any wide 2.1" MTB studded tire will do. just run them at 30 lbs psi or 20 even and you'll be able to go over anything. when the roads clear then crank them up to their maximum pressure

me, I've got 2 winter bikes now

A) 700x35 marathon winters

B) Continental Spike Claw Studded Mountain Bike Tire http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00..._ya_oh_product

I do alright on my M+G's. Loose snow is OK, packed snow on top of ice will bust loose underneath the tires.

I considered M&Gs and W240s, but I'm extremely glad that I went with the Extreme 294s. You really benefit from having an aggressive tread pattern when riding on a couple inches of traffic-churned snow. No problem with punctures, but my routes seem to be totally lacking in those kind of hazards. Around 45psi seems to work for my riding conditions. That seems to give me plenty of traction with very little of the side-to-side squirmy feel that I get from going lower.

I agree. Hell, I've attacked up to a foot of snow for a few miles with Marathon Winters and while it wasn't a pleasant experience (best workout of my life, probably) I made it through. I don't think there is any tire in the world that is going to make deep rutted snow feel like bare pavement.

You're just too bad shouldberiding, too bad. :thumb:

Thanks, but how do they work on pavement? I use these for commuting (sometimes I forget I'm not in that forum) - usually 7 miles each way, with some big hills... and perhaps most importantly, I often deal with a mix of sections of road: some clear, some rutted, some fresh snow on MUPs... that's why I was thinking the W240s would be best - they seem to be tolerable on bare pavement, and well-rounded.

Nice to see a fellow Colts fan btw. I'm going to Saturday's game. Fans are going to be pissed if they don't win the Super Bowl this year!

The 294s do OK on pavement, imo. I wouldn't worry about rolling resistance for a 7 mi. commute. The way I look at it, you can afford to run the 294s at a higher pressure than you would for something like the W240s for the same traction. In that case, rolling resistance is probably going to be a wash. I doubt that you would go very far wrong with either the 240s or 294s (or even an M+G for that matter).

I moved to Michigan after living in Indpls. for about 20yr., but an still a big Colts fan. I don't want to buy into the frustration of becoming a Lions fan! 294s seem to fit the bill for where I live now, but I know that conditions even in Indiana can get pretty nasty, so I would still give the 294s serious consideration.

Ha - I've tried to be a more of a Bears fan this year because they are more local, but I find myself getting frustrated with them. They make too many irritating decisions. The Colts don't do that - except that one play this year when Reggie Wayne (my favorite player) threw an interception.

Thanks again for the advice. I'll take another look at the Extremes.

Are you using the 26" or the 700c?

Just hit the bullseye - found a used pair of Extremes on eBay that look to be in good shape (no missing studs) that is even relatively local. Just placed a bid. This is perfect!

If I win, I think I'll start by changing just the front tire, and go from there. If I like the Extremes so much that I no longer wish to use the MWs, I'll sell those and possibly buy a spare Extreme.

I'm excited about this.

I have had good luck with my M&G 160's. 17 miles on a mix of road, mup and dirt roads, paths. They work great on the frozen, rutted footprints and hardpack. I run them 30 - 45 psi. Good also on 2-4 inches fresh snow. Most of my paths a plowed, so I don't ride in deep snow that often. The loose brown car snot on the side of the road is hard for all tires, I think.

Hope you get the extremes! They aren't as poorly-suited to commuting as Peter White implies (and depending on your terrain, they might even be better). It will be a little more of a workout, but by no means impossible, and those miles will fly by in spring. They slow me down, for sure, but I'd guess only in the neighbourhood of about 10% over a non-studded knobby tires (based on how hard it was keeping up with my fellow bike club riders once I put the studs on, and also on how often I get passed by other commuters when using studs vs. not). I doubt there'd be much of a speed penalty between the extremes and the 240s. Plus, they sound like velcro on the pavement... pedestrians and other cyclists will actually hear you coming!

There is a HUGE difference between the Schwalbe Winters and Nokian Extreme 294s both in performance and rolling resistance.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...4/DSC01308.jpg

Will it be harder to balance with the increased rolling resistance of the Extremes? I find that there's a considerable difference between my non-winter tires and the MWs in this regard... normally, riding with no hands isn't a problem, but I don't even try with the MWs on. Not that I ever really need to ride no hands, but I hope it's not too hard to stay balanced with the Extremes.

