Originally Posted by
cyccommute
According to
these guys "Even with oiling, IGH hubs should still be overhauled once a year with heavy or extreme use."
I'll go with manufacturer recommendations over "these guys." I'm not aware of any IGH that needs to be overhauled annually.
I do have to say that a Rohloff had better work forever. For the price, it should do a whole lot more than just propel a bike down the road. I have no problem spending money on bicycles but Holy Cow!
I'd suspect that, over their useful life, they are cheaper than derailer systems of comparable quality. It's hard to say for sure, since I've not heard of anyone wearing out their Rohloff or NuVinci, certainly not enough people to provide a reasonable sample size.