Alloo, addressing the winter commute machine I will give you my experience working in a shop here in the Rust Belt. Michigan uses a lot of salt on the roads and we had a customer that used a Giant LaFree. After about 5 years of use the motor and motor mount were so extensively attacked by salt that we had to fabricate a new motor mount for it. The original mount was cast aluminum! My choice is a standard bike in the Rust Belt. I don't know how much salt Colorado puts on the roads, however just keep the bike well rinsed during the winter season.