Originally Posted by Ziemas
You might want to consider a geared bike for when you get stuck in 20cm of snow, salt, and sand. A lower gear comes in quite handy to help pull yourself out without having to portage your cycle.
I thought about that, but isn't the derailer one of the first things to freeze up or get corroded and trashed from the salt/elements? other than cleaning the bike up after rides, i'd rather not have to do any extra maintenance.