People are responding that the Rohloff is 'unserviceable'. I can say here what I can't explain to most cyclists I know: it's unhackable. I don't like disc brakes for the same reason (but at least there it's worth the trade-off for safety).
I love that bikes are made of simple mechanical parts about which, at a glance, I can at understand what they're doing, how they're doing, what's wrong, and what needs to be done about it. And I love that these simple mechanical parts can make me move, with just muscle input, so efficiently. I don't want internal hub systems, motorized derailleurs, hydraulic brakes, batteries, etc. They ruin part of my fun.
(Also, an aside about first-mover influence: Someone in France beat someone in the UK to the bicycle by a (few years?) in the mid-19th century, and we still talk about derailleurs, panniers, etc. Computers will still be described in English terms for another century.)
I love that bikes are made of simple mechanical parts about which, at a glance, I can at understand what they're doing, how they're doing, what's wrong, and what needs to be done about it. And I love that these simple mechanical parts can make me move, with just muscle input, so efficiently. I don't want internal hub systems, motorized derailleurs, hydraulic brakes, batteries, etc. They ruin part of my fun.
(Also, an aside about first-mover influence: Someone in France beat someone in the UK to the bicycle by a (few years?) in the mid-19th century, and we still talk about derailleurs, panniers, etc. Computers will still be described in English terms for another century.)