I have been looking through the winter bike pictures and notice that a lot of people are riding either fixed or single speed.
One of my winter rides is a Kona Paddy Wagon. This is one smooth bike. even after riding my carbon road bike I look forward to riding this bike. (Winter or summer)
Living in an area where 0% grade is on the Garmin very often I was wondering what gear everyone rides in the snow.
42X16 is great on the flats but it is anything over 4% grade can make for a tough climb or decent.
Snow, extra clothing and cold seems to maek the ride just that much harder.
These are supposed to be base miles not training and I am not thinking about a 20 tooth cog or maybe a smaller chainring.

Let me know what gear you are riding and what terrain you are riding this gear in.
Thanks.

Sixty Fiver says he feels more in control on a fixie when the conditions are slick. My geared bike needs repair, so I've been riding my fixie upon his advice. And yes, it seems good. Before recently, I hadn't cycled in winter conditions in a long time, so I'm relearning it all.

Another advantage of riding fixed is that it's warmer, since you have to work harder, and even when you're not cranking hard, you always have to crank.

My fixie has very narrow tires, and they're probably not ideal, but my streets aren't slippery right now. There are small patches of ice and slush, but not many.

When I'm going over a slick part, I take one foot out of the toe clip, in case I have to put it down quickly.

I may have worded this wrong. I was trying to ask what gears people were using.
In this area flat does not exist and I bought the fixie to put on base miles not hammer all day.
The Normal fixed single speed gears seem to be around 42x16. What that is in chain inches I haven't figured out yet.
I was just wondering what gearing people are using in the snow in a hilly area.

As for pulling your feet out of the clips, I use spd cleats and can get out quickly. Not very often do I feel the need with studded tires though.
The thin tires will get you to more solid footing much faster than a wide tire.
This bike now has a 32mm studded tire and if at all possible I would go narrower as my riding is on the road.

I think my gear is about 65 inches. Very good for the winter. A higher gear would be OK in the summer, but I don't crave it. The bike came with an 82 inch gear, which is insane, and I live in a hilly area.

My nice comfortable Christmas Day ride saw lots of 9% and even had some 11% grades. This made my decision for me. I need a winter bike with gears.
Got one already built.
Fixed or single is not a good bike for a 49year old in this territory.
Next bike is a cross bike or a mountain bike.
Now I need more space in the basement.

Where are you in Ontario? I didn't know you have hilly areas!

North of lake Ontario is all hills. We had a hard time finding a road to make an impromptu drag strip when we were teenagers.
Ride planning is top priority around here. 12% and even 17% can be ridden daily. I ride repeats on a hill that shows 21% in places. The ride down more than makes up for the ride up.
This is the perfect hill. It is over 1Km long, steep and a few fairly gentle curves. (Just enough that you can't see the cars on the way up.)
Our flat TT route has a section about 2Km long with 3% and 4% sections. We consider anything with in 3 Km of Lake Ontario flat. Anything North of that is hilly. Not Mountainous just hilly