Of
Sebastian Herrmann
When life was more of a future and less of a past, the number of gears on a bicycle gave it status and prestige. The equation was simple: the more, the merrier. A bike with a three-speed Torpedo hub gear assigned you one of the rear seats in the children’s pecking order, subcategory of private transport. At the head of the pack were the lucky ones, whose bikes had drop handlebars and ten gears. The envious looks of the other children acted like fuel on these two-wheeler offspring kings, who proudly rolled through the neighborhood. Then, when mountain bikes appeared that had three chainrings at the front and the number of gears exploded (and bragging in adulthood looked for other fields), this number played a less and less role: 18, 27 or more gears? Doesn’t matter.