Pahana

I'm new to winter cycling as I have lived in Miami and Phoenix most of my life. I'm now living in Northern Arizona where it snows a little in the winter . We don't get a lot of snow and if we do most of it will melt in a few days . What were looking at is patches of snow and ice under the canopy and mud in the open. I don't want to buy a fat bike as I don't have room for another bike. I'm going to use a carbon 29er hardtail as I want to keep my 27.5 fs as is. I'm going to have to buy 4 tires as my wife rides with me and also has a 29er fs. I've looked at most if not all the snow tires but would like a little advice on which to purchase for winter riding . This is not Minnesota so it can snow 15 inches and 2 days later be 60 degrees. Like I said patches of snow and mud. If someone could give me a recommendation and point me in the right direction that would be helpful. We're looking at 400 to 500 dollars here so I'd like to get it right the first time.

Viich

Buy a cheap wheelset, studded tires, and wash your bike. Or just ride, and wash your bike. Lots of folks here in Ottawa just use normal knobbies, I like having the studs.
Clothing, esp. mitts or gloves, are probably further outside your experience.

wphamilton

I see snow infrequently, but quite a bit of ice in some years. As for the snow, if it's a couple of inches or less, mostly fresh (since it melts) just ride through it. No special tires, regular road bike, no problem.

Where it has been a problem is when there was a lot of ice, snow on top ankle deep or more, and it begins to melt during the day and re-freezes overnight. Treacherous hidden ruts and slippery, that's where I'd want your wide "snow tires" but more for the ice underneath.

PaulRivers

It will certainly work, but keep in mind that riding in temps just above and below freezing will mean your bike will get splattered with a ton of grit, dirt, and road junk. Including splattering it onto your chain and derailler. Fyi, since you mention it's an expensive bike that you probably want to keep running smoothly. If you already ride in the mud and wet you're probably already familiar with the effects and maintenance drawbacks.

If you might run into ice the Schwable Winter tire is the lightest studded tire I recommend. 2 rows of studs:
https://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_t...d_tires/winter

They make another version called the "Schwalbe Marathon Winter" that I use on my bike that has 4 rows of studs, but it might be overkill for your situation.

If you don't want studs Continenal makes a tire called the Top Contact Winter:
https://www.continental-tires.com/bi...inter2-premium

I personally will not ride in the winter where there's any chance of ice with no studs so I don't really recommend it.

Riveting

+1 Schwalbe Marathon Winter They roll over black ice like it isn't even there, but you need to slow your roll around corners on dry pavement, since friction is reduced by the studs. There's videos of people doing tight turns on ice rinks while using these.

dabac

wphamilton

Would you really want studded tires for occasional ice patches in the shade, that usually melts off in a few days?

rumrunn6

you might just see how it goes with what you have

there are (non studded) "winter" tires I've seen (but not used) with an interesting tread (Michelin Star Grip Winter Tire) & I have bought tires several times happily from BikeTiresDirect

I'm a fan of fenders in general, but especially for melty snow & mud

Daniel4

If you encounter any ice at all, get studded tires. Don't risk a wipe out even if you're riding on trails only and especially on roads.

When you get home, make sure you wipe and dry your bike and get rid of the slush under your bottom bracket. I just spent $180 replacing a rusted bottom bracket for neglecting this over a three year period.

Jim from Boston

I ride entirely paved and mostly well-tended roads in the winter on a Road Bike with 30C tires. Early after joining Bike Forums, I considered studded tires and was convinced by this post by @tsl of Rochester, NY:

JonathanGennick 

I bought a set of those Star Grip tires last year as an experiment. I have the 40 mm version. They work well on hard-pack snow, are surprisingly ok but not like studded on the sort of white ice that we have left over in below freezing temps on our local roads after the plows come through. They fail completely on wet, clear ice when the temps are just on freezing or slightly above. I was pretty happy with straight-line traction and braking in all but the wet-ice case. Just don't corner too aggressively.

zze86

Just run regular tires and slow down.

Many (most?) Winter commuters here in the upper midwest I see riding around don't even bother with studded tires. Granted our roads are generally plowed but plowing doesn't catch everything, especially those freeze/thaw puddles or freshly dropped snow.

Studded tires are not a cure-all for slippery, deeply rutted, and/or poor road conditions.

Studs are meant to work best on ice. Unless you encounter frequent patches of freeze/thaw puddles that you simply cannot just ride around or get a lot of fresh powder coatings on top of a slick road surface I wouldn't bother for the amount of cash outlay and number of times they would actually be useful.

They really don't add much in deep(er) snow. A wet, slushy rutted road is better served with either a really thin tire or a really fat tire. Heavily rutted, frozen road? Walk. Even with studs. Frozen muddy stuff is not bad, free traction particles!

YMMV given the different experience, expectations and different climates we ride in. I'd try it with regular tires before dropping $500 on studded tires though.

Jim from Boston

Not to be argumentative, but I would add: Not infrequently at temperatures around freezing, it's hard to tell wet pavement from black ice.

