jfarnhill wrote:.............I was intrigued to see the comment on using a derailleur for events as you could always depend on it; I think I might be better off on that route for my next bike as my simple brain at least understands derailleurs .
From the outside looking in,the Alfine IGH is a lottery,and far from trouble free for some users,not only that but unless you know a thing or two about them or have a knowledgeable LBS you're pretty much stumped whilst you wait for a replacement from the importer.
Deraileurs OTOH are reliable and with a little cleaning and regular maintenance are trouble free.
I'm not decrying IGH in total,but the Shimano Alfine IGH's aren't a SA3 killer by a long shot.The worst of it is that once bought due to the frame configuations ie;dropouts,etc you're stuck with the IGH problem not the IGH solution.
All IMO of course.