Originally Posted by
Doug5150
You might consider having them switch over to an internal-gear-hub.
Avoids the hanging-derailler problem entirely, and is a lot more convenient to shift anyways (shifts while standing still). Only downside is the higher cost.
Really? That's the only downside you can think of?
Often you get fewer gears or a limited range of gears.
If you do get a similar number of gears, the hub is likely really expensive (you did cover that.)
Many hubs are quite heavy.
Hubs are somewhat less efficient than a derailer setup.
Some hubs have a thing sticking out the side that's just as fragile as a derailer.
I do think that your advice is sound -- internal hubs are great -- but there's more downsides than you mentioned.
(Of course, the advantages are there too -- less maintenance required, fewer exposed parts to break, some give you an infinite numbers of gears.)