Originally Posted by
CustomSteel
I'm looking for whichever is the most durable and reliable, and what you guys would recommend for a multi-speed option (3 vs. 5 vs. 8, etc.)
It might help to use Sheldon Brown's gear calculator to see what range each flavor of hub has, and what the steps are in-between.
Start w/ your current single gear and try various chainring/hub/cog combinations that might suit your needs.
Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Gear Calculator
That being said I'm a Sturmey Archer AW user of the original British design and have never had a need to change.
-Bandera