The older I get, the more willing I am to use tools and accept that it will eventually wear it out. I put about a thousand miles around town in a year on it. The whole bike was $500 new with shipping. Never destined an heirloom.

The Nexus eight speed is the seven speed with a “granny” gear. The seven high gears have small steps relative to a five or three speed. I suspect this might make shifting under load less stressful on the components...note that under load shifts are always just one gear at a time unlike a derailer.

The Nexus 8 is a great piece of kit. Robust, inexpensive and stupid easy to tune.