The bike for commuting in the Chicago winter is a garage-sale Huffy cruiser that I got last year. It seems a little more reliable then using my 'nicer' spring/summer/fall bike in the winter. This winter bike has 3,500 miles on it but has not been trouble free. So far, new handle bars, front wheel (wanted a front brake for safety), rear hub, a few spokes, and a few consumables. Have the new crank on order, in a week it should be back in action. So stuck ridding the 'backup' winter bike. Chicago salt can be brutal on a bike, that's for sure.

The crank snapped about 1 mi from work, not bad. The ride home on the other hand, the left leg was a bit sore doing the one foot petal trick for 6 1/2 mi. from work to home. The cold, snow and crank was not going to get the better of me. The commuter motto.