I did not intend to be alarmist; just thought that the review was interesting information. Not having seen, ridden or taken apart one of these, I couldn't tell you how much the "axle key" looks like it might be an issue. Veloria, it's a part that takes load, and from the technical description, it seems to be integral with the axle. Worse comes to worst, you walk home and replace the axle.

Anybody who's ridden an AW hub knows what gear lash is When you coast, and then re-engage the hub, there's more foot travel required before you're actually engaged than with a derailer and freewheel. For me, it was a minor annoyance at first -- now I just accept it as part of the AW ride.

Avoiding neutral between gears is simply a matter of making sure that your shifting system is adjusted correctly, and works. And anyone who pedals off the saddle with an internal gear hub is looking for trouble anyway, IMO.

None of the above would keep me from buying and using an SX3 hub. For "sporting" commuter/city bikes, esp. with the fixed-or-free option, it sounds like a great idea.