Chicago-based nonprofit World Bicycle Relief (WBR) doesn’t distribute just any type of bicycle ??? it distributes bicycles meant to navigate the unimproved roads and rough terrain of developing nations, empowering populations to access healthcare, education and economic opportunities that would???
so if one chain breaks can you change gears and keep going? Is that what they are talking about with redundancy?
I think so re redundancy – but the primary benefit is not having fragile and high-maintenance derailleurs, as I understand it.
This only happened due to the shift to 50 gears. Have a 7-9 speed and it’s sturdy enough.
I’ve abused the hell out of my basic-ass Shimano 3x7 and it’s still going strong. The only thing I’ve replaced is the cables after a decade or so lol (they still worked, but I got new handlebars). These bikes are an order of magnitude more robust though.
I rode a two speed kickback bicycle similar (operationally) to this for about a decade. It was the lowest maintenance bike I’ve ever owned, but the gearing was inside the rear hub and it only had a single chain. I can’t imagine that the mechanism being outside improves that.