Originally Posted by
Riveting
Small and simple: Why are there no gears?
The sport was created when bicycles were the #1 means of mechanical transportation. It was super popular just like the #1 means of transportation now (cars) gives rise to one of the top spectator sports (NASCAR and motorsport in general).
The first bikes were fixed gears. Even the first 20-30 years of Tour De France races were on fixed gears.
So, when bikes evolved, some genres of the sport changed and some stayed the same. Now look at how many different genres of professional cycling we have: BMX, CX, MTB, Track, Road, MTB Trials, etc...
Put another way: "Why are their foot races when cars exist?"