Originally Posted by
mdilthey
I agree with you, but nothing is indestructible. Nothing is frictionless. Your beloved bike has 15,000 maintenance-free miles on it; do you trust that aged rolhoff with another 3,000, knowing that something in it's internals has rubbed the same way millions of times?
The peace of mind in a system you can visually check every day wins for me.
I'm interested in how others perceive each system, especially those who have ordered both.
I like being able to see and fix my gears. I assume they get more abuse and wear than an internal gear system, but a derailleur system is hackable. If it does break I can go over to single speed and if I need a new hub they are easily, quickly and cheaply available at the next bike shop. Also, I've yet to have a serious issue with a derailleur system. So IGH might be fantastic, but IMHO they are overkill while a derailleur system is good enough.