Quote Originally Posted by cyclinnewbie View Post
Would be great for a beginner....
"Beginner" as in someone who's never, ever ridden a bicycle before, just like an automatic transmission in a car is good for someone learning to drive for the first time.

Once you have the basics of operation down so just balancing and steering aren't consuming your entire attention, it's time to learn about RPMs... Honestly because I drove a stick and/or motorcycles most of my life, I didn't understand how MUCH attention an automatic car takes, to avoid hard shifting, until I was in my late 30s. It's so much work a manual is simpler, IMHO.

But a bicycle with planetary drive (like my Prius)? That I could go for... None of this wishing I had a cog in between my 19 and my 21...