Talbot Path Racer

Crazy nice bikes, Dammit. Well done!

That's always a big hurdle but if you build it, they will come. I think, anyway. If you compare it to driving (I know, I know), the "joy" of driving for me involves a manual gear change, but having driven a car on a racetrack that can change gear much better than I can, performance autos are the future, if you're interested in maximising performance. The same could be said for bicycles, a nice little casual ride, it could be nice to do all the gear changes yourself but if you're training and competing at any level, then why not opt for a system that would enhance your performance automatically for you. With data logging and telemetry, you could have remote coaching, online or on the phone, thus reducing costs and opening up professional coaching to more people.

I would imagine it was highly irritating to have sudden autonomous shifts, you had not actuated yourself.
In order not to catch your legs and throw you out of cadence you'd had to incorporate a clutch mechanism as well. More complications often demand even further complications.