Originally Posted by
Stucky
I do enjoy my rides- whether riding my old Klein, or my '13 Venge....or [25 years ago] riding a department-store junker I resuscitated from a junk pile. But that's the thing- it's not about the equipment; it's about the ride and the rider.
On the older bikes, I never said to myself "Gee, I wish I had more gears!" Or "If only I could change gears by moving the brake levers!" or "These square-taper BB's sure suck; I sure wish someone would invent a plastic press-fit BB...yeah, that'd be the ticket!"
I never knew anyone who had complaints with their bicycles of any era. What I saw instead, was manufacturers coming out with new things, and then convincing consumers "why they need them". 100 years ago, businesses in the free market provided what consumers demanded. Then, starting with print media in the 1920's, and more so with the advent of TV in the 50's, marketing became all about "creating a need" for what you are selling. Google Edward Bernays, if you are not familiar (Sigmund Freud's nephew)....
It isn't uncommon for individuals to use conspiracy theories to explain things but I don't. Convincing folks that they need things is far more difficult than offering them what they are asking for. The fact that you see this differently has more to do with your perspective than reality.
Now, I would be willing to bet that you would prefer a manual transmission to an automatic if given a choice and were you interested in driving a car. It would mesh with the comment you made earlier about the "pinnacle of engineering". You might also disagree with the notion that a vehicle with a continuously variable transmission (no set gear ratios but a smooth continuum of ratios) offers any benefits whatsoever. Yet many car manufacturers, responding to a demand for better fuel economy from their cars, have adopted continuously variable transmissions for the vehicles they sell to satisfy the demand for efficiency.
A human body is similar to a car engine. Both tend to operate most efficiently at a particular level of effort. That is the reason behind the increase in demand for more ratios in both cars and bikes. The ability to tune the gearing smoothly between the motor, or cyclist, and the effort at which it operates most efficiently is the benefit that you are apparently unaware of or missing out because of poor technique.