I've commuted on both. The Alfine bike is great for stop and go city traffic, maybe not so great for longer distances. I have had it out on long highway rides in early spring, but found the gearing limited.
Chain care isn't a huge problem on derailleur bikes, but everything is more exposed. The advantage is that you can customize your gearing more, putting on rear clusters with different combinations, wider or narrower range, etc. With an IGH you can make the gearing higher or lower with a different chainring or a different rear cog, but any annoying gaps (such as between 5 and 6 on the Alfine) are still going to be there.
That being said, I do like my IGH bike. Being able to shift gears while stopped is more useful than you'd think. Shifting while moving is not a problem, I just stop pedalling for a brief split second while shifting.

I have 3 bikes equipped with the venerable SA AW 3 speed hub, two are vintage Raleighs and the third is a 1988 Kuwahara Shasta rigid mtb that I retrofitted with an SA AG (3 speed and generator) this fall.

I also ride a 3 speed when I am in Portland and it takes me up and down all those hills and really does not care that it seems to rain all the time... I typically pass fixed gear riders on climbs too.

Rode the Shasta as a fixed gear until health issues required me to add a few more gears and it is well suited for our terrain and weather extremes... it is my all weather commuter but it's primary purpose is to get me through winter safely, efficiently, and with a minimum of muss and fuss.

I just checked my drive train and after more than 3000 km of riding in nasty conditions my chain shows no measurable wear and the amount of time I have spent cleaning the bike has been minimal.

An internal hub gear really shines when you want a dependable drive that does not lose efficiency when it gets dirty, resists contamination, and has a very low maintainence interval... the SA AW or it's variants like the AG are good for 50,000 km and the wear on the external drive parts will be minimized.

If you live in hillier areas there are IGH hubs with more gear range available but these hubs are more complex and as yet, most do not have the reputation of the AW... the SA 5 speed has also been in production for many decades and is also an ultra reliable hub and it offers increased range.

We have retrofitted a lot of existing bikes with IGH hubs and this is an option to look at if you already like the bike you have and some IGH systems use a dual drive which expands the range by adding a cassette and derailleur gearing as well as adding some extra maintainence.

The ultimate IGH is a Rohloff 14 speed but it costs more than many nice bikes.

There is nothing wrong with derailleur gears either although I do find that when it gets really cold or when the external; parts are exposed to a lot of road crud performance drops off dramatically, they need more TLC, and over the long haul will cost more to run.

In San Diego the arguments for IGH become much less convincing. Here in Calgary we have to deal with awful grinding slop in Winter, and IGH with as good protection of the chain as possible is a Very. Good. Thing.

For you I would suggest a 3x8 dérailleur system, with possibly a Chainboard to give you some protection from rain off the front tire ( along with fenders ). My preference is for 8 speed clusters because the chain is noticeably cheaper and more durable.

Likes the nicer weather (the sti shifters get a little sticky at -25C)... and it is a pita to keep clean.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikepics/2011trek1.JPG

Loves the nasty wet cold slushy stuff... geared fairly low for winter to be able to slog through anything and will bump the gearing up for slick tyres and nicer weather.

http://www.ravingbikefiend.com/bikep...troshootb.jpeg

With some, yes. Don't quote me on this, but I think it's mainly an issue with older models. My Alfine Inter-7 is built to shift just fine under load (IMO it shifts much more smoothly than a conventional drivetrain under this or any other circumstance)

I'm a total convert for IGH and disc brakes, but I'm not sure they will give you the same benefits as I see. I like the low maintenance despite the weather, and like mentioned above, I like shifting at stop lights.
I had an SRAM 3speed that worked well until I broke the axel. Honestly, it did fine in commuting in Boston. I think the axel broke because I kept hooking up a trail-a-bike and pulling my daughter around. Anyone need parts for an SRAM 3-speed?
Now I run Alfine 8-speeds. Love 'em. Smooth shifting and they just 'feel' nice. There is a large enough range that I can go up or down any hill around where I live now (St. Louis).
In San Diego, you don't see snow, too much rain, etc. so maintenance is not as much of an issue. You don't *need* disc brakes (but I still am an advocate for them), and a derailleur will give you a wider gear range- I know SoCal has mountains, so you might need it. Depends on your commute- you might get away with an internal 3-speed, you might need 18 gears. Decide that first, then choose the system that offers the best combination of simplicity and versatility. Eh, I don't have any answers for you....

