Yeah. Laziness is a problem for me. Hence the fat tires.

i've always used a 1 &1/4 front knobby for control, and just a normal road tire in the rear,
i've never had trouble with traction that could have been fixed with a different tire selection.
as for brakes, watch out with a front brake, you start skidding the front wheel, its almost impossible to bring it out. you'll have a nasty fold up. i'd rather lose the back end traction and be able to steer anyday,
most of my winter riding is extremely hilly, the oakland area of pittsburgh, steep hills, alot of the the roads are brick and belgium block, lots of slush and salt, my tire selection works fine for me there,
what do you guys ride in your respective terrains?

I go with 23s all winter and a front brake. Only fell victim once last year and that was in fresh deep snowfall that completely hid all reference to where the streetcar tracks were. That they were also iced over (unused streetcar tracks on Richmond W) helped quite a lot as it happened in slow moving gridlock and i was able to slide along while gaining my footing at the same time thereby keeping the car behind me behind me til I could step off to the right with my bike. braking had nothing to do with that one, nothing could prevent a lil spill. cold-snapped my fender though, it was too brittle from the chill when it slapped the ground.

If your line is true and you aren't yanking on them front brakes work just fine on ice. Momentum will save your ass.

I Run a ice studded tire (Nokian a 10) in the front, cyclocrosser in the rear (Schwalbe CX Lite)

Fixie + Snow = FUN!

I just bought a pair of the cheap Nashbar studded tires (700x35) for my Steamroller. This purchase will absolutely guarantee an iceless/snowless winter for DC. I'm forecasting high thirties and rain for the duration. Lovely weather, indeed.

Well, we already have a little ice on the ground, coming in from the Virginia Burbs this morning. I never messed with a front brake on the fixie in ice/snow. Always just ran regular tires. Think I only wiped out once on a grate coming out of a turn. Still have the scar from those suntour sprint track pedals.

If you're trying to ride on actual snow (not just in tracks of other bikes/cars) you need cross tires. If you're trying to do more than ride straight on ice you need studs. I remember once I rode a whole block without falling (10th to 9th on G) when it was covered with ice without falling. Once you're on the ice you just have to flow with it. Basically it is like mud only once you lose it, forget it all is lost. The fun thing with narrow tires is picking up speed and carving through banks of snow.

When I get some cash, I plan to just have a spare front wheel ready with a studded tire on it to switch out on days when it's icy. I don't want to ride with the studded tire all the time.

What a good idea. A very good idea.

I made it through the daily commute last Winter with cross tires and it worked fine. Especially in my NE neighborhood where they got around to clearing the streets sometime in April.