Originally Posted by
MinnMan
Personally, I don't ride on frozen lakes. Also, this year I've been riding mostly without studs, favoring wide (43 mm) gravel tires at low pressure. This is where Hypnotoad and I differ. Both of us go down now and again. On Saturday it was warm (in the 20s) and I went down emerging from a driveway and hitting something in between thick slush and hardpack, just as I cornered onto the street. I don't think that was a studs vs. no studs issue - the whole corner of frozen stuff gave way and the fault was mostly my inattention. Just a bruise on my hip to show for it.
Cross-street sluff is awful on every tire I've tried, I tried it with studs, without studs, and from 28mm to 4". The snow-sludge cars drag from quiet local streets/driveways onto the shoulders of busy streets just sucks! It's unpredictable and difficult to control. I'll move to the traffic lane when I can, and when I can't ... try to float it and pucker up!
Hope your bruises heal up quick ... I always hate those hip bruises waking me up at night when I roll on to 'the wrong side'.