Originally Posted by
badamsjr
If you are SET on having a derailleur, how about a front one? A double crankset will give you twice the gears. With an IGH on the back, you could be in business!
No go. He'd still need a RD to be able to cope with the chain slack needed to be able external gears. He COULD fit a a geared crank(like the Schlumpf) but it'd be prohibitively expensive.