Wow, that was quick. I'm late to the thread, but will reinforce your decision a bit and agree with most of the folks here, because commuter bikes, especially for dedicated, rain-or-shine, snow-and-sleet riders, get beat to heck.
I ride an Allant. It is almost five years old, with more than 16,500 year-round commuting miles on it. Pretty much everything associated with the drive train has been replaced at least once. It's a great commuter bike, and does everything I need it to. I don't worry too much about leaving it locked up. I personally would be reluctant to ride a "nice" bike through the winter--I suspect a nicer bike would be trashed almost as quickly-- but I have no such worries with the Allant. It wouldn't be my choice for recreational riding, but that's what +1 is for :-)