Studly

I picked up a set of Nokian studded tires yesterday that will fit my 29'er and road bike wheels. I have a set for 26" MTB wheels but since I'm now on the bigger wheels most of the time, I needed a different set. Maybe they will help to prevent me from crashing on the roads. They do add some weight but at this time of the year that's not a big deal. The current weather forecast of temperatures in the single digits may mean that these will get a workout real soon.

Here is the text of the tire description from Peter White Cycles.

My best, all purpose, do just about everything really well, no compromise tire is the 700x40 W240 from Nokian. Let's face it, most of the time we're out there in winter, the roads are clear of snow. So a full knobby tire like the 700c Extreme (below) is going to slow you down. But when there is snow on the ground, you'd like a tire with enough tread that it can cut through and contact pavement. And, if you try to always ride on plowed roads that shouldn't develop icy ruts, there's always the odd time you have to make a detour, or the plows didn't get through, or whatever, and you find your front tire heading down a rut. Icy ruts are extremely dangerous. If your tire can't climb the side of a rut and roll out of it, you'll hit the ground, and you'll hit hard.

TheW240 has wide enough tread blocks to keep rolling resistance to a minimum, and studs in the center as well as the sides of the tread to help give you grip in all icy conditions. When the tire gets into a rut, the studs on the side can dig into the ice and you remain in control. If your tire only has studs in the center, it can slide along the side of a rut, and never climb out. That's far less likely to happen with the W240.