Reddit reviews Mongoose Dolomite Fat Tire Men's Mountain Bike | 17-Inch/Medium High-Tensile Steel Frame, 7-Speed, 26-Inch Wheels | R4144 - Navy Blue

As of this writing, you can get the Dolomite for $184 on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mongoose-Mens-Dolomite-Boys-Cruiser/dp/B00J7J40TM?ie=UTF8&keywords=mongoose+dolomite&qid=1462162350&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

I took the Hitch (slightly newer model of the same thing) out last year, and loved it. Both it and the Dolomite are 7-speed.

There are a whole heap of commonly-applied upgrades to these bikes that you can find here: http://forums.mtbr.com/fat-bikes/dolo-semi-wild-mongoose-dolomite-902410.html

I don't know about pointless. But, it might be a bit too much bike unless you specifically want what it offers.

There are some cheap variations that you can pick up to get a feel for it: http://www.amazon.com/Mongoose-Mens-Dolomite-Boys-Cruiser/dp/B00J7J40TM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_sg_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1HDAY5SD9ZXAEPYRP7HK

But OP's bikes are probably going to cost 3 - 5K each.

I used a Mongoose Dolomite 7 speed fat tire bike this year and it was excellent. Sand dunes that made all my other friends suddenly spin were no challenge at all. The big mass of the bike makes effectively no difference when you never go up or down hills! Others would regularly complain for me to go slower, and some of them were yoga/runner types, who were just working a lot harder than me in order to maintain the same speed.

http://www.amazon.com/Mongoose-Mens-Dolomite-Boys-Cruiser/dp/B00J7J40TM

I would say that the gear shifting is probably not needed, if I were to do it again I would probably do a fixed gear bike - I very rarely was shifting, and its just another thing to deal with maintaining.

Snow and ice? Fat bike maybe? You said Amazon so... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J7J40TM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_.rNrDbZVSXSS9

You might want to look at what Mongoose is doing.