I commute on a Bianchi Milano with mustache bars -- quite comfortable for a 15-mile ride, good riding position, and it looks good, at least to me.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3089/...17175db9_m.jpg
Bianchi Milano Celeste / Red by joshua_putnam, on Flickr

Just realized now that it's Spring that I've gone almost 5,000 miles since the last time I oiled my chain. Seattle is wetter and dirtier than San Diego, so that may not be as much of an issue for you. Besides having a chain guard, the IGH allows the use of a traditional full-bushing chain of the sort that won't work with derailleurs since the days of wide-spaced 5-speed freewheels. Full bushings have more wear surface and hold lubrication better in the rain.

The OP's commute distance, topography and grocery needs sound cannily like mine. Don't forsake the 3-speed internal-geared hub! Not expensive, bomber, and nice to look at.

I love this setup. So dialed in.

I love, love, LOVE my belt drive/IGH bike. It's a 2010 Norco Ceres. I don't know how easy it would be to find in your area, but there are Norco dealers all over Canada and some peppered throughout the States. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Norco is Canada's Trek.

I bought my bike specifically to deal with inclement weather, and that is where the belt drive/IGH combo shines. Other than a couple of simple barrel adjustments on the shifter cable, it has required zero maintenance this winter.

My bike has the OP's desired steel frame, and the 2011 version has been upgraded to hydraulic brakes. I don't know if the bike's geometry would lend itself well to drop bar conversion, but with my trekking bars I wouldn't hesitate to take the bike on a light tour. For serious touring I would consider a swap to a double chainring up front and a chain with tensioner, or one of those slick two-speed planetary cranksets which would allow for retention of the belt drive.

Evolution of my bike:

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=194868http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=194872http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=194869http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=194870http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=194866

If you have a grip shift you can crank several gears at once in a fraction of a second. It does take a quick burst of power to add some momentum, then a quick let-up in power sync'ed with the shift. I do it on my MTB climbing hills, I think you'll find it pretty easy to do on the street.

I ride my bike year round and after each winter i have to replace the chain but the derailleur is still doing fine after years of abuse, its a shimano deore so not the cheapest around but its really durable. IGH is only usefull if you combine it with a enclosed chain, otherwise the chain will die just as fast as with a derailleur . Only advantage of the IGH is that you can shift while stopped.
So no real advantage in my opinion.

The chain on an IGH bike will (or should) last longer than a derailleur chain because you run a straight chain line and the same thing happens with fixed gear and single speed bikes. The lack of deflection and a stiffer 1/8th chain can really extend their life and just measured my winter bike's chain today.

I ride 500-600 km a month in the winter but was away for 6 weeks (riding another three speed in the rain) so have about 2500 km on my bike's chain and had no measurable wear... find that on my IGH equipped bikes chain life can often double or triple that of a derailleur equipped bicycle even when it is exposed.

My oil lubed IGH (synthetic) is also superior in extreme temperatures as it will continue to roll smoothly at -40C and beyond.

I think the IGH really shines in places that see snowy conditions. I've observed many winter commuting bikes that have been relegated to a single cog in the back because the drivetrain has been otherwise packed with ice/snow and made nonfunctional.

As Sixty Fiver mentions, chain life tends to be longer due to the more robust chain/cogs and linear chain line.

I also prefer the cleaner aesthetics (and ease of upkeep) of the simplified drivetrain with an IGH.

