same here. my first couple of winter bike commuting seasons were on an old derailleur hardtail with canti brakes that i outfitted with studded tire and fenders. it worked ok, but after that bike was killed by a bus two years ago, i upgraded to an IGH/disc brake hybrid to serve as my winter/foul weather commuter. last winter was so lame that i never had the chance to gauge if the upgrade made much of a difference. however, this year we've finally gotten enough snow/ice/sleet/slush/general winter messiness that i can now fully endorse the IGH/disc brake combo for winter riding. i'd never want to go back to a derailleur/rim brake bike again for winter riding.