Originally Posted by
Drakonchik
Gosh, I maintain lots of bikes while rarely ever buying a new part. Seems there's a vast resource of old bikes and parts to draw from. At least here on planet Earth, Cascadia region.
Yes, yes; however, if people started to need those parts because those bike were actually being used in real harsh environments (such as a collapsed society), just how long do you think your supply of spare parts would last? The short answer for the mathematically challenged among you is that a fixed supply will disappear quite quickly without replenishment. And in the OP's scenario, no such replenishment would occur.
And further, transportation (THE BIKE'S ONLY PURPOSE) is not going to be a high priority after the initial collapse (a year at most--where the vast majority of the population dies). Food and shelter (hence hand tools) will be the high priority.