Last winter was the first winter in 15 years that I commuted in snow and ice, and temperatures down to 10F. My 3x7 Mountaintain bike setup worked fine including the cables. BUT, in years past on both this same bike, and one previous my main issue was moisture freezing in the cable guides. But back then I stored my bikes outside under a bike cover. The previous bike was a 1987 Schwinn Cruiser Supreme and it's derailieur did gunk and freeze up. The 97 Nishiki Blazer's gears and derailieurs were fine. YMMV