Keep Bicycling Simple

John F. Kennedy once said, “Nothing compares with the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” I agree. Bicycling combines exercise, transportation and fun into a single activity for people of all ages. What other activity can claim all that?

One of the biggest appeals to bicycling is the simplicity. You get on, pedal and go. So my question is: why are today's advancements in bicycling designed to make them more complicated? New advancements such as exotic frame materials and increasingly complex gearing don't make bikes simpler to operate or easier to maintain. Instead, they do the opposite:

Complex Gearing and Shifting: Today's typical adult chain bike has multiple shifting controls on each hand needed to manipulate chain derailleurs across eleven sprockets to manage 24 gears. How many gears do recreational riders really need? Or use? Plus with all this gearing equipment, it takes practice to figure out what gear you are in, and when you're away from the bike for a while, you have to learn it all over again.

Specialty Parts = Specialty Maintenance: With new, advanced components comes a new degree of specialization required to maintain them. According to bike shops surveyed, the only service that should be done on a bike by a non-certified shop mechanic is a tire change. You shouldn't need specialized tools and a degree in bikeology to perform routine maintenance on a bike. It seems today's bikes were designed by people who like to tinker with bikes for people who like to tinker with bikes.

These “advancements” have created a void for those who want simple, reliable transportation; not a complex and technical piece of machinery. I think it's time bicycles got back to their roots of simplicity and fun.

Technologies That Simplify

Fortunately, not all new technologies for bikes add complexity. Some actually make bikes more user friendly - easier to operate and easier to maintain. One such technology is shaft drive technology which eliminates the chain, and replaces it with a fully enclosed shaft drive (or direct drive). Shaft drives have actually been around for over 100 years on bikes, using small gears and a spinning shaft rod to transfer power from the pedals to the rear wheel. Shaft drive technology has few moving parts, is simple to understand, and is very proven - which is why it is now standard on many motorcycles, including all of BMW's motorcycles. Shaft drives are also smoother than chains, last longer, don't have any external grease to get on hands or clothes, don't have any sharp moving parts, and don't require adjustments and cleanings like chains.

Another advancement that simplifies bikes is internal gear hubs, which replace the external sprockets and derailleurs. Internal gear hubs reduce the number of gears by 50-80%, which dramatically simplifies shifting, yet still offer a comfortably wide gear range and more intuitive shifting. Internal hubs are also sealed and protected from the elements and don't have the maintenance or repair costs of sprockets and derailleurs.

Used together, the shaft drive and internal hub create a new breed of bikes - called chainless bicycles - that offer a unique combination of performance, simplicity and low maintenance. For most recreational riders and commuters, chainless bicycles can dramatically simplify bike operation and ownership. And in turn, get more people on bikes more often. After all, isn't that the point?