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Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on October 8, 2010 at 1:14pm

look at http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp for one possible solution if you mean riding on ice - I think the thinnest tire is 32x622 which might not fit.

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Permalink Reply by J on October 8, 2010 at 3:41pm

It depends on which frame you have. However, the Schwalbe CX Pro measures in at about 28.5mm and will fit (in the back of the droupouts) on many popular track frames, such as the Bianchi Pista, Pake, IRO, etc. Fork clearance tends to be tighter, but in a pinch, you can easily swap out for a cheap used hybrid/canti fork and run anything you want.

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Permalink Reply by T.C. O'Rourke on October 9, 2010 at 7:26am

Wider vs. narrower and tread vs. slick are hotly debated wintertime tire topics.

My personal experience is that narrower, higher pressure tires with a little tread are best for snowy conditions. With less surface area/weight distribution, they cut through the slush & snow more easily to make contact with the pavement. I have found knobby tires to become clogged with snow and actually *less* functional.

Besides a brief crisis period in 2008(?) the city keeps the roads pretty salted and/or clear of snow and ice. I find there are only one or two occasions a year, ie blizzards, where I find myself actually riding on thick snow or ice. Riding with the specialized tires for these infrequent conditions would be detrimental to performance the other 98% of the time.

My understanding is that studded tires are a major drag when riding on anything other than packed snow or ice and are damaged by riding on clean pavement.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 9, 2010 at 10:04am

All of my bikes have Schwalbe Marathon or Marathon Plus tires. There are a number of different variations available.

Puncture resistance and durability are my priorities, as I do a lot of riding in places with railroad grade crossings and broken glass. Even though the particular tread variants on mine are not the most highly rated for winter traction (rated 2 or 3 out of 5 by manufacturer), I've been happy with them in most conditions.

They have other versions of the tire that are highly rated for winter riding. As a general rule, I like med.-high pressure (rated for 80-90 psi) tires with semi-slick or moderate tread and moderate width (1.25" to 1.75") and find that they work fairly well in most conditions. Bonus - reflective sidewall increases visibility at night.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 11, 2010 at 4:33am

No specific track bike advice, but I recently learned the hard way that tires sizes can fluctuate.
I ride Schwalbe Marathon Supremes 700x35c. I had an Alex AT 400 rim (19 mm wide), which came with the bike. I replaced the rear wheel with a Velocity Dyad (24 mm wide). As a result, the width of the tire increased by 3 mm from 32 to 35 mm. Of course the height decreased by a similar difference. Because of brake clearance, I now have to deflate the tire if I want to take the wheel off, something I didn't have to do before.

Besides that I second the comments about a slick tire, but I also think the compound of the tire makes a difference as well. For example, my beater has IRC Metro Duro tires, which are slick tires. In snowy conditions it slips around quite a bit. The Marathon Supremes, which also are slick tires, track a lot straighter in snowy conditions. It has a much higher quality compound (coupled with a much higher price of course)

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Permalink Reply by J on October 11, 2010 at 4:58am

I'd generally concur with the responses here. Trial and error to find the best combination of tread, width, and pressure is important.

But to specifically address the OP's question of winter/snow/ice friendly configurations for track bikes -- my shop does a lot of these, and also deals with the other Schwalbe tires specifically mentioned above. 32-35c tires when run at low pressures certainly can work in the winter, but the problem is that very few frames can accept them. You're generally limited to 28-29mm max -- which leads us back to the Schwalbe CX Pro, which is the narrowest cross tire on the market.

We've installed them on dozens of track frames to almost uniform acclaim in wintery conditions. Run at low pressures, they're decent in the slush and ice... but it's the snow where this tire is amazing. Fat knobbies are just failures in deep snow because they float on time. Narrow slicks are better because they sink to the hard stuff, but they are terrible on corners, slush, and ice. The CX Pro gives you the best of both worlds. My cyclocross team specifically uses this tire when racing on courses with snow. Tires like the 28mm Panaracer Pasela, Rivendell Ruffy Tuffy, Schwalbe Marathon, etc. may also fit -- but simply won't work as well in the sloppy stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on October 11, 2010 at 5:09am

Any of the Marathon variations are not cheap tires, however, they can pay for themselves in durability and fewer replacement inner tubes needed during the life of the tire. In the years I've been using Marathons on my bikes, I've had to change very few flats. I usually have to change tubes when they've been in the tires a few years or the tires are getting to the end of their useful lives.

For what decent tubes cost now, paying extra for better tires might easily save you $20-30 or more on tubes.

Duppie said:

No specific track bike advice, but I recently learned the hard way that tires sizes can fluctuate.
I ride Schwalbe Marathon Supremes 700x35c. I had an Alex AT 400 rim (19 mm wide), which came with the bike. I replaced the rear wheel with a Velocity Dyad (24 mm wide). As a result, the width of the tire increased by 3 mm from 32 to 35 mm. Of course the height decreased by a similar difference. Because of brake clearance, I now have to deflate the tire if I want to take the wheel off, something I didn't have to do before.

Besides that I second the comments about a slick tire, but I also think the compound of the tire makes a difference as well. For example, my beater has IRC Metro Duro tires, which are slick tires. In snowy conditions it slips around quite a bit. The Marathon Supremes, which also are slick tires, track a lot straighter in snowy conditions. It has a much higher quality compound (coupled with a much higher price of course)

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Permalink Reply by Grocky on October 13, 2010 at 4:39pm

Thanks everyone for your input.
This has been lots of good advice, and I really appriciate it.
I'm not sure which direction I may go, but I am now armed with some good information to make a good decision.
Thanks,
Grocky

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Permalink Reply by Chris B on October 14, 2010 at 3:59am

I had schwalbe marathon winters last year and it was fine on most streets (26" mtb). They are 1.9" and pretty shallow treaded.

If it was snowing heavily that day though, I'd get wobble around in the ruts on the bike lane (snow ruts not ice ruts). At those times I wished I had a deeper tread or wider tire (I had wide knobbies before i got the schwalbes and it handled 3" snow with ruts much better).

Riding in the car lane instead of bike lane was often safer as far as handling goes.
i.e exactly the opposite experience of tc o'rourke. funny i've heard it both ways but that's my experience. But I think the difference is between nice flat fresh snow, and packed snow with ruts from other bikes and cars. The ruts try to push you right and left, which is the main problem.

But 95% of the time the marathon winters were fine. On days it was snowing hard I'd take the L.

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