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Perhaps it’s because it is Bike to Work day today in San Francisco, but there seems to have been a lot of controversy stirred up on the web this week by the gentle art of cycling.

First, there was the ridiculous assertion that cycling is less efficient in terms of energy consumption than driving, as if we — in developed countries — need to consume any extra food to fuel our cycle rides or as if drivers fast to compensate for the energy not used when driving their cars. I could go on…

And then a post by jwz, offering his own advice for people wanting to start cycling in San Francisco, attracted an enormous pile of enraged comments, many from other cyclists upset by his recommendation to “Never take bike advice from anyone who owns bike shorts, clip shoes, a messenger bag, or a fixie.” I don’t necessarily agree with all his advice either (though he did make it clear that it was specific to the cycling situation in San Francisco), but I wouldn’t get upset about it. People cycle for all kinds of different reasons, and have their own preferences, requirements and constraints. There really is more than one way to do it.

I suppose that I don’t understand why cycling inspires such ire in people. If you’re not being harassed by drivers (or anyone else who seems to take it as a personal rebuke that you are using a eco-friendly mode of transportation), or or pedestrians, or being taunted by gangs of school children, or having your tyres shredded by the glassy remains of outdoor binge-drinking sessions that seem a permanent fixture next to every park bench in Birmingham, other cyclists also seem to want to join in.

Of course, some cyclists act like idiots, just like some drivers and some pedestrians, but does that have to mean that the rest of us who just want to potter quietly to work have to take the rap? In that context, watching this video of a school run in the Netherlands (via Velorution) made me want to cry — it’s like glimpsing Utopia. All those comfortable, sensible, load-bearing bikes! The broad, glass-free, well-maintained cycle paths! The people cycling calmly along in their ordinary clothes, and not wearing helmets! The hordes of children cycling with their parents! Sigh.

[About this time of year, the pressure of exam marking robs me of the ability to string thoughts together in a coherent way, so please forgive the somewhat rambling (or more rambling than usual) article below. Lacks structure or a properly constructed argument, and shows little evidence of independent reading. 2.2]

There’s a well known saying in project management circles: Good, cheap, fast: pick any two. I’ve been thinking recently that something similar could be applied to eco-friendly or ethical products. There’s usually some trade-off to be made when compared to the traditional alternative. For example, meat produced with good standards of welfare for the animals tends to be of better quality than standard meat, but is more expensive. Recycled paper is better for the environment than non-recycled paper (probably…), but it isn’t as good quality. Travelling on public transport rather than going by car is cheaper (when you take all the costs into account), but much less convenient. In some cases, the eco-friendly alternative is cheaper than the alternative, but only after some initial period when the capital invested in installing it is paid off (solar or wind power).

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A month after getting my new bike I’m a thorough convert to hub gears. Not only are they wonderfully smooth in use and pretty much sealed against the crud that comes off the path, but — as I discovered today — they are also a dream to adjust.

New bikes tend to need a bit of tightening up after a few weeks of use and settling in. Cables stretch and fixings loosen, and you find that gears start to drift out of correct adjustment. The Shimano Nexus is no exception, and on my last journey, I found that third gear wouldn’t stay in gear, and a few of the others were a bit tricky. I was anticipating the greasy, time-consuming horror which is gear adjustment when you have derailleur gears. I’ve always found that you spend hours patiently adjusting screws back and forth, only to find that if you get the bottom of the range right, the top is out, and vice versa. It’s like a bike equivalent of the ‘Right Said Fred’ piano moving experiment.

In contrast, the adjustment process with the Shimano Nexus is absurdly easy. There’s a little windowon the upper surface (and on the lower surface, in case you’ve got the bike upside down) of the hub which shows you two vertical yellow lines. When you’re in fourth gear, the lines should meet. If they don’t (mine didn’t), it needs adjustment. All you do is rotate a knurled collar where the gear cable enters the twist grip shifter on the handlebars until the yellow lines align — no tools required! A quick flip to first gear then back to fourth allows you to check that the lines are still aligned and tweak if necessary, and that’s it. It’s an entirely non-greasy, easy, two-minute job, and everything is back to smooth efficiency afterwards. I think I’m in love with a hub gear.