marqueemoon

You do get instant feedback about your level of traction when riding fixed, and of course there's less of a drivetrain to get mucked up, but the latter is true for singlespeed as well.

What I definitely don't like about riding fixed in the winter is darkness. Riding dark pothole-ridden streets in the rain on a skinny tired bike I can't coast on is just not my idea of fun. Also, more reaction time is required in the dark and resisting with your legs and a front brake alone may not be enough. Also, if you run two brakes you don't have to rely so heavily on being locked into the pedals to stop, so you run platform pedals and wear boots if you want.

Finally there is the issue of fenders and handling. A road, cross, or touring frame with horizontal dropout is really the way to go. Slick roads are not a good place for track geometry, and if you want to run fenders, horizontal dropouts make it much easier to get your wheel out when (not if) you get flats.

Sooo... If I were setting up a fixed gear for winter commuting it would have to have:

fenders
horizontal dropouts
two brakes
fat tires

I just prefer singlespeed for nasty/wet/dark conditions though. It's a lot less stressful than riding fixed.