>>1001130OP, do you still have your crappy old bike?
I've been riding year-round (in Colorado) for going on 7 winters now, one plan that works really well is to have your primary commuter bike set up to deal with rain and light snow, and a backup beater bike for days when the ice and snow is really challenging. This allows you to set up one bike with studded tires (which aren't any fun to ride home on if the streets melt during your day at works), lower gearing than you'd normally want, and hopefully using a frame that gives you a lower center of gravity, and then you don't have to mess around changing anything on your main bike. Also, if you ride a cheap beater when the weather is really nasty, you won't feel so bad about exposing it to faster wear and you won't feel as guilty for not washing the crud off after every slushy ride.
