I'm not sure that people really need a hub that shifts for you. Is shifting all that hard? Is that what keeps people off a bike? It seems like they could build a simple non-intimidating bike (there are lots already) that would be appealing for the same money. I don't know, maybe there was a focus group where people who don't ride bikes said they'd ride if somebody made a really dumbed down bike. Like "Biking for Dummies" in metal.

I think people's confusion about bikes stems from the proliferation of models and the subtle (to most people) positioning of each one - comfort, hybrid, fitness, 29'r, soft tail, hard tail, etc, etc, etc. Plus all the comp vs. sport vs. team vs. whatever. If you want a bike now there's an endless maze of choices, which for a lot of us is fantastic, but for somebody who just wants to ride is hopeless.