Originally Posted by
70sSanO
The one objection I find hard to believe is the inability of a beginner to be able to shift between chainrings.
Forty, 50, and 60+ years ago beginners, as in teenagers/young adults, were able to negotiate multiple chainrings with flat rings and downtube friction shifters.
You are viewing the past through rose-colored Oakleys, I think. 50+ years ago, plenty of beginners were cross-chaining their 2x drivetrains and making them crunch as they shifted under load. There are myriad examples of ads from the 60s and 70s with cross-chained bicycles in them. A very small percentage of them fell in love with cycling but most dropped out.