I bought the bike! I got a really good deal on it, and it came with fenders, rack, panniers, extra wheel, extra tires, and pedals.

I grew up around Boston, so I know this is an usually warm and snowless winter. That's partially why I picked this winter to extend my commute into the winter months.

I can understand your concern about using a fixed speed, but it's been working really well for me so far. I like how simple it is, and I figure all the winter sand, salt and debris must be bad for the derailers, tensioner, and rear cassette. I've been waiting for some snow so I can ride test out riding the single speed in the snow to see how it'll handle, but there hasn't been any snow left after work since that Halloween snowstorm.

Do they make any cheap, or at least reasonably priced, winter clipless shoes? There's no way my booties are gonna cut it, and I haven't seen any that seems up to the job. All the purpose built shoes I've seen are insanely expensive. I'm thinking about just drilling cleats into some old gore-tex hiking boots.

How do you replace the pads on those drum brakes? Do you know about how much it costs to get one of those internal geared hubs installed? I've never replaced a hub before, and it doesn't look easy. Would they work with my current handlebar shifters?

Thanks for all the help guys. I really appreciate it.