I haven't heard of a home-brew studded tire which has had any sort of longevity. Even commercially available studded tires can eventually cause a chaffe flat (speaking from personal experience). Depending on how heavy you are, buy a studded for the front and a knobby for the rear - one that has had good reports from other winter riders. I'm using an interim set of knobbys right now - Trek Connection. So far so good. When it gets really slick out it is time to go full studded but until then these seem to be doing the job. They have the same tread profile as an Alpha Bite.