Hey on the subject of college kids, fixed gears, and winter. I ride my fixed now but I was wondering how they ride in winter, I got rid of my car so I am going to ride all winter on either my fixed or my 29er mtb, and obviously I will figure out how it handles the snow when winter comes, but just out of curiosity how do thin road tires with virtually no tred do in the snow? I mean, I have never had anything but bmx and mountain bikes prior to now so I don't really know what expect come what I hope is a winter with heavy snow.

skinny tires actually do pretty well in a lot of snowy conditions. They cut through the snow down to the pavement much better than fat knobby tires. Ice, on the other hand, is just as slippery no matter what tires you are on. I'm getting a set of Nokians with carbide steel studs in them for this winter, since I plan to not drive much if at all.

+1 on everything mac says.

also, not-knobby tires don't accumulate snow in the grooves so i find that they're less slippery than knobby tires.

I rode 700x23/700x28 (front/back) all winter without too much problems. The only day that I had issues was when there was 6" of snow that hadn't been plowed but tire tracks in it from cars, my wheels would cut through the undisturbed snow, but get stuck/tossed around whenever I hit tire tracks.

The rest of the winter was pretty much fine, riding through fresh snow (that hasn't been driven on much) is good times. Riding on plowed/packed snow roads is generally no worries, except I found that I'd have to slow down to under 12 mph to take a lot of turns or my bike would slip out from under me.

True that.

I've ridden on some 700 x 28c knobby tires back in my college days. they worked great. Still have 'em and plan to put those on for this coming winter.

I'm a big fan of the cyclocross tires. They're only knobby when you need them in corners...

Thanks for the info, sounds like I get to keep riding my fix then, which is good stuff.

Last year was my first winter riding and I have big ole mountain bike with fairly wide knobby tires. And it worked just fine. On the other hand some of my friends say that they prefer skinny tires.Age old battle ain't it?

Hey but isn't fat the new thin? Or was that about something else?

Be careful, if it's a nice bike and you want to keep it nice. Sand and salt on the roads means a lot of wear and tear on your bike. Everything pretty much needs to be rebuilt about mid-winter if you bike everyday. I have a bike I use exclusively in the winter. It's my winter beater. I would not recommend using your "nice" bike in the winter.

Skinny tires, of course.

I've always sworn by big fat floaty tires in the winter. I still have a set of Specialized More Extreme 2.5s hanging out. Not quite Pugslyish, but close. Oh crap, is it time to build up a winter beater again? I think I'll try thin knobbies on 27"wheels this year. I do wish someone made some thin (~1.5") knobbies in a 26" size.

I spent the first part of last year riding a pair of 700x30 Ritchey speed cross tires and only fell once. Around Christmas I switched to some Innova studded tires (700x35). I never fell on the Innovas, but they were slow as hell. I'm not sure the trade-off was worth it. If you're going to ride studded I would spend the extra $$ and get the Nokians. The studs on the Innovas are pretty worn after just a couple months of riding.

Hmm, I got a rusty Rossin track bike for an all around beater, but you guys describe this wear as fairly high. Would I be stupid to take it out there? The frame itself is in rough shape cosmetically, but it rides well. The parts are roughed up a bit, but they're all really nice. I know the answer is "I should" get another bike, but jeeze, I already have too many.

Would 25mm tires with almost no tread be ok?

That's what I did last winter. FUN!!!!

The best part about no tread tires is they're really prone to flats, especially when you're 20 miles from home and it's -30 before the windchill.

That's why I love em.

in my trendier* life I went about on 22mm tubulars as if it were as natural as falling asleep after two beers. lately though, i've been increasingly smitten with the idea of going very slowly. I have since allotted for frequent use of my karate monkey with its 2.3" tires and my yet to be purchased pugsley with its 3.7" tires. these sorts of tires smash snow. they also come with vroom noises.

*until this year