Winter tires for your bike

Are winter tires on bicycles just a money-making scheme or do they really offer advantages? With your car, the decision is made for you; winter tires are now mandatory because they have been proven to make public road traffic significantly safer from "O to O" (October to Easter). But what about bicycles? Is it sensible to put winter tires on your bike for the winter?

One thing is certain: Winter is a challenge for bicycles and cyclists! Snow, black ice, or wetness require special caution but can be managed well with some practice and preparation. As long as the bike rolls straight, everything usually goes well. Things get interesting in curves or when you have to brake – then difficult road conditions can become really dangerous.

But does a bicycle with winter tires really ride more safely and which tires do you need?

Here’s the short answer: It is definitely sensible to prepare your bicycle with special tires for winter use! With winter tires, you have better grip, and you can also brake reliably.

We also don't want to withhold the comprehensive explanation from you:

This is how the tire becomes a winter tire

How does a bicycle tire become a winter tire? Usually, bicycle winter tires differ from other tires in three characteristics:

The rubber compound is adapted to the cold.
Winter bicycle tires have a special tread pattern.
There is a puncture protection layer.
There are also winter tires with "spikes" for bicycles, but not every winter tire has these metal pins (and they are not suitable for every rider).

Winter tires with puncture protection layer

Winter tires for bicycles roll safely and have a puncture protection layer. Image © Schwalbe

A winter compound for bicycle tires

Winter tires for bicycles are made from a special mixture. On one hand, the rubber compound (English "compound") is softer. This ensures that the winter tires adhere securely to the road, even when its surface is cold and smooth. The second important point: The material must not change adversely in frost, meaning it should not harden, become brittle, or fragile, for example.

This mixture is also the reason why winter tires are not particularly popular among ambitious cyclists. When the tire "sticks" better, it produces more rolling resistance. More rolling resistance makes moving forward a bit more strenuous and a bit slower, you ride less efficiently. However, for this additional effort, you are rewarded with significantly better driving stability, better braking characteristics, and secure cornering .

Winter tires for bicycles have a different tread

To get better grip, winter tires for bicycles have a special "pattern," meaning an adapted, grippy siped tread. It improves grip on slippery roads, thereby ensuring stable driving characteristics.

Winter tires can offer improved puncture protection

Winter roads tend to hold more unpleasant surprises for cyclists, including more debris that wants to bore into the tires. Some cyclists even go so far as to describe the constant wetness as a lubricant that first sticks thorns or stones to the tire and then smears them into the carcass. For this reason, many winter tires for bicycles have even better puncture protection than other tires.

Bicycle winter tires with spikes

For the really nasty days of winter, winter tires with spikes are available. Numerous metal pins are embedded in the tire's tread, giving the bicycle more grip on smooth ice. Tests show that they work really well on closed ice surfaces and allow for safe handling of the bike. However, they are no longer necessary on properly cleared roads , so you should carefully consider whether you really need them.

If you are not riding on icy surfaces, you should leave the spikes at home. On asphalt or gravel, the metal pins of these bicycle winter tires wear out quickly, they are really only intended for ice and snow. They are also noisy and roll worse, some riders even find them "bumpy." You can compare them to snow chains for cars. They help you over the snowy mountain pass road, elsewhere they are rather impractical.

Depending on the weather and your training plan, bicycle winter tires are not really necessary. All-weather tires can also get you through the winter well. Image © Luca J on Unsplash

Are all-season tires an alternative?

Why not just ride all-weather or all-season tires over the winter? It depends on, where you ride your bike, but there's really nothing against it! All-weather tires certainly perform better in winter than regular training tires or summer tires!

In many parts of Germany, winters are now very mild, and you can get by with all-weather tires on most days. However, if you live in the Alps, the foothills, or the low mountain ranges, it's a different story! Where heavy snow and severe frost are expected, special winter tires are the better choice.

Winter tires on the bike – yes or no?

Whether you can fully exploit the benefits that bicycle winter tires offer depends on two factors: How you use your bike and where you live.

If you train regularly or commute to work even in winter, winter tires are a sensible investment.
In some regions of the D-A-CH area, the purchase is more worthwhile than elsewhere. If you live in an area where a lot of ice and snow are expected, winter tires will certainly pay off!
You should definitely also consider your individual circumstances. Whether you live on a street rarely visited by the snowplow service or in the well-gritted city center can make a real difference!

So... do you need winter tires for your bike or not?

It depends on the conditions under which you use your bike from October to March.

Which bicycle tires for which weather conditions?

