I started thinking getting a bike that is bit more 'weather-proof'. Still on the fence between which would be more favorable- disc brakes or IGH...

Anyway, there is a budget 3IGH from Kona that caught my eye. But I am unsure if the gearing will be sufficient for my needs/style. Link to bike here.

Would be possible to switch an IGH that has more gears?

Why not use hub gears AND disc brakes.
Shimano Alfine hub is a solid performer with enough gear range for everyday use.

You don't want a coaster brake in the snow. My Otis taught me that.

When you say "weather proof" - do you mean rain, snow, or both?

For rain, a lot of people seem to feel that simply installing the Koolstop Salmon pads has increased their wet weather braking performance to around the same range as disc brakes.

And again, if it's just rain you're worried about I don't think that getting an IGH with a chain is going to make any difference whatsoever. Rain mostly effects the chain, and if you still have a chain...well, that's that. I haven't done an intensive comparison or anything, but I do own a bike with an Alfine IGH and I don't know that's it's any better suited for rain than my derailler bikes.

If you want the ultimate in low maintenance, it seems like IGH+Belt Drive is the way to go - you get rid of all that chain maintenance stuff. But they're not cheap, and require a special frame (frame needs to be able to come apart in the back to replace the belt or get the rear wheel off).

Precipitation wise, it will primarily be rain. Winters here a little crazy- snow, sleet, freezing rain (sometimes within the same storm/frontal system).

I'd forgotten about the Kool Stops. Will look into those, for sure.

@OP: Yes, there are several different hubs of varying ranges. Here is an overview.

https://hubstripping.wordpress.com/in...ar-hub-review/

The only problem with this review is that the reviewer is obsessed with even distances between gears, when a speed gear and granny gear fit usage better. Other than that, here ya go.

In my opinion, as someone who owns an IGH bike (Alfine - 8 speeds), it has some drawbacks compared to a derailler. It feels a little more sluggish, not quite as efficient, and gears are spaced farther apart than they are with a derailler. For below freezing weather, it's nice that it doesn't have any gears on the outside that could get frozen up, but more just riding in rain an igh with a chain doesn't have a lot of benefits, imo - rain doesn't cause shifting issues, and the issues it does cause - like a squeaky chain - still happen because you still have a chain.

So if you're just riding in rain, my advice would be to stick with the regular derailleur which is cheaper and slightly faster.

If you really want something more weather-proof, like I said before I think IGH+Belt Drive is the way to go - with no chain, there's a lot less hassle. To be fair I don't own one though, so if there's issues I probably just don't know about them.

The one alternative I've heard of is doing an IGH plus a full chain case which completely encloses the chain and keeps dirt, water, etc off of it. I don't know if it's possible to add one aftermarket, though.

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Regarding stopping, I've had some pretty terrible experiences with my Dura-Ace 7800 pads - seems like with rain the stopping distance is about doubled. I've heard good things about the Koolstops, as well as Swiss Stops, and much better things about the Dura-Ace 7900 pads as well. I bought some koolstops for one of my bikes - but I haven't tried them yet.

With disc brakes, I can't even tell the stopping difference in the wet vs the dry. In the winter, there's less worry about frozen rims stopping them, and they don't grind salt and sand from the road into the rim (I suppose this is true when it rains, to a lesser extent, as well). They're nice that way. But they have drawbacks as well -

For starters, the bike needs to have the mounts in the frame for disc brakes. Does that bike have them built in?

For another, some disc brakes can still be finicky. I've had 2 bikes with disc brakes, and my dad has one. He's always had problems with his BB5's rubbing and making nasty noises when braking. He replaced the back one with a BB7 and it's better, though not perfect.

I have a Specialized mountain bike with Avid Juicy 7's. They've been absolutely flawless - great stopping power, no squeaks - nothin'. To be fair, being my mountain bike I don't ride it in the rain.

My winter bike also has Alfine disc brakes on it. It was a giant pita for a while - discs kept rubbing. Eventually I got the front fork replaced, the mechanic thought maybe the hole wasn't drilled in quite the right place on the old fork, and it's been a lot better. It didn't rub last winter which was way better, though it did still sometimes make some squealing noise when stopping (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't).

So disc brakes can be great, but they can also be really annoying.

Thanks, all, for your input and observations. What I'm thinking about doing now is just getting a bike with a derailleur drivetrain for now, then maybe go with this as my first foray into IGH, disc brakes, and generator lighting.

The Raleigh you linked to does not look bad. The specs are not accurate as it cannot have an Alivio shifter with an Alfine IGH unit. The Shimano Alivio shifters are derailleur shifters. A minor point but careless on Raleigh's part. Lots of similar spec bikes are available from various vendors.

It is.

tcs

...and Bob's your uncle.

tcs