Originally Posted by bmthom.gis

Maybe I'm just finicky and would prefer to try and make them last a good 30-40 years. Still, IGH bikes over here aren't on the cheap side, compared with a bike equipped with Claris, Alivio, Acera, Tourney etc etc (I'm pretty sure one of those is an old groupset). I'd like to get an IGH with drop bars, but finding shifters that work with them cost extra, as well.

The Bike Industry markets lightweight bikes....a bike with a IGH is going to be heavier by nature. I think those of us who really want an IGH are just a very small minority group, and derailleurs work really, really well. I agree with a lot of what [MENTION=23594]grolby[/MENTION] is saying above, and having worked in a shop where the sales were primarily lower end hybrids - yes people do walk into a bike shop, look for something in the $100-200 range and promptly leave when you have nothing in that price range. I would have a hard time coughing up that much cash at once, too. The only reason I have my Fred Sled is because I was working in a shop part time and all of the money I made while working there went towards paying it off, otherwise The Better Half would have taken a sledge hammer to the bike and then to my head.
I don't blame the industry for selling the bikes that sell - road, mountain, and hybrid. I do blame them for trying to push us all to hydro disc and 11 sp cassettes, though. >.<