Perhaps it's too early in the morning, but I'm not seeing what you're seeing in this article.
Aside from reading like ad copy, what's the point here?
Is it that people of a "certain age" are too mentally incapacitated to perform basic bike maintenance and shift gears?
Or maybe the point is to illustrate how the Rans bike is a good option for people (like the author apparently) with zero cycling experience and mechanical ability?
[snipped] "I think many of you would say Electra built the first mass produced Crank Forward, with the Townie."
I think most of us would say that idea predates WWI.