Liberating Limitations

We live in interesting times - the times of many opportunities. We have a chance to go to more places than our grandparents ever could. We can do more things, as they are generally more accessible to us. We have more options to buy and own various stuff than before.

And yet, sometimes it feels that this variety, this accessibility, these opportunities are overwhelming. Not that I would like someone to make decisions for myself, but I do get a feeling that less is more and limitations can be... liberating.

Take cameras, for example. I always take one on every bike ride. If I want something small, it's my Ricoh GRIII. If I have space for something larger, it's my Fuji with a 35mm lens. That's it. No multiple choices. No zooms. Small and simple. One focal length to do it all. At first, this looks like a severe limitation. You may think that you need to be able to take ultrawide angle pictures of landscapes and close ups of distant wildlife, all on the same 50 mile trip. No, you don't. It actually better to limit yourself to one focal length and learn how to see the world through just one lens. You won't take all pictures, but you will take some good ones.

Ricoh GRIII with a single focal length built-in lens - limiting yet wonderful.

Back to bicycles - single-speed bikes are liberating in some sense. Not having to think about gear shifting keeps it simple. You can focus on your ride and surroundings only. Just push on pedals and go. If you can't go - walk your bike uphill. It's not a race and you are not in rush.

If that's too much for you and you really want to keep your gearing, that's fine. It's useful in most situations. However, I found out that those modern, multi-speed systems are not needed to day-to-day riding. Unless you race, there really is no need for a 12-speed cassette and top of the line shifters. In fact, my adventure bike has a simple 2x9 speed setup with friction shifting. That sounds ancient and is not something that most cyclists would be willing to try, but again, it's liberating. It works with any derailleur, from any brand, is cross-compatible with most mechanical components, and is so simple that there is basically no way to break it. I mean, a friction shifter is built of 3 main parts that pretty much can't fail in normal conditions. May not feel or look fancy, but it is in fact a true zombie-apocalypse-ready gearing.

Simple friction shifter - works with anything.

Sometimes it's just not necessary to overcomplicate things!