There was no disability in the streets. You got around the best way you could.
If weed was luxury, bicycles were more luxurious, or the streets of Brooklyn would have been filled like Shanghai. If there were two wheels, a frame, some handlebars and a seat, you were blessed.Gears were optional.
If anything, no gears were your braking system. I've seen a guy ride the sidewalk like a unicycle, sitting straight up using his hands to eat. Then at the intersection, he jumped off the back of the bike, grabbed the back of the seat and kept walking.
The bicycle chain without gears was uni-directional, meaning you kept pedaling to keep the bike upright, or that bike was going to stop. You were braking or pedaling, in constant motion. Or you were flying over the handlebars.