That Rohloff is not made for touring is not true. In fact, I believe this is a niche where Rohloff has captured a lot of customers. I personally have hosted several people touring the entire continent north to south and other RTW tourers with this hub. Having said this, they are not trouble or maintenance-free as people think. You have to be diligent about changing the oil every 5,000 Km. and so on. Once in a blue moon, you do hear about someone with a horror story. One of the tourers (a couple) we hosted, for example, had some issues with it. They were barely in Mexico after having started in the U.S. (going RTW.) I can't remember all the details but I remember they had a heated debate with the factory about who paid for the courier shipping charges to get the thing fixed under warranty -- those can get VERY expensive once you leave the U.S. or Europe. You wouldn't have these issues with a Shimano drivetrain. Replacement parts are ubiquitous anywhere in the world and will not break the bank.

My custom touring frame (Rodriguez UTB) was made to accept a Rohloff or regular derailleur-based drivetrain. I am so happy with the way it functions with derailleurs that I am not sure if I will do the full upgrade to a Rohloff anytime soon. I am hopeful that other companies will produce similar heavyduty systems that are rugged enough for loaded touring at a more accessible price. Shimano and NuVinci are not there, yet. I believe IGH (derailleur-free drivetrain) is the next frontier in cycling technology.