If my choices are a z-wave/zigbee thermostat that connects to my HomeAssistant instance and a Raspberry Pi that I have to maintain, I’ll pick the z-wave one (and I did, 10 years ago. It’s been rock solid.)
For my smart devices I prefer devices that can’t send information over the internet no matter what. I don’t want to worry about my thermostat mining bitcoin for some dude in China.
I rode a two speed kickback bicycle similar (operationally) to this for about a decade. It was the lowest maintenance bike I’ve ever owned, but the gearing was inside the rear hub and it only had a single chain. I can’t imagine that the mechanism being outside improves that.