uvbears

hi all, i am planning on getting a commuting bike for this upcoming winter. i live in chicago and i dont want my other rides to get beat up with the salt, snow etc. i will be riding about 10-15 miles each day on roads and bike paths.

I have been going back on forth in terms of the various features that i want on this commuting bike as well as the amount of $ that I am willing to spend. I think my max would be $1k but I would prefer to spend much less.

i really like the idea of having a IGH(3-9 speed) with disc or drum brakes. I have also thought of a singel speed(mercier kilo wt perhaps) but I think i am fairly settled on a IGH bike.

i need to have some tire clearance for wide tires(studded tires too), rack/renders .

a few models that I have been thinking of...

Torker graduate ($500) drum brakes and IGH - comes with wide tires and fenders igh and drum brakes
mercier kilo wt5 just under $500 but I would need a rack and fenders but i am unclear of i can have a rack and fender on the rear wheel and still have 32mm tires and this does not have drum or disc brakes
swobo dixon / otis -$1k both look nice but is the extra $$ worth it compared to the graduate?
scott sub 10 - dont know much about it.

for $500 the torker graduate comes with fenders. is this a good value compared to my other options listed? or what would be some better alternatives?


any thoughts are appreciated