I made a few modifications to my Ironhorse so I can continue to ride in the UP winters while remaining half-way safe.

Mudflap

I began my tweaks toward the end of Fall 2011 when the first snow fell. It is always doomed to melt, but it is representative of spring conditions (in which I intend to bike as well). One of the first things I noticed was a significant amount of water was finding its way onto my backpack from my rear tire. I added the following mudflap and all was right.

(todo: picture+link)

Studded tires

I had been exposed to the concept through a number of local riders–basically, put screws through your tires and tape around the inside so the heads don’t pop your tubes. It works well as long as you use enough tape. Also in the making of mine, there were some lessons learned about studding technique.