The biggest issue with IGHs is that they appeal mostly to people who want to avoid doing bike maintenance. In SoCal, that's probably ok, but in places where people will ride them through sloppy conditions, water and grime and salts get in, but can't get out. The hub keeps working until it doesn't, and then it's too late to fix it because most of the time you can't get parts for the most popular models (namely, Shimano 8sp models). Rohloff is sealed and mostly immune to these flaws, but that's out of most cyclists' league. Old SA 3-speeds are another thing, too, because parts are available in surplus and cheap, and the hubs are sloppy enough to function (to some extent) even when internal parts are worn or gunked up or out of adjustment.
Then you have the issues with more difficult flat fixes, shifter/handlebar capability, weight (perhaps), many bike shops that don't know how to service them or carry parts, etc, etc. And, besides all that, modern derailleur systems, work REALLY well with a modicum of TLC. What problem are we solving? Don't get me wrong, I think IGHs have some neat advantages, but the people who want them are often the people who will have trouble with them and be disappointed. On Tuesday, April 10, 2012 11:27:39 AM UTC-5, Peter Pesce wrote: > > Not sure how many people have unrealistic expectations of Raleigh 3 > speeds, but OK. I can understand steering clear of IGHs if they're not your > thing. > > Seems like the only expectation that was "unrealistic" in this case was > that the SO would sell. I'm just throwing out a hypothetical (and > apparently heretical :-p) idea that might have made a difference. We'll > never know. > > On Tuesday, April 10, 2012 11:54:10 AM UTC-4, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery > wrote: >> >> Grant has stated his reluctance in the past to get involved in bikes with >> IGHs. I don't blame him. It's a case of a lot of people having unrealistic >> expectations that don't match reality. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/QsI-nDEbetAJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
