>>1255710Experienced winter commuter here.
Studded tires. Seriously: it's like night and day. They grip like fucking velcro on polished ice. You can make your own studded tires, but by the time you add up the cost of a (newish, quality) non-studded tire, the hardware, your time, and a few inevitable flats, you need to be pretty poor to make that worthwhile. I use and recommend "Schwalbe Marathon Winter"; there's cheaper and better out there, but it's a great tire for a good price. Don't ride them all year, like any winter tire they just fall apart in the heat!
It sounds like you're looking for a minimal solution and the tires are all you need to get you there reliably, but a winter bike will work far better with:
-Bar mitts
-Snowboard helmet
-Dyno lights (batteries don't like the cold, and winter is dark)
-Fenders
-Geared hub (derailures don't like slush)
-Disk brakes
>>1255779There are things fat bikes can do that nothing else can, but they're not the tool for this particular job. You need skinny tires that cut through the slush and grip the hard layer below, not low-pressure tires that try to float on top of it. You will rarely encounter snow firm enough to support even the lowest pressure fattie and deep enough to stop a skinny tire anywhere in a urban environment. Studded fat tires do exist, but they're like $200 each. Fats are for mud, sand, and off-road, not snowy streets.
>>1255827>you can't ride studded tires at all in the non-snowAs the other Anon said: totally untrue. They make a buzzing noise, but as long as they never see summer heat they work just fine.
>>1255840>ghetto chainsJust no. I'm not sure what this guys doing, perhaps using the zip-ties to seat the bead or something? In any case, if you're looking for reliability you might as well take the bus over this. Zip-ties don't make effective traction aids.
>Schwalbe Ice Spiker proA pricey option and not what you need for snowy streets, but they work great it you do winter trail riding too.
