Spear vs Knights... am I missing something?

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Lovewyrm

Doesn't a spear require ready maneuvers to strike at different ranges?

Yes.

Meaning the knight could just charge the peasand and grapple him, or throw his shield at him, or go "hey what's that over there?!" and, well, just be more effective in close combat than the spearman.

One possibly useful tactic, yes, as long as the spearman missed you on the way in. (See "Stop Thrust".) A good fighter will have unarmed skills and backup weapons so they have some options, rather than just piling all their points into one weapon.

In the basic set on page 273, Spear, in one handed mode, has a reach of 1 with an asterisk... But with only one range...what's the point?

The same spear can have reach two if the grip change is also to two hands. That's the next line on the table.

Martial Arts has the Grip Mastery Perk, which lets you change grips (once per turn) as a free action.