The Chainlink

Favorite Winter Tires

I'm going to make my older road bike work for the winter, and I'm interested to see if anyone has suggestions for good winter tires with smaller widths, like 23s or 25s. I've heard a few different opinions on what constitutes a good winter tire here in the city, and this being my first Chicago winter, would like to hear from those that have commuted through one before. I'm from a very snowy place, but I'm used to drywall nails and mountain bikes (don't ask), and I didn't have much of a commute (or a road bike) back there. What sort of tread have you found best for icy conditions? I anticipate a Chicago winter to be very icy. Also, I live pretty far south and deal with way too many potholes/bad roads on my daily commutes to work and school.

PS - If anyone's got a set of 700x23 tires that fit the bill for sale, I'm definitely interested.
(shameless plug)

Thanks, hope no one minds yet another bike winter thread.

-k

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by MagMileMarauder on October 16, 2012 at 11:51pm

There are other threads on this, but snow tires won't provide much benefit in a town that plows and salts the streets aggressively like Chicago. There are times when black ice is present, especially after a thaw or rain/freeze cycle on side streets. In a time like that ice/snow tires will be beneficial, but that will be a rare exception.

  I would go with 32c tires as well. I'm sure a lot of people will swear by 23c tires, but I personally don't believe they work that great with all the potholes we have in the city. Perhaps I'm wrong and biased, and I like more air between my rims and asphalt.

Permalink Reply by h' Zerocats on October 16, 2012 at 11:55pm

I'm not sure what we're talking about here. Studded tires do not necessarily make good "snow" tires.

I put studded tires on one of my mountain bikes last year and there was a total of two days that they were sort of necessary.


Dovah, can you give some details of your daily commutes? Are we talking 8 blocks on sidewalks and side streets, or cross-town on main arteries? Makes a huge difference in winter bike choices.

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on October 16, 2012 at 11:59pm
Permalink Reply by globalguy on October 17, 2012 at 12:10am

Schwalbe.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 17, 2012 at 6:10am
Permalink Reply by Dovah Cat on October 17, 2012 at 7:36am

Sorry about that! Didn't see these threads in my search.

Permalink Reply by Will on October 29, 2012 at 11:55am

Hey Kevin, in a previous thread you stated you have Vittoria Randonneur 32mm tires and Planet Bike 45mm Cascadia fenders on your Swobo. As you might remember, I have the exact same bike, maybe a size smaller than yours. Any trouble fitting those fenders on the bike? Did you have to cut them?

My Swobo has the stock Vittoria Randonneur 28mm tires, with smaller Planet Bike road fenders. I'm thinking of going wider for the winter.



Kevin C said:

Permalink Reply by Kevin C Dormant on October 29, 2012 at 12:39pm
I actually have the Vittoria Randonneur 32mm tires and Planet Bike 45mm Cascadia fenders set up on two bikes. The rear fender does require a bit of persuasion. The fender/tire clearance is excellent at the bottom bracket and near the seat stay/brake area. The included fender stays are just long enough to give adequate clearance for the rear of the fender and mudflap assembly. I have "solved" this problem by removing the fender stay rubber caps, and tightening the fender bolts with barely a half a cm of the fender stay protruding.
Permalink Reply by Will on October 29, 2012 at 1:15pm

Thanks, Kevin. I'm going to try that setup for winter.

Permalink Reply by Amber K on October 29, 2012 at 2:27pm

I've used Schwalbe Marathon Winter Studded 700 for the last two or three years. They're great on ice.  That's the reason I bought 'em.  I really like thin tires for the snow.   Yeah, winter was so mild last year I didn't really need 'em.  



h' said:

I'm not sure what we're talking about here. Studded tires do not necessarily make good "snow" tires.

I put studded tires on one of my mountain bikes last year and there was a total of two days that they were sort of necessary.

Permalink Reply by Juan 2-3 or more mi. on October 29, 2012 at 4:34pm

After I am done with my 700c X35 Nokians at 58psi, I will try the Marathons next to see if it is less slow going than these.

Amber K said:

I've used Schwalbe Marathon Winter Studded 700 for the last two or three years. They're great on ice.  That's the reason I bought 'em.  I really like thin tires for the snow.   Yeah, winter was so mild last year I didn't really need 'em.  



h' said:

I'm not sure what we're talking about here. Studded tires do not necessarily make good "snow" tires.

I put studded tires on one of my mountain bikes last year and there was a total of two days that they were sort of necessary.

Permalink Reply by Will on November 10, 2012 at 4:45pm

Kevin, I set up my Novak with 32mm Vittoria Randonneur Hyper tires, a folding tire a bit slicker and lighter than the normal Randonneur tire. The 45mm Cascadia fenders went on smoothly, except I could not fit the plastic brake bridge connector under the brake bridge, so I just left it off, utilizing the two steel struts and the chain stay bridge only. The fender seems solid. I think Planet Bike changed these fenders recently, I got the latest version.

Kevin C said:

I actually have the Vittoria Randonneur 32mm tires and Planet Bike 45mm Cascadia fenders set up on two bikes. The rear fender does require a bit of persuasion. The fender/tire clearance is excellent at the bottom bracket and near the seat stay/brake area. The included fender stays are just long enough to give adequate clearance for the rear of the fender and mudflap assembly. I have "solved" this problem by removing the fender stay rubber caps, and tightening the fender bolts with barely a half a cm of the fender stay protruding.

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