>>1086596>Fantastic bike to ride on the street, $2000I'm you.
I bought a Spot Ajax (look it up) 5 years ago and I'm pretty happy with it. Full garbon is a waste of time if you're not racing, but it's nice in the fork. The Acme / Ajax frame is appropriate to the task, good looking, and OK-ish value.
The Alfine 8 hub is perfect for us, cheaper and stronger than the Alfine 11, quieter and more efficient then Nexus or other hubs. Never given my any trouble. Derailleurs are not as good for this sort of work.
The Gates belt drive has been a disappointment, and I just replaced it with plain chain today. Thought it was a maintenance-free winter bike solution, but not so. I might get a Dutch style full chaincase next time.
Plain canti's will stop you just fine, but hydraulic disks feel sooo much better. Don't cheap out like I did; crappy hydros are a huge time-suck and I had to expensively upgrade them anyway.
I added studded winter tires, puncture-resistant summer tires, full plastic fenders, dyno-hub setup (SP PD-8, Philips lights), and a O-lock with optional chain. I had to import some of that stuff from Europe, but I would not be without it for every-day practicality. That lets you just hop on and go, day or night, rain or shine, just like a real vehicle not a flakey toy.
