I've read that before as a strike against the shaft drive.

I have no idea, really, since this is the first bike I've had as an adult. I do like that I don't have to worry about chains. We picked up a catalog from the lbs and my husband opened it to the "tool" section and a two-page spread of stuff for chains and said, "Look at all the stuff we don't need."

One review I found said that a well-maintined chain drive would be superior to a shaft drive, but the shaft drive would be superior to the less-well-maintained chain drive. To that my husband said, "In other words, this is what we need." Heh. The idea of dealing with chains all the time didn't thrill him, obviously.