Originally Posted by
kila kila kila
Don't psyche yourself out on maintenance. Derailleur adjustment and maintenance is a lot easier once you get used to it.
Eh. I've very rarely needed to mess with deraillers or brakes. I wanted an IGH because of the weather and my knees. Madison's streets get treated with sand instead of salt, and that chews drivetrains up right quick. And our part of town averages about 6 stop signs and lights every mile. That means I have good odds of needing to do an emergency stop *every* ride. Since I'm usually hauling 30 or more lbs of stuff around, my knees really don't like starting up again in a high gear. IGH eliminates both issues.
SF has much nicer weather, so the exposed gears on a derailler bike won't be a big deal. Rain just isn't good at munching drivetrains
. But the stop and go issue may be a big deal for the OP (or it may not).