Originally Posted by
Mony
What if! What if I can ask my LBS to patch up my bike to keep it running this season and spend the money of an internal gear system and brakes?
Keep in mind that bike parts are a lot more expensive than bikes. While it's entirely doable to get new wheels with internal gear, drum/roller brakes, maybe even a generator front hub - it'll cost you. To the point where buying a bike spec-ed that way can well be cheaper. Such a big overhaul is usually not cost effective unless there's something special about the frame, or if you can score the parts at bargain prices.
Originally Posted by
Mony
I know I'm only getting nine gears at best, and I don't understand the gearing yet (e.g. I don't know what gearing I'm running o the bike because I can't find much info about the component set it came with)
What is it that you want to understand?
Start with counting the teeth, that'll give you the ratios - assuming the bikepedia spec isn't enough.
Basically, on a triple you'll have a fair bit of overlap. Expect to have about 2/3 as many usefully different ratios as you have different combinations. So for a 3x6 bike, about 12 usefully different gears. Rule-of-thumb is smallest front= uphill. Middle front=flat. Big front= downhill, tailwinds.
Sheldon Brown has a good gear calculator that'll let you compare IGHs and external gear hubs.