Originally Posted by
ryansexton
Disc breaks - Good idea? Bad idea? Great idea? Can I get by fine without them? Price range if they are neccessary?
Depends on what you ride in and where you live. For my area they don't add anything but our snow is very dry. For you, they might be an improvement over rim brakes. However discs usually add complexity to an area of the bike that doesn't need it. You want to mount racks and fenders where the brakes are and there is often a conflict.
Originally Posted by
ryansexton
Fenders - Looking to keep my back and legs 95% dry. DO NOT LIKE BEING SOAKED. I want to be riding full time, because I don't have a gnarly job, so I really can't afford to drive anymore. Link me to some stuff.
Lots of fenders out there. SKS are pretty good as are Planet bike. If you use a mountain bike there are lots of fenders for those too but you need to do a little Dremel surgery to get full coverage. And you may need more than one fender set to do it. I grafted a piece onto a Planet bike clipon fender to get coverage
Originally Posted by
ryansexton
Snow tires - Worth it? Can I use them in wet conditions without causing wear? Are they better - How much better? Metal Studs, or another style?
Can tell you. I've use regular full knob mountain bike tires since 1983 for winter riding and never found them to have issues. You have to be careful on ice but, again, dry winters and dry snow are a different beast from your situation.