It's fine for commuting, and I have the gear/fenders, but I see no reason to go recreationally riding in the rain. Brake gunk from aluminum dust mixing with water, and chain gunk from the lube and water get all over everything and are difficult to clean off, no matter whether you have fenders or not.

Of course I could get a bike with disc brakes and belt drive. But I tried that and it caused more hassle than it saved.

The gunk's a mild nuisance compared to the downright-hazardous-when-wet thick reflective green paint that some genius urban planner has decided must cover all bike lanes. I have fallen because of it. Before that became ubiquitous, I once fell because of slippery white crosswalk bars. When will they learn? I toured all over Europe and their white/green/red/yellow reflective pavers and "cats eyes" reflective lumps in the road never gave me a lick of trouble. Still, I can't avoid commuting in all weather. Parking's too expensive/difficult for me to drive and public transit too unreliable for me to ever take it.