show me your winter bike!

[redrhodie]

Check out Peter White. He has a good supply and good info. I have the Nokian Hakkapeliitta W106 which is great for plowed roads with occassional ice.

Thanks! Those are now at the top of the list. Looks like each tire has pros and cons, and is great for specific conditions. I'm guessing I'd best get a good all a rounder.

I would say it depends on the terrain you live in and how/if they plow the streets.

When I lived in Rochester, NY - a very snowy place I bike commuted to college winter quarter once. Rochester was very cold and very snowy and very flat. The plowed the roads, but not actually to the pavement... (saves the plow blades to not have them scraping on the ground) As such all but the busiest roads had a somewhat permanent several inch thick coat of very hard packed snow/ice on them at all times. It was actually as easy to ride on as pavement. I changed out my tires for knobby cross tires (I had a Trek 420 at the time) and that was just fine. I don't recall having any problems riding - the only fright I had, had nothing to do with the snow... It was when the golf course deer jumped out in front of me...

I don't recall if Rochester used salt. I'm thinking they did not - they wanted that layer of snow to stay on the roads, and I don't remember having to clean my bike a lot.

I think they plow the same here, leaving that layer. It's not as cold here as Rochester, but we get a lot of melting/refreezing, lots of ice and ruts especially on the corners. Lots of slushy days, too.

One thing New England is famous for is changeable weather, so I know anything is possible. Of course, now that I'm doing this, I should expect the warmest winter on record. That would be typical (but awesome, too).