I tried riding through the winter in Thunder Bay, Ontario a few years ago and was surprised to find it a feasible thing to do for commuting. The exertion is sufficient that one does not get cold, and it was possible to bike fairly safely with regular unstudded tires along the sidewalks at low speeds once one realized one had to be careful turning sharply on ice. I was about 58 at the time. It certainly was fun!

There are two downsides.

First, the lesser problem. The road salt and moisture ruined my fairly good quality bike in one winter. Simple, cheap, solution: get a separate, dirt-cheap beat-up old bike for winter riding in the fall when everyone is selling them off for nearly nothing. I found later that most winter riders already know this.

The larger problem is safety when riding on the road rather than on sidewalks. Perhaps studded tires will help with this, but I found that the danger of the bike slipping out on ice and the rider falling over in front of a car which was unable to stop was too high for road riding without a lot of adaptations (bike lanes, driver education, etc.). Occasionally forced by lack of plowing to use the roads, I consider myself rather lucky to have gotten through a winter's riding on unstudded tires with no broken bones or worse.

I had been wondering (in connection with a university course) about the larger question of what sort of emergency winter transport system would be possible in snowy regions if for some reason fuel for cars and buses suddenly became unavailable or in very short supply. It turned out that bikes were far more adequate than I had expected, and are already "in place" as a potential backup to a large degree. Mandatory use of studded tires or some sort of wheel chains, would probably be a very desirable improvement from the point of view of safety, but how much would it cost to equip a fleet of 30 million cycles (in snowy regions) with them? Just off the top of my head I'd say about half a billion dollars. Not hay, but potentially doable. There might be offsetting health benefits, but then again the accident rate might be high enough that there would be increased costs as well.

Has anyone else ever thought about the possibilities ofwhat would be needed to develop large scale use of cycles in winter north of the snow line for commuting and other everyday purposes, either in emergencies or just for the enjoyment?

I have commuted by bicycle all winter this year in Minneapolis after a fellow bicycle commuter tipped me off about studded snow tires. I have not wiped out on ice or packed snow once this winter -- quite a difference from when I have done this in the past. At age 52, I appreciate that added sense of security. I used cheaper tires with studs that are not carbon tipped, and as I was warned, the studs have worn down substantially in one winter even though my commute is pretty short. My next pair will have carbon tipped studs. The studs do create a lot of friction and drag. One day in February, the roads were clear enough to switch to my "good" bike with road tires, and I felt like I had sprouted wings!

I commute every day rain, shine, sleet, snow, hail, whatever the weather. In the winter I always have a wheel set with regular road tires & a wheel set with studded tires. The wheels can be switched relatively quickly in the morning depending on the road surface and forecast. No issues at all over black ice, hard packed snow or slick intersections. The only problem I have found is on fresh snow that has areas that have been lightly driven over by cars. The snow isn't completely packed nor completely loose, like riding on marbles! Still fun though and a good workout. I agree with Mathew, winter is tough on bikes regardless of your best intentions. Best to get a beater. Cheers.