A while ago I decided that I wanted a bike that I could use for
commuting, winter riding, and touring. My criteria was this... Had to
have rack mounts and room for big tires and fenders. Had to be steel
(preferably a lighter guage than straight cromo) Had to not be a total
boat anchor for touring. Also didn't want it to be so expensive that I
would be worried everytime I locked it up.
The bike I originally wanted was a Marinoni Ciclo which is a nice
frame for light/fast touring but a little too nice for full time
commuter duty. No room for knobbies or fenders either. 28mm tires will
fit however which is perfect for the kind of touring I do.
Instead I picked up a 2001 Jamis Nova frame (cross frame) on Ebay
brand new for a steal. It seemed to fit the bill nicely, but in my
usual manner I got carried away and bought expensive parts that the
frame didn't deserve. It was only a 105 build kit with aerohead rims
but still it's brand new and I can't bring myself to get it all salted
up here in Toronto.
And that's where the rationalization for another new bike began and
I'm all about rationalizing poor decisions.
Here's what I figure. I buy a single speed build kit from sheldon
brown for $500 and then throw it on the Nova (will need a chain
tensioner but that's a discussion for another forum). Instant winter
beater with nice fat tires and the ability to put a rack and fenders
for year round commutability. Toronto is flat and I definitely don't
need the triple that I was about to use.
Then I buy the Marinoni frame I was lusting after in the first place
and put the 105 kit on it for a sweet light tourer or century type
bike.
That will bring my collection to 4 bikes but may deplete my girlfriend
collection (currently only 1 ;) in the meantime. j/k she should be
cool about it as long as there's still room for her bike.
So I guess it sounds like I already made up my mind huh? So why am I
writing this down? and what exactly is my question? I don't really
know except that I needed to get my thoughts down and maybe I'm sort
of hoping you guys will congratulate me on my fine line of reasoning
and thus justify the 1000+ dollars I'm about to spend. :)

btw. the jamis is sitting there half built up wondering 'why the delay?'.