Originally Posted by
capolover
That's like saying a 22 Mile per gallon engine isn't inferior to a 40 Mile Per gallon hybrid engine because it's how cars have always been made and that's how it is.
If it's more efficient and better for you it is.
That's a really poor analogy to what I was saying.
Regarding the analogy... the hybrid car is a more complex system, and more efficient, and the standard gas-driven engine system is simpler but less efficient. So, frankly, the hybrid would be the multi-gear bike, and the old-school car would be the single speed. That might not fit with a hipster credo, but the analogy doesn't wash the other way.
I appreciate the simplicity and directness of single speed. But it is not inherently more efficient than multi-geared bikes. It's the opposite...put them both on an incline, and you'll be putting out more power per result on the single speed than on a multi-gear bike. And you won't be doing anything healthier for your joints and body. It's a more inefficient, energy-guzzling system. Not very green...
Just like if you kept your car in the same gear, and didn't shift out of it, you'd eat gas and not really get anywhere. (now THAT's a good car analogy)
Originally Posted by
capolover
Also, I think single speeds are just fine for newb riders. We all ride them as kids, why can't we easily do it as adults?
I like single speeds. Their simplicity, unfussiness. And for the kind of kick-around, relatively short-distance riding one did as a kid, they're perfect. I plan to get another one for short city rambling. (I also happen to like longer fast rides through the countryside, feeling the terrain, which a multigear bike lets me do with more fun. Those rides on a single speed are just beyond most people's capacity, and that doesn't make them sell-outs or lazy. It would make them quit biking, likely, if that were their only option, and why should it be?) There's nothing less authentic, for longer distance riding or commuting on varied terrain, about having multi-gears that keep one riding longer and safer, which encourages more riding. Isn't that part of the point, people riding? Or is it to adhere to some idea of what's 'authentic' vs. what's too cushy? Silliness.