Why do I want more gears? So I don't spin like a demented monkey when going faster than the crawl you seem to like. So I can handle all terrain. All weather. All company except Lance Armstrong.
Please go ahead and have only 1 gear. I used to commute on a singlespeed for about a year or more. I enjoyed the simplicity and imagined that I would have no maintenance. That was a pipe dream. Even the idea of less maintenance was a dream. Complexity in gearing does not equate more maintenance in my experience. Cycling conditions dominate - dry weather, low wear. Wet weather, extreme wear.
Tx for your reply. A single gear bike is much easier and cheaper to repair IMO, esp. if I can do it myself. And it is lighter to carry on the high and dangerous stairs of railroad stations, esp. with heavy luggage. I drive mainly in heavy city traffic where high speeds are not safe anyway. Your situation and wishes may differ of course.
I think the lowest gear of three gear bikes is not low enough. If I had two gears, I would like a moderately low gear for carrying heavy luggage, and an extreme low gear for climbing.