Originally Posted by
Kovkov
Exactly. If You want a reliable 3 speed hub the Sturmey Archer AW is the one to get. It basically allways works and if it doesn't it's really easy to take it apart and fix it yourself. Parts are available and not expensive. I would look for a pre 1984 model. They say those form the 50ies are the best. I'm currently running 7 of those and i'm happy.
If it has to be SRAM i would rather look for an original Sachs Torpedo model 55, 415 or 515. Those seem to be as reliable as the Sturmey Archer AW but i guess it's harder to get replacement parts (at least outside of germany).
Accodring to Sheldon Brown/John Allen the Shimano 3 speeds seem to be rather problematic. They talk about shattered pawls and subsequent destruction of the hub through the shards.
There were problems with Shimano's early 3 speed hubs, but the modern Nexus 3 speed is very robust. However, the shift mechanism mounts outboard of the dropouts which was one of the concerns of the OP.
Sturmey Archer makes a rotary shift version of the 3 speed with shifting mech inboard. I have one here that has never been used. The main issue with that model is that the rotary shift mech takes up almost as much space as a cassette making for a highly dished wheel. This negates one of the main advantages of an IGH.
The new 5 speed rotary shift hub from Sturmey Archer does not have this issue.