Commuting - Ultimate bike for crossing the Yolo Causeway in storms of biblical proportions

My Surly Crosscheck does the job pretty well. But it could be better.

Such a bike would need to be ...

Fast. Forget Pugsleys, rigid mtb's etc. This is a flat, straight 14 miles. And often windy too - totaly exposed and elevated. You need to still be fairly light and aerodynamic.

Nimble. But it can be very, very wet and there is a good proportion that is in traffic and some ugly railroad tracks to cross.

Versatile. Of course, it needs to take full fenders and racks.

Low maintenance. Sometimes the storms persist for several days and daily maintenance becomes an issue. Thus, internally geared would be nice. Not a lot of gears, just enough to deal with the wind. A very close ratio internal hub would be good. Anybody know of one?

Stoppable. My biggest issue has been braking. Even with Koolstop salmon pads on the front and rear, the cantilevers on my Crosscheck still leave a lot to be desired in the wet. I'd almost say that fixed gear would be good, but then there's the issue of wind. I'd like to have at least a front disc brakes.

Cheap. It's still a rain bike. It's going to get thrashed. Besides, this bike is designed for what amounted this year to about 3 or 4 days that I actually had to drive due to weather conditions.

So far, I've considered the following:

Putting front disc brakes and an internally geared hub on my Crosscheck. But right now, my CC is also my main roadie bike. I use it for centuries. That would jack it up for those purposes.

Getting a Surly Dingle Cog and having what basically amounts to a "granny fixed gear." Such a bike would also have clearance for fatter tires. I have two fixed gear bikes that could do that.

A 29er mtb with drop or moustache bars. Remember, it needs to be fast.

An old mtb. Retro fit the bike with a front disc brake and an internally geared hub. And drop or moustache bars. But that's a lot of money to sink into an old Specialized Hardrock or other steel mtb.

Any other ideas?

I don't think you can get all that stuff in a bike and expect it to still be cheap. The Marin Muirwoods 29er (http://www.marinbikes.com/2008/us/bikes/specs_muirwoods_29er.php) is relatively cheap, comes with mechanical disc brakes, and is able to accommodate racks and fenders, but it has a triple and I don't know if it will be nimble. The Scott Sub 10 (http://scottusa.com/us_en/category/75/sub) may also work well for what you want, but it isn't really cheap.

Unfortunately they both come with flat bars, so you'd need to figure out a way to fix that. Maybe you could use a trekking bar or bullhorns. I don't know if moustache bars would work. I wonder how much road disc brakes and levers would set you back. That might be an option for the Marin since it's pretty cheap.

The only other option I can think of would be a cyclocross bike with disc brakes. Most cross bikes aren't setup to accept racks though, and that would be expensive for a complete bike with that stuff.

Convert your crosscheck and get a shiny new road bike for your weekend rides.

One sees Crosscheck frames on CL from time to time. Would building a custom Causeway Crosscheck with the internal hub and discs be feasible?

If you picked up/converted a MTB or hybrid with discs and IG hub,you wouldn't need to convert to drops. A trekking(butterfly) bar is a direct swap and will give you multiple hand poisitons as well as the ability to get aero. I like the one on my Safari much better than drops.