Originally Posted by
markf
A single speed coaster brake bike will require much less maintenance than anything with gears, so you'll have more money for textbooks, partying, and maybe even buying a nice bike when you have a safe place to keep it.
I smell fashion bike propaganda. You're talking about maintenance costs, what about her back tire with a coaster brake?
If she's not putting in at least one hundred miles a week, there is no maintenance cost related justification for going with a single speed with a coaster brake on it.
I had a twenty-one speed Raleigh M80 with unmaintained stock parts for thirteen years. I still do, actually, I just don't ride it much since I drank the Surly kool-aid. Anyway, I rode it a few miles a day every week the entire time. I did so in Cincinnati, Atlanta, Chicago, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, and Southern California. It experienced all climates and road conditions. It wasn't until I started riding much longer distances for fitness (upwards of 150-175 miles a week) that the cassette and chain started to finally wear out, so I replaced them. Forty bucks total after thirteen years of continual use.