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Originally Posted by
jsohn
I will also note though, that the original bike-style that I was asking about is far far away from the Dutch style of bike (which I think is relatively easy to find in the US if you live in/near a big city even if there are some not so good facsimiles around that lack all that makes dutch style bikes great). What I think is the real question is why the bike manufacturers relegate some of these things (IGH, dynamos, etc.) to cruiser style bikes and never let them touch a touring-type geometry (in the US market...since that is exactly what you do find at least on the danish market), since they can make fantastic commuters...
Quite simply people don't want them. Even the people who have been busting my chops for saying that acknowledge it (see post 156 above). Manufacturers and retailers sell what people want or they don't sell anything at all. Bike sales, as I posted many pages ago, reflect what people want and it's still mountain bikes by about 5 to 1 over any other category.
There are people who use IGH for touring but IGH has limitations. You could run a triple crank with an Shimano Nexus IGH and get a good range of gears for touring but you have to have most of the same equipment as you do for external gear bike. You'd need a triple crank, a front derailer and shifter and a rear tensioner.
Alternatively, you could run just a single ring but your gear ratios would be very limited. For most people that's bad enough but for loaded touring it's even worse. A Nexus with a 40 tooth chainring and 20 tooth sprocket has a range from 87 gear inchs to 28 gear inches. You spin out the top gear around 25 mph and struggle up anything over a 4% grade. My touring bike...which has a wider range than many loaded touring bikes...ranges from 110 gear inches to 15 gear inches. And the entire drivetrain weighs less than a Nexus 8 drivetrain.
Rohloff makes a 14 speed IGH that some people use for touring but you'd better bring a large bag of money. They cost $1500 to $1200 and, frankly, are a tad heavy (2.5 kg). Many people balk at spending $1500 for the bicycle. And if you were going to use that kind of hub for daily commuting, you'd better hire a guard to follow the bike around every day.