Khb

Yes, it only takes a little "black ice" to put a rider out of commission. I commute nearly daily, and the extra cost/slightly degraded ride is well worth it for me.

wphamilton

How occasional is it where you are? We'll get basically no snow, but some ice now and again, but dealing with patches here and there only maybe 10 or 15 days, I don't really even consider studded tires.

Khb

Living next to Denver, we don't get a large amount of snow (but when it does, most of the cities plow the snow directly into the bike lane ... where it melts ... and then refreezes every night for a week or so). The first year I was bicycle commuting here, I hit a couple of bad patches ... didn't get terribly injured either time ... but sliding out into traffic at speed was pretty terrifying (that the cars missed me was luck, not skill on my part). Since getting studded tires, I haven't had any issues (well, I did have an issue when I was *walking* the bike ... in retrospect the studded tires were safer than my shoes ;>). The Schwabe winter marathon's go on about the time I've got a good expectation of snow, and leave them on until the night time temps are consistently above freezing. Nov-Mar more or less.

Even when there isn't snow, on my commute paths I frequently find some bits where there's ice ... at least in the morning.

rumrunn6

for example, maybe not from ice, but my Wife & several BF members recently had falls breaking wrists. so that's 6-8 weeks with a cast for a simple fracture, more if you get screws installed. then there's recovery after the cast is removed. not like new. weird shooting pains, weakness & other assorted discomforts. maybe a rider is good at falling, maybe he/she isn't so good at falling. reminds me, I took a ride last year, hit some ice with my gravel bike, almost fell. so I rode back home to get my studded bike. we get lingering ice on shaded trails when the rest of the town is dry & clear

wphamilton

Northern Arizona gets colder on average than here and a lot more snow, so maybe, but when he said patches and freezing overnight but melting daily I'm very familiar with that. Since I've commuted every day, every winter, I get that a lot. You can watch for shaded areas, or where it's been shaded earlier in the day, mud, drainage etc, and mostly avoid the patches. Where you can't avoid it, if you know it's there you can get across patches of ice without that much problem. I think that we tend to project from our own climate, and of course people in more frigid climates dealing with ice all the time are going to chime in more. They have more experience with it after all.


But I really believe that it can be overkill sometimes. I'd actually like an excuse to get studded tires but unless you're on ice more consistently and can't avoid it, it's a stretch. They're great for ice but for everything else, they're pretty horrible.

rumrunn6

lol, yeah I'd be surprised if anyone in Arizona ever buys studded bike tires (which don't cost $500 btw, don't remember who suggested that)

PaulRivers

You're probably thinking of Phoenix, Az which is a hot desert where it only dips (just barely) below freezing on the absolutely coldest days of the year/decade.

In contrast though, Flagstaff Az has a ski resort called the Arizona Snowbowl which is big enough to provide "200 full-time jobs and $12.08 million in economic output for the city of Flagstaff":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Snowbowl

1,000 feet elevation - phoenix
7,000 feet elevation - flagstaff
12,633 feet elevation - humphreys peak (highest elevation in the state)

The state of arizona has both hot-desert weather, and minnesota-level cold and snow, depending on where you are and what the elevation is.

rumrunn6

oh man, I have enough trouble w February 78 degree days in MA & taking my snow tires of the car, only to get 4 nor'easters in freakin April. I suppose Arizonian cyclists would adhere to the N+1 or more philosophy

PaulRivers

To be fair most arizonans are likely sticking to their local metro area and aren't travelling through the other parts of the state when the weather would be iffy. On my way to arizona in may, I drove through colorado which as you may know is at a high elevation in the mountains...and got an extra day added onto my journey because there was a snow storm going on. I thought...coming from minnesota where it was warm and spring...no one else could possibly have worse weather than us...

P.S. I ran across this graphic of the difference between the highest and lowest elevation point in the state. There's only 1 state with significantly more elevation difference (alaska) than arizona. Arizona is #6 :

rumrunn6

experimenting w the car my kids share/drive this year. put on some aggressive all-year tires. when the weather is really bad they don't drive. & if they do, they take my Cherokee w snow tires. having to changeover 3 cars is no fun. even Wifey stays home when the weather is bad. but when she was 1st pregnant 22+ years ago, her front wheel drive car slid off the road as she was coming home from work. so that clinched it for me, seasonal snow tires for her ...

wipekitty

Winter in northern Arizona sounds somewhat similar to the Denver area, with fast and heavy snowfall followed by quick melting. When I commuted there I had one bike with studded tires, but only used it a few times a year.

I wonder if it would be an easier (and more efficient) option to pick up a (cheap) front wheel for both bikes and keep it studded. That way, you could quickly swap out the wheel on days when there's a threat of ice, gaining traction from a studded front tire, but go back to regular the next day when it melts.

flyen

Clothing guide when cycling
Like windproof jacket, Cycling kit, Cycling Mask, Gloves, Sunglasses and so on.
Here are hot now!