Originally Posted by
tjspiel
From a maintenance standpoint since I've switched to an IGH, brakes and the chain have become the biggest maintenance issues on my winter bike. I've experimented with different types of brakes, why shouldn't I consider an alternative to a chain?
Do what you want -- I ride Winters as well, in salty New England, and use a stainless steel chain (KMC S10) on my lockup bike.
I've ridden and maintained belt drive bikes, and for the money, I've made up my mind.
With employee discount, I could pick up a belt drive system for a bit less than $200 or a stainless chain for about $10. Except none of my bikes are rigged with a pass-through mechanism, so I'd be looking at a new bike, too.
I have futzed around with different brakes, run IGH on a few different commuters. One of the things I like about chains vs. belt is being able to relatively cheaply experiment with different drive ratios, something that is difficult, impossible with many desired ratios, and quite a bit more expensive to do with belt drive.