Originally Posted by
corynardin
I have a vintage Schwinn touring frame that I built up with old components I had, 2x9 Ultegra shifters, cantilever brakes, 700x32C tires. The frame is made for 27" wheels, and the whole braking situation has never been great. I ride mostly dirt/gravel paths with some undulating hills, but nothing crazy. I had a lot of problems when riding in 2-6" of snow, especially in a shaded section that became icy and took forever to melt. I thought about getting a fat bike, but I love to go fast. I just can't decide what to do. I'm looking for the optimal setup that I can go fast when it's dry but still allows me to bike through the snow and ice in the winter. I am seriously considering the State Allroad. It has an option to be able to switch between 700C and 650B. I'm just not sure if 2.1" tires are going to do the trick through the winter. I have also toyed with getting a plus sized MTB and possibly throwing on a rigid fork and some drops. Oh, and I am looking to do this on the cheap (>$1000).
I ride in Denver and don’t find I need studs all that often. Our climate isn’t like other places where snow hangs around for months. I have a bike equipped with studs but I only use it a few times per year. Most of the time a bike with knobs does the job.
I would also suggest that if you want to go the mountain bike route, that you keep the suspension fork. You might even want to get a dual suspension bike. The suspension does more than just provide comfort. It provides control. Whether off-road or in packed snow, the wheel is trying to climb out of ruts and can’t do that because it has to countersteer to get out of the rut. The wheel is trapped against the rut. Often you are going to go down because you simply can’t control the bike.
With a suspension fork, the fork moves and allows the sides of the tires to climb up and out of the rut without countersteer. Control is better.
Rear suspension squats the bike when you pedal and pushes the rear wheel into the ground giving you more traction. It won’t help as much on ice...studs are better there...but it will help in snow and packed snow.
Look for a mountain bike that has a lockable fork so that you can lock out the fork when you don’t need it. A good rear suspension bike would be on old Specialized Epic that uses an inertial valve to lock the rear during pedaling but it opens when it’s hit from below.