Winter Bicycle Tires for the city

I talk about what winter tires you should get for your bicycle for riding in the city.

Talk a bit about the Continental Top Contact Winter II tire.

Note: this advice does not apply to your city if your region allows for studded tires on cars.

[MountainParameters]

When we got full suspension eBikes with 27.5x2.8 tires, as the local municipal gov't (Banff) gave a $50.00 rebate for studded tires, I grabbed the only available size of 2.25 from our LBS. When I was able to order 2.5" from the LBS, I gave them a try, and found I actually preferred the 2.25" over the 2.5" (even though the 2.5" cost a lot more). We encounter 3 types of winter road conditions other than pavement: slush, hard packed snow, and ice. I find that the studs perform least in the slush, best on the hard snow, and much better than my cleat clad shoes on ice. Maybe not needed in Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal, but if I lived in any cities between Toronto and Vancouver, based on 6 years of local riding in winter, I'd not ride in the winter without studs. Consider that that one patch of ice where you go down on when young and ride away from, may mean the difference between a hip replacement or not 20 years down the road.

[kxwoqcd]

I'm from Montreal and live all over Canada. I live in Ottawa and Regina and Winter Plus helped me a lot. They were expensive and lost many studs or metal spikes, which it's frustrating. Now I am cheaping out. Using summer tires in winter and when it's 2 nasty. I just walk.

[rmcauley]

Ooh I spotted the daylight running light in that handlebar footage!

[pattybikes]

Awesome. Thanks for the tips. I ride a RadExpand 5 and it comes with these fat knobby tires (20x4) for which there are no winter or studded options. I found that lowering my PSI made a huge difference, probably due to the increase in surface exposure.

[NonLegitNation]

1:03 that's exactly what I was thinking. I paid over $100 for ONE 96North studded tire, ONE damn tire for over $100 and I used it for about a week and took it off because as you said the roads got salted and the studs weren't needed. I used that studded tire on my front and that Continental Contact Plus tire on my rear but found it provided almost no traction in deep snow. I know it's summer now but I'm thinking ahead to next winter and two winters ago when we actually got snow it sucked, no snow last winter because of stupid El Nino. I was running 2.35 inch Schwalbe Smart Sam's and they just weren't very good in snow, especially on those days where I walked out of work and there was 6 inches of unplowed and unshoveled snow on the ground. This coming winter I'm just going with the gnarliest tread I can get and the widest tires I can fit on my bike. For the front wheel I already have a tire, it's a 27.5 x 2.8 inch Michelin WildAM tire made for soft/muddy terrain. Unfortunately, I can't go as wide on my rear so I'm probably going to go with the same Michelin tire but in 2.40 inches. And I'm running tubes, so I'll probably air those down to about 20psi.

[tcrwild]

Maxxis mud wrestler 700x33 been on these all winter here in Minnesota been a brutal year so far ice storms lots of snow below ZERO temps. Been winter riding for 11 years now worst winter ive rode in this year.. Nothing ive tryed can touch these maxixis mud wrestlers basic folding clinchers there lightweight. Bite snow an ice killer and rolls nice on pavement. Uses a softer compound even in below zero temps bites good yet flexes nice for good bite. Releases snow good as well. No flats yet in 500 miles.. I run decent psi to 70psi at all temps nice am supple to yet..

[gottalovethetube]

Meanwhile in Norway…😏 btw, do you or anyone know if theres a big difference between 20 inch wheels and 28 inch wheels in snow and ice? Width is the same

[jamesmungall]

You only need to wipe out once on a patch of ice to make you wish you had put up with the noise and expense of having studs. If you have persistent snow where you live then you are going to encounter ice patches

[onewheelisbetterthan]

I commute on a 32 inch unicycle and I can ride on the snow but the ice is scary and I've fallen hard enough to be done with that. However I'd like to fit one of my smaller unicycles with some of the best most metal spikes price doesn't even matter tires what would you recommend? I want to have good faith in the tires and that's worth any cost. I'd definitely only need them a few months of the year