I am thinking about winter riding this year, if I can get the garb right to keep warm, but not turn into a sweat popsicle.
But I have been thinking about tires, and was wondering, if I am a rider in dry weather only and on paved streets, is there any reason why I shouldn't just keep my slicks rolling through the winter?

Would spiky tires help in rain if I get caught in the rain below freezing temps? I know roads ice up fast sometimes. What do you all think?
Never done this before and don't know what surprises could come during winter riding. I live in Maryland, and we get a few days of snow per winter. Nothing real bad. Except a couple years ago when we had some unusual snow storms.

Since I live near Atlanta they barely let me post in the Winter forum, but from my perspective your slicks are ok through winter in dry weather and paved streets. I ride the same bike and tires year 'round.

There are surprises and you have to watch for them, even here. We'll get a lot of freezing rain, and hardly ever snow. Hidden patches of ice, oily slush, frozen mud, really slick leaves, if there are any wood surface bridges those can be unpleasant surprises. I'd love to have some studded tires, but even keeping up with them would be too much trouble for just a few days use - and this last winter I'd never have put them on. Big knobbies, I'd seriously consider those for some of your weather.

You can surely try to ride in slicks over ice but you will pay with a damage to the body. A good compromise are Continental TopContact Winter tires which have no spikes but are not the fastest on dry pavement either. However, they resist slippage on ice or hardened snow and give you extra time to recover balance. I ride on them in late fall and early winter when icing up is a possibility.

I rode through my first winter with my smooth tires, I believe there is a picture of them in the link in my signature. It was supposedly a mild winter, but we had a few days of snow not more than 6 inches deep. It CAN be done.

With that said- I fell 5 times.

Go slowly. Expect that any and all surfaces are slippery. You will learn really fast to take turns slowly and straight upright (no leaning!). Always brake gently, and with your rear wheel mostly. A front wheel can go from fine to sideways in an instant, dumping you off, while a rear slide can be felt easier in my opinion and you can save a skid. Sometimes you will end up on the ground and have no idea why.
Be careful over snow that has already been marked. Sometimes it freezes hard in those shapes and the ridges or bumps can knock your wheel out of your hands, or even if the snow is soft, the difference in resistances can be nerve-wracking.

Always wear a helmet in winter: I'm of the opinion that even if you don't wear one other times, the increased risk of falling is worth protecting against, plus it keeps your head warm. I use ear muffs under mine so that heat can escape through the helmet vents, it helps me regulate temperature a bit easier.

If you ride with traffic, don't be afraid to take that right tire track if its snowy and icy out. A bike lane is usually roughed up from splashed and frozn slush, and if you keep far to the right, passing cars will slush you. If you are in the tire track they have better visibility to see you, and will swing out wider, usually into an adjacent lane or the oncoming lane to pass where their tires are in other established tracks.
You can also simply not ride on those bad days.

I plan to stud my tires if I'm commuting (/crossfingers) and it snows a lot. Through trial and a lot of error, I think I can do it properly this year, and I can attest that studding your slick tire does NOT hurt the tire at all: you can remove the studs and continue riding with the same tire.

Anyway, let us know how you do during your first winter, whichever tires you go with!

I've run Specialized All Conditions (it's not only a tire - it's also an oxymoron) and Serfas Seca many times in the winter. The slicks are just fine on dry pavement and do remarkably well in an inch or two of "virgin" snow. You will have little control in snow that already has ruts as it will throw you around. The slicks also seem to do better than knobbies on smooth ice (extreme care must be used to make sure any changes of speed or direction are very small and butter smooth.) I'd recomend something with studs if there is any chance of encountering ice.

If the pavement is dry, slicks are fine. Just don't call it "Winter Riding", OK ? . But if there is any chance you're going to encounter ice, those slicks could be a serious problem. Studded tires are about the only thing that will safely work on ice. If you are on snow, any decent knobby tire will work reasonably well. The fatter the better. I run fat tires when the snow is deep, knobby 2.25 when the snow is packed, and studs when it's icy, which is most of the time on pavement from Sept through March. If there is no ice, it's spring time. If it's above 45F it's summer.

I ride slicks year round also, but *never* in icey conditions. For that, you'll have to obtain the wisdom of those more experienced than I. I've ridden on the road in snowy conditions, but ice.... no way, not for me.

