My dad dissuaded me from getting a ten speed bike as a boy.
After owning all kinds of racing bikes in my teens I eventually realized that 5 gears was more than sufficient for me.
Smooth bearings and a light frame never failed to bring out the joy of cycling.
Some of those ridiculously heavy 20 speed monstrosities with no mudguards were little more than exercises in pure marketing designed to entrap the unwary and inexperienced.