mmeiser

Wide tires are for float. They are awesome for groomer snow trails and riding on top of thick and tracked up choppy snow.

I assume, as I think everyone here does, that we are all specifically talking about road commuting. Commuting is one of the very few times I actually use studded tires. Whats more I always ride 38-42mm. This is because narrower tires cut through the snow and get down to the pavement (or ice) to give you traction. If the world was just snow I would never run studded tires. I would go for my big 29x3.25" or 26x5" tires. They give predictibility by riding on top of the snow and giving a predictible slip / friction ratio. However specificallybwhen I am commutig and road riding I encounter alot of icy situations and that isnwhen I break out the studded 38mm tires. I mostly save the fattoes for recreational amd off road riding. Im fact in my 20 some years of winter riding only once have I wanted studded tires on my fat bike amd that was a sketchy situation where snow wasmelting on a hill sode collected on a trail, refroze and sent me sliding down a hillside some 25 feet to the river below. Luckily I knew exactly what I was doing. It didn't make it much less dangerous but I would say I did a deliberate and "controlled" descent onnthe non-drive side of my fat bike. Ever since then I have been wanting studded tires for my fat bike but they are $250 each and notnonce since have I ever needed them.

On the other hand I have put thousand thousamds of miles on my various studded 38mm amd 42mm tires over the years and not died. To be clear "dieing" is what I call it when you hit black ice with your front tire... because that is what it feels like when you hit the deck .02 milliseconds later. I have not broken any mones luckily on ice but I do have a "not even once" philosphy on riding bikes onnice without studded tires. Its never an acceptable risk.

This is not to say I do not ride most of the winter without studded tires. Where I live we will have a good storm and then it will all melt withim days or a week and go back to being 45 degrees. Most of the time studded tires are unecessary but as mentioned elseware in this thread it is when the snow is melting that things are at theirnkost dangerous because its the freeze / thaw cyclesnthat create black ice conditions.

I was once riding the blue ridge parkway in january on a sunny blue day and came around the corner into hollow where there was no sun and it was 20 degrees cooler and found myself unexpectedly on black ice. Instead of layingnit down I tried and suceeded innkeeping it upright. The problem was I just picked up to much speed to correct on the gravel and grass shoulder. When I hit the ditchnI was probably doing 20 mph. I was in such pain I could not believe I didn't break my bike or my colar bone. Indeed I walked for a long while until I got back on and coasted into wayneborough where I got a hotel and started making plans to seek medical treatment and return home. I had assumed my trip was over but the next morning I woke up and my shoulder felt much better. I realized their was nothing broken or torn and I was able to continue my tour to Ashville and on to Charleston. If I did the trip again I would probably take studded tires. At least on the front.