❄	❄❄	❄❄❄
Do you mostly ride on dry days? Frost is rather rare in your area? In this case, all-weather tires are sufficient.	Do you plow through the winter forest? Winter tires! Do you ride training laps in any weather? Winter tires! Do you cycle to work every day? Winter tires!	Do you ride in deep snow and might even encounter ice surfaces? Then your bike needs winter tires with spikes.
It doesn't really snow much in your area, and if it does, home office is on the agenda? All-weather tires are still a good idea!	If you have to tackle inclines and declines, bicycle winter tires will help you. You won't fly off the curve so easily with them!	If you really depend on your bicycle every day and live in an area where ice is frequently expected, tires with metal pins can be a really good investment.
If you are on dry, well-cleared and gritted roads, all-weather tires might be sufficient. The surface also makes a difference. Are the roads smoothly paved and without inclines or declines? Then you can try your luck with all-weather tires.	Does it often happen that you set off before the snowplow and then roll through a few centimeters of fresh snow? Slush or wet sections can also be on your way? On loose or compacted snow, your bicycle should have winter tires.	When wet roads freeze over (“black ice”), winter tires with spikes on the bicycle provide more grip.

Does YOUR bicycle need winter tires?

Citybike, E-Bike or Racing Bike – does it matter what kind of bicycle you use in winter? Or do you even need a winter bicycle?

Not everyone is lucky enough to have multiple bicycles available, but a common recommendation is to equip one bicycle for deep snow tours with winter tires (maybe even with spikes), and another with good all-weather tires. Declaring a bicycle permanently as a “winter bike” is also a popular method, simultaneously protecting the summer fleet from road salt and moisture. If you have multiple bikes to choose from, this is certainly a sensible measure. If you only have one bicycle, a tire change is due in autumn and spring, unless you leave the bike standing over the winter.

Only one approach to winter would be truly grossly negligent: You should not pretend in autumn as if nothing is happening… Simply continuing with worn-out tires or setting off with summer tires in truly wintry conditions is dangerous for you and others!

Winter tires for your everyday bicycle

If you commute every day with the Citybike on your way to work, good preparation for winter is a really good idea. The more you rely on your bike, the more precise you should be about it. If you can manage with the bus, carpool, or walking in an emergency, a rest day for the bike is certainly bearable, but good all-weather tires would still be a sensible purchase. If you regularly get on your bike and can't take the weather into account, you should definitely have winter tires mounted on your bike!

Here is the rule of thumb: Many city bikes and trekking bikes today have all-weather tires that are good to ride even when wet. If you rarely get on your bike in winter, and only on dry days or temperatures "above zero," these tires may be sufficient. The more winter you have in your area, the better winter tires you need!

Do trekking bikes and gravel bikes need winter tires?

Many trekking bikes and gravel bikes are office commuters, and the same rule applies to them as to city bikes. If you ride them a lot in the cold season or live in an area with a lot of winter, winter tires for these bikes are a good idea. Touring bikes and gravels usually have off-road or all-weather tires anyway, but in the cold, an unsuitable rubber compound may simply not work optimally, winter tires are safer here. Even if you want to go on bike tours in winter bike tours , suitable winter tires are absolutely recommended!

Winter tires for performance bikes

If you don't just use your bike as a means of transportation but also clock up training miles, you may have a slightly different opinion about winter tires than a commuter. What about winter tires for road bikes and MTBs?

Riding a road bike through the snow? No problem with winter tires... Image © Dimitrii Vaccinium on Unsplash

The road bike with winter tires?

Winter tires – are they heavier? Are they slower? These are the two central questions in road bike circles. Like other winter tires for bicycles, road bike tires are made from a softer rubber compound, have a puncture insert, and have more tread. After this information, most road cyclists will probably politely decline. But you shouldn't dismiss the idea so easily. Winter tires and their properties also have real advantages on the road bike!

Whether winter tires for your road bike are too heavy are (or at least heavier than "normal" tires), depends on the model. Expect a bit more weight due to the puncture protection and the tread.
But how fast are winter tires on a racing bike really? Do they slow you down? You read it above – winter tires for bicycles are made from a softer rubber compound, so they stick better on challenging surfaces. Sticky, however, also means: More rolling resistance. This means they might be a bit slower on straight roads. However, you can take wet, slippery curves faster. Depending on your route, they might not be that slow overall.

Our conclusion: Racing bike winter tires might be a bit less fast than regular slicks. But look at it from another perspective: A slightly slower but steady training ride is still better than an uncontrollable wobble or even the occasional fall, right?

Winter tires for the MTB?

Does an MTB need winter tires? Mountain bike tires already look like they're made for catastrophic weather at first glance, so why change them?

