hard as I could but not moving forward at all. I finally got tired and just tipped over into the snow. I looked up and saw a couple little kids playing in the snow, laughing their butts off. Apparently it looks pretty funny to see somebody spinning to beat the band, basically just getting nowhere fast!

Naisme, what kind of studded tires are you using and at what pressure. I run my nokian mount and grounds between 30 and 45 psi, never had a problem with slipping on ice. They work great on this New England snow and ice.

I run my Nokian Hakkapeliitta W240s at the recommended max 65 pounds. If there was a lot of snow on the road, I might try taking 20 pounds out to try to float over the snow. The only problem I have had with ice involved deep ruts and the ability of the front tire to pull itself out. A couple of times I've been in situations where I figured the tire couldn't handle the ruts... but it did.