Originally Posted by
CrankyOne
A well made city/Dutch bike with internal gear and brake hubs, enclosed chaincase and good tires is probably much more reliable than a car and also requires less routine maintenance. Likely the primary maintenance an owner might ever need to do is change or patch a tube
I've had Euro-style bikes come into my clinic(some actually from Europe). I would much rather change the wheel on a car than fix a flat on some of those. I've also had folks bring bikes into my clinic and I've had to give them bad news about things needing replacement. Many times they comment that they've been riding the bike for years and it's never had any issues before. All bikes need regular maintenance. Putting it off only makes the inevitable problem more expensive. And yes,even coaster brakes need to be looked at occasionally.