Anyone using studded bike tires on a commuter in milder climates? I'm in the Pacific Northwest, Washington State, and I bike commute year round 5 miles each way. At my previous gig and rental, I had the fairly easy option of walking the 1.4 miles to work. I'm less sanguine about a 5 mile walk. Local bus service isn't ideal at my new gig and rental.

I have a 2008 Kona Dew with fenders and 32mm tires. Without fenders, I could run 38s easily, maybe something larger.

Been reading about studded tires on Peter White Cycles for a couple of years, and now I'm weighing the options. Some indications this is going to be a rough winter.

I'm torn between a couple of choices.


Putting "mild" studded tires on my Kona, like Nokian A10 32mm, and keep the fenders on
Getting a Craigslist or Pawn Shop MTB and putting aggressive studded tires on it as a snow bike
Getting a Craigslist or Pawn Shop MTB and putting aggressive winter tires on it as a snow bike


We don't get nearly the snow in Washington that they get in New Hampshire, but it does hit now and again.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/studdedtires.asp
Studded tires don't help on snow any more than knobbies do - they're for ice. The canonical website on winter biking is probably IceBike. 

It really depends on how far you want to go - a wide MTB tire at low pressure is nice in the snow. The aggressive studded tires are designed for riding in snow, not mostly cleared roads with possible bits of ice. If you're riding on plowed roads, a beater bike (since road salt does wonders for ruining your drivetrain) with some mild studded tires designed for commuters (e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Winter) are a good way to go (though many people get by without studs for winter as well - they're additional safety when you hit ice; I've done several mid-west winters without studded tires). If you're not going on plowed roads, get something aggressive (but note that if the roads are clear, you'll wear down the studs excessively and have excess resistance). 

As for keeping the fenders on, you might not want to do that since they help pack and accumulate snow. I like to use a downtube board and a clip on tail fender (SKS X-board and X-tra dry) since they don't make snow accumulate.