Ryan_M

I need to ride in the winter due to knee issues. As long as I ride it's ok, as soon as I shut it down for the season they throw fits. I'd rather do my own dental work than ride on a trainer so I'm planning to boot around the neighborhood, even if I only get 20km in it'll keep the juices flowing. I bought XC skis last year and a studded fatty for the trails this year, but those are not always possible or convenient.

I don't plan on riding in snow on the hybrid but there might be a dusting or a bit of slush on the streets. Currently I have conti speedrides which are awesome but the tread is pretty tight. Any opinion on how they'd deal with light winter duty? I suspect I should get something more appropriate but I don't want buzzing knobbies. Any recommendations?

Vermilion

Although I don't have experience with these tires, a couple possibilities are:

Specialized Hemisphere (700x38), advertised as low rolling resistance but with a noticeable tread pattern

WTB All Terrain Comp DNA (700x37). They look more aggressive than the above, but WTB advertises low resistance

If you have a good LBS, I would ask there. Around here I can almost always find something suitable in stock, and some online vendors charge a lot to ship tires. I favor tires that mount easily without levers. The faster you can fix a flat in the winter, the better.

hokiefyd 

It would help to know your desired tire size. There are plenty of light XC tires that would probably do well in your conditions. Look also at one of several winter-specific tires, like one of Continental's Top Contact Winter tires, or like Michelin's Star Grip.

Assuming you can go up to 40-622, there are many gravel tires in the 40-42mm size range that would offer you better grip while not beating you up with an overly aggressive tread.

Ryan_M

Sorry my bad. I mentioned I currently use conti Speedrides (which AFAIK) are only available in 700x42. However, should've included the size since obviously not everyone is going to be familiar with that tire.

hokiefyd 

Wow. No, that's my bad! I've previously used, and often recommend, the Speed Rides, so I should have picked up on that! Maybe I overlooked it.

In this case, I recommend looking at the "monster cross" tire category. There is a plethora of choice in this size category. For example:

https://www.cxmagazine.com/best-mons...ubeless-review

Many of those with "small" knobs will be consistent with good slushy performance. Many reviews will note things like "poor mud shedding" and "low traction" with those smaller knob designs, but that would work well for snow traction, since winter tires actually try to keep snow packed in the tread to provide traction against snow on the ground.

DorkDisk

I've been using those SpeedRides on my winter bike for 3 winters now. They roll fast and have enough bite when I need it. I usually ride into the teens (F); any colder or icy roads is when I stay inside. If I had to pick something a bit more rugged, I'd pick something like WTB Nano 700.

I'm in Manhattan where the salt is the only dependable service left so not much snow on the roads; I do ride it on dirt and dirt-y roads as well where there is mud/sludge. So far, so good.

Vermilion

Just a polite suggestion: You might consider switching the concave brake spacers to the thinner ones inside to bring your calipers closer to parallel.

DorkDisk

Thank you; they are set up so arms are vertical when it hits the rim, any closer and I risk pads in spokes. The curvy shiny part might be misleading your eye also and there's a matte black part that is hard to see.

Going back to winter tires, whenever I have to ride and the weather is poor (sleet, snow, freezing rain) I take Citibike, which use Marathon Plus.