Winter tires - would alloys be worth the expense?

If you are preparing for winter, maybe a set with snow tires mounted. Don't think alloy adds anything to snow or ice driving.

 

I doubt it, but my winters alloys look prettier than the typical steelies.

 

The increased rolling resistance of the snow tires will probably offset any gains or losses from changing the rims. That said, it depends on how you drive and what kind of range you need to determine if it would make any difference. Drag is more the issue than rotating mass. IIRC, wheels contribute very little to drag at low speed and more at higher speeds. I think I heard they contribute like 5% to the total drag at speed, but can't recall where I heard that. So if all you're doing is round town driving, then you'll probably never see a difference IHMO. Also, if all you need is 90 miles per day of driving, the Kona will easily cover that no matter what kind of wheels you have. If you're out to hyper-mile in your Kona, anything besides low drag rims (and tires) will work against you. IMHO, so long as the alternate rims are allowable within the warranty, customize to your heart's content and learn to live with the realized range.

 

I'm pretty sure you have seen these already but what the heck

 

Whatever you buy, take account of the size of the rear brake calipers, being larger than those in front. As already discussed in this forum, available 16" compact spare rims won't fit, but you also need to check 17" replacements to ensure that the rim design has the same internal diameter (i.e. flat) from the outside to the inside of the wheel. I bought a full-size wheel for a spare which turned out to have an inside "bulge" design reducing the mounting plate side I.D., resulting in precious little clearance (but enough )...

 

I have 18" steel rims with Michelin x-Ice3. My range is not affected much. Cold weather affects range much more than wheels ever will. You simply will not notice. I rode my steelies and winter tires until this week, through the hottest part of summer. My range was unchanged from last year when I was driving on summer tires and the OEM rims.