Based on my experience with Shimano Nexus 4-speed IGH.

IGH "likes":

- shifting when not moving
- less frequent cleaning
- can't break the RD
- less adjustments needed than a standard RD

IGH "dislikes":

- you need to build a wheel and rebuild it to change the hub
- taking the rear wheel off
- grip shifters
- other than Rohloff the gear range is narrower
- torque limitations
- can't fix it if breaks/jams, you have to rebuild the wheel (got burned on my Nexus 4-speed)

I still prefer standard derailleurs :D I have no problems with them. I haven't noticed any advantage of IGH in shifting speed or anything else really and those few "likes" are not enough to outweigh my "dislikes". I would not go on a tour with an IGH due to complexity of repairs and I don't believe IGH is that much more reliable than standard RD. Perhaps Rohloff, but that's way too expensive.

I gotta say If I lived in San Diego I'd go with derailers. (I love san diego by the way )

This if from a guy that rides an IGH on a surly cross check year round minnesota commuter bike. Which i love dearly, Right tool for the job here.

That is the single most important reason to use an IGH.

I have been commuting and utility biking in 9 different cities over the past 40 years on touring, road, and a few years ago a dedicated commuter bike (Jamis Commuter 3). After all that, when I decided to build up a real, multi-purpose city bike I built this Soma Mixte this year. I wrote a whole series of posts about the decision and the build on my blog, but suffice it to say I've found the mixte frame the best for city riding and I think the Nuvinci is the best value in an IGH right now.

If you can adjust your brakes or deraillers, and change a tire, you can build a bike.

Marc

If you're going to use an Internal hub, spend quality money on tires. If you can only afford one tire, focus on the rear wheel! Buy a high quality rear tire from Schwalbe and use a Mr. Tuffy tire liner for extra protection. The worse thing is getting a rear flat on an IGH especially if it has a rear coaster or drum brake! The tires that came with my Torker were horrible and changing that rear wheel after a while required a visit to the LBS since I was not knowledgable on how to set the rear wheel!!

Before you take the bike out of the shop, ask them to remove the rear wheel. The LBS may not want to do this but you need this VITAL information in case of a flat tire! Trust me, you will spend up to an hour or more the first time you have to fix a rear flat. If you bike has a chain guard and drum brake, expect to spend two hours!

One thing that made me hesitant about switching my winter bike to an IGH was the fact that I wouldn't be able to easily swap the rear wheel with another one anymore.

In practice I suppose this isn't a huge deal for all but a few of us, but I really liked be able to easily switch tires by just switching wheels. I could go from 23mm slick to 40mm studded in under a minute. You could do the same with gearing, although you had to be careful about chain length, or have a couple of different chains with power links.

If the puncture is not too bad and can be repaired rather than replaced, you can generally do so without having to remove the wheel. You just lay the bike on its side and work the tube out between the frame and wheel.

your in San diego, Derailleurs all the way. I don't have experience with IGH but I have experience with commuting. Also, if your not dead set on steel, consider the Nashbar touring frame. for under $100 it's awfully hard to go wrong with it. I'm 90% done with my commuter, just need to get my rear wheel finished, i'm using a backup wheel while it gets built.

I also like being able to swap out wheels as needed. The nashbar frame has 132.5 dropouts. I've got 700x37 tires on it for comfort since i'm 245lbs but i like haveing the option of throwing another wheel set on with narrower road tires should I plan to take it on a long group ride or having a set of wheels with knobby 29'er tires on it for really bad weather or if I'm taking a trip somewhere that is going to have dirt trails. the regular route I commute is TERRIBLY potholed but group rides that I would do are on relatively nicely paved roads so its nice to make a simple swap of a wheelset rather.

I think the problem of removing the rear wheel with IGH hubs is exaggerated. Each has a very specific but simple way to disconnect the cable or cables, it just has to be learned. You do need to carry a wrench in your kit since they're not QR. I could do it when I was 8 with an SA 3spd,and now that I am...ah...more mature,I can do it with a Nexus or Nuvinci hub. They're just not QR.