”There is a HUGE difference between the Schwalbe Winters and Nokian Extreme 294s both in performance and rolling resistance.”
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c7...4/DSC01308.jpg


Boy, you are’nt kidding. I started off with the Schwalbes and it was lousy in the snow. I switched to the 294’s and it made a world of difference. The rolling resistance between the two is neglgiible. Go with the Nokian and you can ride thru anything. Get a second pair of rims and it will take you less than 10 mins to switch wheels.

If the rolling resistance is negligibly different and tolerable, I'll probably just stick with the same rims and just change the tires at the end of November or so and back in April or so as I've been doing. Road conditions vary greatly here anyway by street and MUP.

You should certainly see for yourself, but I would be *shocked* to find out the rolling resistance of the Nokian Extreme's is actually "minimal" compared to the Schwalbes. Really, seriously shocked. But you'd have to try it yourself.

What I meant was minimally more resistance than the MWs. There's certainly no reason to think they're going to have less resistance than the MWs.

Just won the auction seemingly in the last millisecond.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nokian-Extreme-2...item439c9503c5

Really, I mean either way - I'd be shocked to find out the rolling resistance of the Nokian Extremes is "minimal" compared to the Schwalbe's or regular non-studded tires on regular pavement - clear, or less than an inch of stuff on the road.

Would be interested in hearing what you think after you get them...don't doubt they're necessary for these craptastic street conditions we've been having.

I'll be sure to post my impressions. I finally decided that if I was going to upgrade, I might as well go all out, and seeing others state that the bare road resistance was at least tolerable sealed the deal. At least now I won't have any reason to desire anything more aggressive. I know some are into making your own studded tires but that just doesn't appeal to me.

PaulRivers is 100% correct, there is a world of difference between the rolling resistance between these two tires. I wouldn't call the rolling resistance between the two "neglgiible".

I can almost hold the same speed on my commuter bike with the Schwalbe's as my summer slick tires; I can get to that speed but can't maintain it for more than 10 minutes. There is no way that I could even get to that speed on the Nokians much less to hold it. After my 19 mile ride into the office; on the Schwalbes I still feel pretty fresh; but on the Nokian 294s, I'm totally exhausted. If I could put things into perspective; my commute into the office on the Schwalbe Winters takes ~1:15 on fairly clear roads, on the Nokian 294's at least 1:35 with more effort. However, on snowy roads, the time to commute into the office on the Schwalbe's increases drastically as the depth of the snow increase while the time on the Nokians only increase marginally.

If your mounting a 294 on the front and running the Schwalbe on the back, you won't get nearly as much rolling resistance as running Nokians on both front and on the back.

T.J.

Thanks... fortunately my commute is shorter than that - 6.7 miles 1-way. I certainly admire your stamina - doing that much of a commute on any studded tire sounds impressive to me, though I agree that the MWs work surprisingly well on bare pavement. It isn't even all that bad running 30 psi on it. In fact, I wasn't in a hurry to switch back to the "regular" tires last spring, but decided it was probably best to go easy on the MWs.

Different folks have different opinions here... some think the rolling difference is negligible, and some don't. I'm just going to have to experiment and find out how I can personally best manage the trade-offs. Maybe I'll only have an Extreme in the front. Maybe I'll buy a spare wheel so I can quickly swap between the two tires in the front (and have spare parts in case of a problem with the original wheel). Maybe I'll sell the MWs. My main hope right now is that I won't feel a desire to buy a third variety of studded tire after this.

All of the input is certainly appreciated in any case. :beer:

Be careful what you hope for... you may start desiring a dedicated winter bike, so you don't have to switch wheels back and forth... ask me how I know. :innocent: :D

My only experience is with M+G's. A 35 mile ride on bare pavement is no problem, and in fact, quite enjoyable.

Yes.... give yourself to the Dark Side.... you desire one... look into your heart.... you know it to be true.... IT IS YOUR DESTINEY!!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_omy3drn3gN...arth-vader.jpg

gotta have 3:

A) with narrow studded touring tires for light snow or occasional ice
B) with wide studded MTB tires fur riding in snow storm and deeper snow and ice
c) summer bike with high pressure road tires for when the roads are clear of snow and ice

I actually intend on only keeping 4 where D) is my lightweight joy riding bike