I remember that thread and I agree, it turned out pretty balanced. His beef was about a handful of things indirectly related to the IGH - belt drive, tensioning of the belt drive, the Versa shifter (I like mine), hard to change a flat, the brakes, the tires, etc.

That being said, I have an IGH bike and if I were reliant on it for daily transportation and on a tight budget I don't think it would be my first choice, especially if I didn't have a backup.

Thanks for the offer, mtalinm, but I think I'm just going to stick with my current bike for now. I'm probably going to remove the front derailleur and small and large chainrings and then install a chainguard to solve that problem. If I don't want an IGH, the only problem with my current bike is the tire size, which is not worth getting an N+1 over. If the derailleur dies over the winter, I'll just replace it.

No, not at all. I always use drops or aggressive an aggressive flat bar setup.

Do you have full fenders and mud flaps? If they fit on your bike, I would highly recommend them. I'm also fairly lazy with maintenance (partly because I don't have access to water in my garage), and I find the fenders prevent a lot of damage. I basically just wipe down and lube up from time to time.

Yeah, I have the SKS Raceblade Longs. But that means the difference between 28mm and 23mm tires.

ok. lemme know if you change your mind and want to try it out sometime. it's in my office in Cambridge, I use it mostly around town these days.

+1 on the PIA changing a rear flat. Commuted for one month with an IGH Nexus 7 and had two flats. Not worth it. Stick with a single speed or external geared with QR axles and no cable to deal with. Simple is better.