I for one am not a snob about hub gearing. I would love to own a five speed hub gearing based bike, but I have heard from too many experts (including Sheldon Brown) that there is the inevitable friction loss to an internal gearing system. Nothing could be more elegant and practical than a hub geared serious racer. I have also yet to ride one of those high bred and rarer hub set-ups that could compare to a nice derailleur bike.
Garth Libre in Miami Shores Fl.