Marc

perhaps it is, but to me the problem is that IGH hubs are expensive so if you want multiple wheelsets you would need multiple IGH. Those of us with deraileurs can just get different sets of regular wheels.

+1

IMHO, IGH are enjoyed mostly by geeks that like dorking around. They take some unique care and feeding, they can make a riders life difficult when things go wrong. I spent over 18 months figuring out how to make my im9 run correctly. It runs like a top...now. If I required an LBS to sort it out I doubt I would have ever got it running right.

For actual bike recs...

I've got an older Breezer Villager. I think the equivalent model in Breezer's current lineup would be an Uptown 7. It's got about 5000 miles on it, and I still love it to death. It'll cheerfully handle rear loads in the 40-55lb range. I keep it to 55 as a maximum because I can't manhandle the bike when it gets heavier than that. For me, it's a comfortable bike for 50-60 mile rides. It's not a perfect bike for all the things I do, but it does an astonishingly good job handling a wide range of activities. (racing is absolutely not on the menu tho)

A friend has a similar vintage Novara Transfer. I dunno that he's using it for the same kind of distance I use my Breezer for... while we both tend to bike everywhere, he does have a car, and he's a lot less obsessive about getting things done by bike. He's also got both a kiddie trailer (for his toddler) and a cargo trailer (for groceries), so he's probably not maxxed out the cargo as much as I do. Still, he's perfectly happy using it for a 15-20 mile ride, and he gleefully got it a present of studded tires this year.

Both Breezer and Novara have "higher end" versions that are a little bit nicer. They don't offer belt drive models... belt drives are sufficiently new that 3-4 year old bikes are too old to have them. Drop bars also weren't an option when I bought, and at least with my hub, they still might not be an option without a fair bit of mechanical fiddling. Somewhat annoying, since I slightly prefer drop bars, but not the end of the world. It's still a perfectly good distance bike.

I'd tend to argue for IGH if you have a lot of stops (I use a lot of routes that have 6-10 stops per mile), problems with your leg joints (I have arthritis in pretty much all of 'em, and a bunch of bone deformities), snow (yup, Madison gets a lot of snow), and frequent need for emergency stops (live within walking distance of 2 college campuses and 3 different hospital ERs). I pretty much am never *out* of a situation where an internally geared hub is an advantage. But in San Diego... your situation is pretty different. For starters, no snow. And it's pretty much impossible to have 10 stops per mile in San Diego... So unless you're rather arthritic and live near UCSD, it seems to me that IGH might not be the best choice. Shifting while stopped is life-changing for me. But I would pay for a missed downshift for a couple days to a week, depending on how much load I was carrying.

Living here I am seeing more and more people who want 3 speed and IGH hubs for winter riding... they are excellent for our climate.

Also enjoy my fair weather igh equipped bikes a great deal... have a 1954 road bike with an igh and a folder with an igh that are very nice bicycles to ride.

And I run just as many derailleur equipped bikes as they too have their place.

I have a Hub-Bub to go with my im9 gripshifter on drops:

http://images3a.snapfish.com/2323232...48732%3Anu0mrj

My Milano came stock with an internal hub. I'm not sure what unique or difficult maintenance to expect, I've only had it three years now, so far it's been dramatically lower maintenance than any derailleur bike I've owned. Other than oiling the chain a few times a year and greasing the brake once or twice, it's been maintenance-free, 100+ miles/week.

This sounds suspiciously similar to a "steel vs. aluminum" debate. I have both steel- and aluminum-framed bikes. I prefer steel. I have both IGH and derailleur-shifted bikes. I prefer IGH. Simple as that. That does not mean, however, that after a test ride I wouldn't fall in love with an aluminum-framed, derailleur-shifted bike. It's all a matter of perspective.