Actually fowler, if he is using a small electric motor, say sub 3kW, then multiple gears would definitely be helpful. For instance, the electric bike me and my friends built last year for a comp would have been useless without gears, the bike and rider weighed about 90kg all up and was being powered by a 500w motor. Thats less than 1Hp, which even with a flat torque curve is low. Takeoffs werent quick, hill climbing was a chore and in the end the weight killed us.
However, without the gears we would have gone nowhere. The hills would have been impossible and the acceleration would have been utterly hopeless.
Also, we managed to run for just shy of 2 hours averaging around 30kph on a hilly track, on bike chain. Whilst I agree it isnt strong, it is quite suitable in low rpm situations for shortish periods of time
http://www.flickr.com/photos/billcollison/6375537995/