Originally Posted by
Mr IGH
IMHO, IGH are enjoyed mostly by geeks that like dorking around. They take some unique care and feeding, they can make a riders life difficult when things go wrong. I spent over 18 months figuring out how to make my im9 run correctly. It runs like a top...now. If I required an LBS to sort it out I doubt I would have ever got it running right.
My Milano came stock with an internal hub. I'm not sure what unique or difficult maintenance to expect, I've only had it three years now, so far it's been dramatically lower maintenance than any derailleur bike I've owned. Other than oiling the chain a few times a year and greasing the brake once or twice, it's been maintenance-free, 100+ miles/week.