Come April I'll get my two year pin as as a year-round commuter in Boston. During the Spring, Summer, and Fall, my commuting duties are divided between my "No chance of rain bike", "Slight chance of rain bike", and "Rain bike". In the Winter, by "Rain Bike" dons 26" studded tires and becomes my Winter truck. Gore Ride-on cables have served me well. Nokian Mount and Ground Tires have served me well. My XTR rear derailleur has served me well. A few pairs of Koolstop Thinline Cantilever brake pads have also served admirably. My 1994 ChroMoly MTB frame has served me well. Cheap SRAM 8 speed chains (several of them) have served me reasonably well, as have a couple cassettes (SRAM and Shimano XT).

Aside from the XTR rear derailleur and the Gore Ride-on cables, the high end of my commuter bike is mostly the wheels. I hand built these wheels from expensive White Industries hubs, DT spokes, DT alloy spoke nipples and Mavic 217 rims in 1996 when this was my MTB. It's since been fendered, racked, and relegated to commuter status but I've continued with the expensive, albeit ancient, wheels. The front has held up marvelously, needing absolutely no maintenance in the nearly 14 years since I built it. The rear, however, has been a labor of love for going on it's second decade. I'll shorten the story to just the last two commuting years:

1. Early summer 2008, cartidge bearing replacement, 2 in the hub, not the 2 in the freehub (IIRC, Enduro Orange seals). $40 at Belmont Wheelworks.

2. Winter 2009, broken alloy nipple at the rim interface. Replaced with a brass DT and trued at home.

3. Fall 2009, tick-tick-tick heard at low speeds from the rear wheel. Eventually diagnosed as a 5 inch long spreading crack through the braking surface. Replaced with a Mavic 317 (I think, maybe a 517, anyway a comparable Mavic rim). I sawed off the bad section of the old rim just to examine under a jeweler's loop and the braking surface was plenty thick, but had cracked straight through and was spreading. Scary.

4. Winter 2009-10. Cartridge bearings are shot again, you can wiggle the rim side to side like it nearly has no bearings. I swapped the rear wheel with the LX-hubbed wheel from my '98 Specialized Stumpjumper. Oh, and I had another broken alloy spoke nipple, right next to the brass-replaced one from last year.

Bottom Line: Would my bike that only sees rain in the summer and has to endure the whole winter be more reliably equipped with cup and cone hubs that can be repacked a couple times a winter? Follow-up question: Are alloy nipples just an unreliable luxury for winter commuting? Given the weight of the studded ice tires, they certainly don't do much for rotating weight. 2nd Followup: Are "good rims" not necessarily good rims for commuting? Are there rims that handle the temp changes better without splitting through their braking surface?