Originally Posted by thdave
I agree entirely.
I would hazard to guess that half the kids out there that own mountain bikes don't know how to properly shift gears. My kid has one and he hardly every uses the big sprocket, even though I've shown him how to use it.
Bottom line--most use their bikes for short jaunts. They don't need the triple ring in front and are better served by the internal gear hub.
I cannot understand these bikes in shops for 6 year olds with a 5-8 speed derailler. How many rugrats really "get" the gearing, I wonder? In contrast, I was successful in managing my mom's bike with a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub as soon as I was tall enough to pedal standing.
My mother has spent 15 years with a derailler bike and still cannot use the gears properly. She rode her 3 speed Schwinn all the time, now she rarely rides. My riding waned to nothing until I got a clue and got rid of the derailler. I'm a woman, and as you guys know all too well, we talk to each other a lot. So many women tell me they used to ride all the time before they were pressured by someone (usually male, I'm afraid) to get rid of their uncool, obsolete, 3 speed and replace it with 18 speeds that they've never figured out how to use. It is so frustrating to hear that over and over and over. You know those pictures of "regular" Dutch and Danish women on bikes people in North America wonder over? Well, those are the same women who in the US have given up riding because they can't figure out that blasted derailler bike that the guy in the LBS shoved down their throats! There is something about an internal hub gear that is so friendly, so instinctual in its shifting, and so simple - even my 8 speed.
I think the Amsterdam really has the potential to help improve this situation, so long as all Electra dealers have floor models to try and promote it with a positive mindset.