I'm thinking of building up a fat-tire commuter bike. I need fenders, racks and wide tires since I live in the northwest (potholes, rain, more rain, hills). I also need it to be fast since I want to be fast on my commute.
I was thinking about buying an old MTB and replacing the groupset with something like the Shimano 105. There's plenty of nice old steel MTBs on Craigslist for ~$100. I would essentially only want the frame.
The dropout spacing on the old MTBs is 130mm, just like the 105 hubs. I'd have new 26" wheels built around those hubs and use the 105 crankset, rear and front derailleurs. I'd also put in a drop bar and I think I should be able to use the 105 brifters with the MTB cantilever brakes. Then I'd finish it off with tires like gatorskins or marathons.
Does that sound reasonable? Anything I forgot to think of?