It's actually worth fitting winter tires on an off-road bike as well, because here too, a cold-resistant compound gives you better grip. These winter tires are also called "Mud-Tires" or "Wet Weather Tires", and this nicely describes the difference between MTB winter tires and summer tires. Dirt is the natural habitat of an MTB, but in winter you deal with the luxury variant of loose ground: mud, sludge, mire... And that's exactly what MTB winter tires aka. Mud Tires are designed for, as they have a brilliant feature: The tread of the winter tires is arranged so that the mud cannot permanently stick between them, rather these tires are "self-cleaning". If "Anti-Mud-Tires" wasn't such a cumbersome term, it would describe them well.

Winter tires for your E-Bike

Tires for E-Bikes often have a special marking. If you ride a fast E-Bike or S-Pedelec , you are required to fit special tires. They must meet the ECE-R75 standard. There are winter tires that have the appropriate approval and meet the required standard, and they are absolutely recommended, especially at higher speeds on the E-Bike! For an E-Bike with pedal assistance up to 25 km/h, it is up to you which tires your bike has, here the same advantages/disadvantages as for all bicycle winter tires apply.

Finding the right winter tires

Before you can fit winter tires, you must of course buy the right tires. They must match the diameter ( = tiresize) and the Rim width (= tire width) of your wheels fit. A detailed explanation would go too far here, but you can find two posts on the Bike Blog that will help you with the selection of the appropriate tire width and the correct tire size . Since winter tires are generally thicker due to the puncture protection and tread, you must pay attention to the tire clearance , meaning how much tire fits in the rear triangle and fork of your bike.

Winter tires are also often chosen to be slightly wider than the usual summer tires. More contact surface with the road simply means more grip. Here too, tire clearance is crucial.

Who makes the best winter tires?

It is advisable to choose really good bicycle tires in winter. Well-known manufacturers invest a lot of money and time in development work, so it is worth relying on well-known brands. No-name products might cost a bit less, but whether they deliver on their promises is questionable. It is often recommended to choose manufacturers for bad weather tires who do not only produce bicycle tires. Behind Continental or Pirelli are decades and millions of experiences with car tires, which is certainly a good basis. Even with the bicycle veteran Schwalbe you know how to roll a bike safely through the winter.

How does a fatbike help you through the winter?

This is about winter tires and not winter bicycles, but whether off-road or through the city – there is a bicycle that is perfect for a winter with lots of snow. If you really want to cycle a lot and regularly in winter and want to buy a winter bicycle, you can get a fatbike . Especially in areas with lots of snow, such a bicycle is a good alternative to any other bicycle. While fatbikes actually only make sense on the beach in summer, they are particularly safe and reliable in winter. The thick balloon tires sink in less, so you simply glide over loose snow. Aside from that, they have (almost) as much rubber on the road as some cars, which significantly increases grip.

Attention! Winter tires must be removed again in summer!

Conversely – putting winter tires on your bicycle and simply riding with them all year round – is also not a good idea. The softer compound makes life unnecessarily difficult, requiring you to exert more legwork to get them rolling on (summer warm) roads. Moreover, you would be throwing money out the window, as the softer tires wear out faster. So it's worth switching back to normal tires in the spring, even if you don't feel like doing the screwing work!

How do you safely get through the winter on a bicycle?

Winter tires on the bicycle are certainly half the battle, but there are other important measures you should take to prepare yourself and your bike for cold, ice, and snow.

You can lower the tire pressure a bit. This creates more rolling resistance, but on the other hand, you get more rubber on the road and thus additional grip.

If it is really slippery, you should use the front brake as little as possible and only with caution. A locked front wheel would cause the bicycle to skid, posing a real risk of falling!

You definitely need good bicycle lighting, because even if you ride during the day, visibility conditions in winter are not really favorable for cyclists.

Gloves… you need gloves! For an active winter on the bike, windproof and waterproof gloves specifically for cyclists are highly recommended! They also protect your hands in a fall if it gets too slippery!

Since the risk of falling is particularly high in winter, you should definitely wear a suitable bicycle helmet !
One of the most important tips for everyone who gets through their daily routine on a bicycle in winter is: Allow enough time! This may not have anything to do with your bicycle tires, but it can save you a lot of trouble. In winter, you should never be in a rush. It is better to push a few meters than to fly out of the curve. Winter tires are not made for top speed, and you have to ride slower and more cautiously in places. Do yourself and others a favor and ensure you have enough buffer so you can ride carefully and considerately!

Keep reading – with this information, you will safely, warmly, and dryly get through the winter on your bicycle:

Winter tires for the bike? Too complicated for you, your trusty steed can take a winter break? If you don't want to use your bike over the winter, you should prepare it accordingly. In our article “Everything you need to know about bike storage” you will learn how to prevent damage from standing still. The storage of your e-bike battery is particularly important!

Title image: Denise Jans on Unsplash

Do you need winter tires for your bicycle?