Originally Posted by carlton
Couple of really key words here like commute, majority of bikes, internal gears, and rainy and cold. Looks like the commuters that you speak of have voiced their opinion also. They voice with their pocketbook. They had a choice between what type of drive system fit their cycling needs and they bought internal gears. Cheers
Other key words are: low milage, low speed, fair weather cyclists. And internal gears works fine for such conditions.
I really don't think that internal gear hubs like the Nexus, or Spectro S7 are the best choice for high milage, all weather commuting, which was what the original top poster asked about, especially compared to the rather good derailleur systems and hubs one can get for the same price.
Popularity doesn't mean that they good choice; a lot of people (young men) buys MTB's with knobbled mud tires for riding around in the city; hardly the best choice.
I really think that people are buying into a myth regarding the perceived low maintenance of internal gear hubs; they need maintenance too, like any other moving bicycle part. Don't believe me, then ask your LBS about recommended service intervals of your internal gear hub of choice.
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Regards