Originally Posted by
adlai
I think that 9-10 speeds are unnecessary, as many of the intermediate gears I think end up being passed over pretty quickly.
What matters more is range of ratios, not the number of gears.
Utter nonsense. If this were true, cars would would only come with 2 gears, low and high. More gears allow us more flexibility when riding in various conditions. Low gears for climbs, high gears for descents, middle gears for flat roads, middle high or middle low gears for tailwinds or headwinds. Still other gears allow for conditions in between, or combinations of different conditions.