Only reason I think it's bad is the casual cycling crowd doesn't need a more complicated machine....this adds all kinds of electronics into it, which I can see as definately making the thing that much more difficult to deal with overall (make shifting cake, but if something goes awry on a long ride or to work, oh dear...) Internally geared hubs are for the most part bulletproof, that's why i think they are the best option....looks like a normal wheel, and behaves like a normal wheel.