Originally Posted by
Bikepacker67
And for that, they are superb (I've ridden them).
But let's get serious here, most folks can't afford a stable of cycles, and the English 3-speed is a poor choice for the one bike cyclist.
I've gotten by just fine for the last year one just a three speed (74 Schwinn Speedster) in Baltimore, which is far from flat (not SF hilly, but it ain't flat) and have done decent (10-15 mile) pleasure rides on it in addition to almost daily commuting. Like any other bike, the more you ride it the more your body adapts to riding it. Even when I had a 21 speed MTB I only used 2-3 gears excluding when I would ride over the Oakland hills. The argument from the SS/fixie crowd that most people only use one gear is a little narrow, but for me three is almost perfect.
(Unfortunately the 33 year-old spokes don't like the 200 years-since-last-paving roads in B'more, so the three speed is currently down with a busted rear)