So I rode a couple bikes yesterday including the Scott Sub 10 with IGH and Gates Carbon Drive (first IGH or belt drive I'd ever ridden)...wow. The IGH is crazy smooth shifting and that combined with the belt drive made for an incredibly smooth ride and I was amazed at the range in that IGH. I'm not sure for urban or even any sort of paved/path riding you'd ever need more than those 8 gears. I found a couple pretty steep hills to test and was 2 gears from the bottom and my legs were spinning far faster than they needed to be and on the flats I put it in top gear and was really trucking and laboring a bit so with a bit of a downhill I should be flying. So now, I'm basically certain I want the IGH and probably from the get-go rather than riding with a standard derailleur setup and upgrading down the line. That Scott Sub 10 was the devil and now I really want that bike! HAHA!! But, I'm still going to look into finding parts for that Proletariat but see what the cost would be to pick up an IGH on eBay and then have wheels built for it as they're going to be the biggest cost I'll have a hard time finding for cheap or used. I'm probably going to bite the bullett and invest in more upfront than I had planned as I can really see how getting something super nice is going to pay dividends down the line and be something I'll be using a ton. Stoked!!

BTW @Big_Lebowski: where in KC do you live? I went to KU and moved to 119th and like maybe it was Quivira but can't remember the exact street...right behind that grocery store in the strip center with Tanners off US 69 over in OP. Sooo many great bike paths there, you can make a ride down to State Line from there super easily and it's a fun ride!