Hi Jules,

Disclaimer: I am absolutely convinced about the Rohloff.

I am riding roughly 10000 km per year and my last Rohloff was damaged in a car accident after 70000 km. I took it from one bike to the next, but now I have the second Rohloff, my wife has one also.

If you are lazy you can shift u to 14 gears whn your standing, I change my chain after 10000 km, change the oil every year and that's it. You must accept that it is more noisy as an xt setup. My experience is that it is more quiet in steel habs than in aluminium hubs.

My weight is 105 kg, and I load my bike with additional 35kg approximately. in road an dirt paths.

My advice would be to take the Rohloff. Take it and forget about maintenance, you probably won't get something more durable by less maintenance.

Cheers
Detlef