Studded Tires

I've toyed with the idea ever since I started winter commuting three years ago: studded snow tires. But they're expensive, and I was fairly satisfied with my solution of using super-knobbies that are deflated to about 40 lbs for better grip. Seemed to work pretty well: No falls last winter; only one fall the winter before.

But what fun are bikes if you can't tinker and buy things for them? So I got a set of Innova (I think) studded tires from Bike Tires Direct (I think that's where I got them). Not super expensive.

They're fine. Clickety-clickety on the pavement. So far no studs have fallen out. But do they prevent me from falling? I think they will only prevent slips on glare ice (which is a good thing, for the few times I ride on glare ice). In snow, however, where the studs don't hit pavement, I'm afraid they're useless. In fact, they're probably worse than my super-knobbies, which chew up the snow and grab hold.

I'll leave them on for a while; but I think I'll probably end up putting the knobbies back on and riding carefully on ice.

Update: Big snow this week on top of slush. As a result, the roads and sidewalks are VERY icy (underneath a layer of hardpack). Perfect conditions, hypothetically, for the studded tires. Do they work? I didn't fall, so they didn't not work. Maybe they are the best I can do in admittedly difficult conditions. As long as I ride as cautiously as I would without them, perhaps they're worth having.