I wish somebody would get me some SKS Raceblade "Longs" to try out.



Here's the review I linked the picture from: http://traumfahrrad.com/tag/sks-race-blade-long/

I've used regular RaceBlades in the past. The coverage is not nearly as good but with a homemade flap was good enough. With the regular RaceBlades, you can adjust the distance between the fender and the tires so there's not much worry about snow and ice chunks clogging things up. They do not protect your brakes at all but they're no worse off than cantilever or v-brakes since fenders seem to direct more crud their way.

As far as tires go, some people swear by skinny tires in the winter and some see no real advantage in studs. Skinny tires have their advantages in certain situations but have more difficulty in others. If there's a lot of ice where you ride you might end up putting that Secteur on the ground a few times which I'm sure you wouldn't like.

My guess is that the majority of days your Secteur will work out just fine. You could get a beater winter bike that would be useable more often but another plan would be to have a backup form of transportation available when the roads aren't suitable for the Secteur.