I have an extra bike now with studded tires.. when there is Ice on the street
I use it.

when above 0C, I ride a different bike..

If there is no ice and only light snow you should not have any issues, I would not want to ride in anything more than an inch or so of snow on slicks.

The only thing that is really safe on ice is studs, so if you get lots of ice I would buy studs

studded tires for black ice

I will keep a bike with homemade studded tires for the days it is needed and another bike or 2 when not needed. Cost me about 5 bucks a tire , I used some used tires I had layin around. I live in Michigan

Howeeee what do you think about having just one studded tire mounted on a spare front wheel for rare use? And not changing the back. Do you think it would keep someone upright, riding carefully across ice patches once or twice a year, where you don't have much issue with snow?

I've ridden the last 3 or 4 Ottawa winters on slicks between 23 and 32 mm. Works better than the 1.75" studded Schwalbes I had before that. The narrower tires cut through the snow a lot better and traction is actually pretty good. I remember my first winter (with the Schwalbes) being pretty icy, but I haven't had an issue with ice on the slicks. They use a lot of road salt around here, though, so we get a lot of slippery snow but not much road ice.

That would certainly help, at the very least it would make for a more controllable fall than if the front washed out.

I find the main roads in Ottawa are pretty easy to ride once the slush is plowed away. A portion of my commute is on Montreal rd which is always cleared of snow pretty quick. But a good portion of my commute is on side roads where the snow removal is next to non-existent. I think the studded knobbies were a big help when riding roads rutted with hard packed snow & ice.

I asked myself that question several years ago. My inner dialog went something like this. "Of course you can. You got it dude. You're the man. Harden up, How hard can it be? "

Evidently - No I can't, I didn't have it , I wasn't the man, and it's hard as hell to stay upright over icy surfaces on a long term basis.

I got tired of picking my fat ass up off the the icy ground and I went and bought a set of studs. Now I'm still not the man but I'm also not on the ground very much either.

This makes much sense. My own priorities have also changed more to staying off the ground recently.

My breaking point came when the bill for replacing torn clothes started looking like twice the money I would have spent on a pair of studded tires.

I've ridden in winter weather for the past 5 years and I absolutely fear getting stuck in snowy and icy weather. I did it once and slipped around on the roads the entire ride home from work and hated every moment of it. This year I'm buying studded tires. Finally, studded tires.

I'm also looking for a winter bicycle at the local bicycle co-op. Something cheap and sturdy to throw a pair of studded tires onto and ride the heck out of it this winter.

As well, and don't laugh -- or do laugh -- I'm thinking knee and shin guards because I'm super clumsy.

You'll be surprised at how well studs work. Shin guards not required. You'll also be surprised at how fast you go down when you hit the tiniest patch of black ice if you're not riding studs.

The only down side is that they're a bit slower, but if you keep the pressure up, you'll probably not notice.

I have studded tires but hate changing them in and out depending on the conditions. Consequently, this year I got new wheels and will put non studded tires on then so I can change wheels instead of tires according to what is appropriate.

So I gather the consensus is knobby tires is the way I should go?

I've never seen studs without some knobs. I use Nokia 294 and they are very, very good. My wife's bike can't use them and she has some...Michelin Winter tire if I recall and it's good but doesn't have quite as many studs. We are in our 60's and I have two torn rotator cuffs that could be a serious problem to fall on so a good, stable ride is important to me and the 294's are, I think, the best studded tires out there but I think they may only come in 2.25". Run your studded tires a bit on the soft side and just don't make any fast movements. I can ride on glare ice with them (and do, regularly). Studded tires and goods lights are the two most critical things.

For me the solution for transient conditions have been Continental TopContact Winter tires. They lack studs and knobs but are slip resistant - not for riding on pure ice but will get you through occasional ice patches. At the other end, they slow you down on pavement compared to summer tires, but at a barely noticeable level.

Probably the front tire studded is better than none at all..but I think having both is much better,,,I have many bikes so i can fool around depending on the weather,,but If you have only one bike, I would consider finding a cheap mountain bike and putting studded tires on it and use it when the weather requires it. When I say cheap I dont mean junk. This time of the year at garage sales you can find good quality bikes for cheap.

I got this 86 Schwinn High Sierra that probably didnt have more than 2 hours riding on it for 50 bucks.

I will put my studded tires on it,,and pull it out when needed.

Grrrr....how did you get in here!