I've used both. Derailleurs give a very positive, direct feel when you pedal. It's pleasant in the same way a classic sports car is. The downside is that they require minor tinkering to keep them in proper adjustment. For a lot of people, this is part of the pleasure of owning and riding a bike -- just as with the sports car.

Typically, on a derailleur bike, the chain is exposed to the elements (sand, salt) and your expensive clothing, and this can be a deal breaker for many. However, if you have a really hilly commute, derailleurs allow you to get a wide gear range at a low price, and this can be a deal maker.

It all depends on what you like. There's no "right" answer.

Paul

Please consider the possibility that some people are never going to understand derailleurs. I can assure you that many of those people are no longer riding a bike - something they once enjoyed - because of the scarcity of alternative options.

Enjoy your derailleurs, guys, but alternatives are important to people besides yourselves. (I know some of you are well aware of that :) )

I like my vintage Brit 3-speed. It's fun on easy, social rides out to 30 miles. Heavy, not at all clunky, except for when the chain slaps the guard when shifting. Very comfortable. I have no idea how many miles are on it, but it was a mess when I bought it. I took a look inside, cleaned it up, set it, and got on. Haven't touched it since. I rode a Breezer Uptown-8 once, thought highly of it, even on hills.

That said, I have very little trouble with my derailleur bikes either, and they are definitely better on hills. It's mostly the cleaning, but that's just me. I can't stand a gritty drivetrain, and around here in the rainy winter, it's a constant.

Nothing wrong with derailleurs or internal hubs. Internal hubs are usually mentioned so people don't overlook or dismiss it as a viable option. There are advantages for either setup. It usually comes down to personal preference and/or whatever weather and/or traffic/road conditions one experiences in their area or commute.

I tend to think that this is a bit of an overstatement just in the sense that if you want a derailleur system bike, this is not a reason not to buy it. A decent derailleur system is not that hard to adjust nor does it need to be done very often.

Having said that the low end Wal-Mart bikes would probably be better off without derailleur. I could see where derailleur on bikes that cheap could be difficult to adjust or not hold their adjustment.

Also, I would agree that not all people need multiple gears.

One other comment on derailer bikes--if you are a casual or occasional rider, they aren't appropriate. The problem is most are casual riders and most bikes sold at Wally World have derailers. They cost less than the internal gear hub bike.

For the casual rider, like two of my kids, they don't need derailer bikes and don't understand them. They don't dress in biking clothes and thus get pants dirty. If it needs adjustment, they don't notice. My oldest son, 17 yrs. old, has a nice mountain bike and half his gears work at any given time. He never even uses the front derailer. He's had the bike 3 years and now he doesn't care to ride it.

I blame myself--I never should have let him get that bike. He'd have been much better off with a single speed or 3 speed.

Obviously, if you're experienced at biking and have a need to go up/down steep hills, a derailer bike is best. Or, if you travel on the roads for long distances, they are for you. Other than that, though, you should consider other options.

My cheapo Giant Cypress (7 spd derailler) has about 9500 miles on it so far, and all I've done with the deraillers is to power wash them when they're crudded up and squirt some lube on them every few times I lube the chain. I've not had to adjust them yet and they're still shifting correctly. They do undershift a little when it's really cold out (< 15*F) but it doesn't really bother me, it still shifts the cables are just sluggish. I don't know that an internal would be less sluggish since I think it's the cables causing it.

FWIW I go through a chain every 2000 miles or so, so that's about 2.5 a year. I've tried different lubing etc but the reality is that I ride 8 miles of gravel a day, and if there's any moisture at all, the chain is coated with fine sand after every ride, and it grinds up chains. I'd have to wash the chain twice a day and even then I don't think it would stop it.

63 different women in the last 10 months that I have been bike commuting have told me this. Those are just the ones I've encountered in my everyday life and the subject of me riding my bike to work happened to come up. It's not just the adjusting, it's the actual shifting. I just don't think numbers like that - especially when I never sought the information from any of them - are an overstatement.

That's fine but don’t you think this is more because they don’t want, don’t like, or don’t need a derailer compared to they can’t understand? Derailers are not technology monsters and my point was that people who want one, like the OP, should not be put off by them because of this misperception.

they're expensive but worth every penny--rohloff speed hubs. i put one on a surly karate monkey mtb and after having ridden it all over up and down, i would gladly pay twice the amount if that's what they charged. absolutely the best bicycling experience ever. and i have a custom titanium road bike with campy chorus to compare it to. the rohloff is everything they claim for it and more.

i do not work for rohloff.:) :) :)

Derailleurs are fine. They need a little more maintenance and adjustment than hubs, but nevertheless, hardly any. Set 'em up, dial 'em in, and after a couple of months, they should settle down where you don't need to adjust them at all. I have cheap low end Shimano indexing on a crappy department store MTB, and that needs tweaking a lot, but I have 80's SIS indexed downtube shifting on my Gazelle fast roadie, and it's never needed adjusting since I bought it two years ago.

If you never clean your bike, your hub gear will definitely last longer than your derailleur, but whatever you get should do you years of service.

If she's using one gear 90% of the time you may want to run some calculations and determine an optimal crankset and cassette gearing combination for her. Instead of a 53-39 with 12-25, maybe a 53-42 with 11-23 is better or it's the other direction with a 48-36 compact and 14-30.

The new Shimano 8spd. Premium hub is really nice if you want hub gearing. Or spend the really big bucks for that Rohloff hub and get 14 speeds.

Eh...everything I ride except for my singlespeed has derailleurs. Never had any significant problem with them. I've done some spectacularly dumb things on a bike, wrecked in significant and showy ways, and never messed up the drivetrain.

I think, on the whole, internally geared hubs last longer, but either works fine for most folks.

Honestly, however, I ride my singlespeed way more than the geared bikes...light, non-flashy, non-fussy. It's an old Schwinn World Sport, with 39X17 gearing, 28c tires, and a lovely kelly-green Krylon paint job that brings me aesthetic joy every day I ride it.

I'm having a lot of fun on my San Jose fixie but I'll never give up my roadie; I just love getting out and riding 60-70 miles in the country; mooing at the cows, waving to the horses.

But for heading down to the grocery store to pick up some grub or just cruising around town on a lazy Sunday I'm grabbing the fixie.

So... We've had some snow here this winter. I know how the hub gear does in 4" of fluff - and I'm getting to be quite the fan of the no-cable rear hub brake for icy stuff too - I've had water seep into the cable housing of a disc and freeze.

While hub gears can be more expensive than a derailleur setup, my last 3 speed hub cost $2. It needs cleaned and overhauled, but should be perfectly functional.

I have no first hand experience of how a derailleur acts when you drag it through the snow. Do they do OK? I've heard the cluster tends to fill up with ice, which would have a real downside. Of course that might be an urban legend. Also, in rain I've noticed the hub gear's chain doesn't get as much junk on it, since it's 3-4" farther from the surface spray.

Since this is the commuting forum, I thought those might be salient points, particularly at this time of year.

Where are you located? If you will ride a lot in freezing slop the internal geared bike would have an edge, otherwise I would choose the derailleur bike, But that is me, your needs and preferences are likely different.