Originally Posted by myrridin

Actually no, but it seems that you like so many others on this forum can't reason very well.

Bicycles are a product of an industrialized society. Collapse of that society would entail the elimination of the infrastructure needed to maintain those bicycles. Yes some would be in use for some time. But an ever reducing number. Horses, however, are a naturally self-reproducing commodity that of course performs a multitude of functions that a bicycle is incapable of... After all how practical is a bicycle pulling a plow.

And some other items, the delusional fail to consider

- Failure of an industrial society will quickly mean a failure of the pave road network. While some bicycles can function off pavement, lets not forget what so many on these forums are quick to point out in other situations. It was cyclists who originally pushed for paved roads (and not paved with cobblestones-which were the original method of 'paving')

- Tubes and tires are based upon natural resources not readily available in a world that has lost its cheap international transportation infrastructure.

- Metal working as it occurs in mass production is not something that would survive such a collapse. Blacksmithing and farrier work would survive after enough folks learned the old techniques--something that would take time. And those spare parts are not subject to one-off productions in any useful quantities. And even more importantly, transportation (the only real need a bicycle could meet) would not be a high priority. Food production and farming equipment and other basic tools would be the real priority for such limited metal working facilities.

- Frames are subject to failure, particularly when used on non-paved facilities for which they were not intended. Any non-steel frames are no going to be repairable in an environment without specialized tig/mig welders. Steel frames are not going to be able to be repaired with wood/coal fired forges in any substantial way.

So yes, anyone who thinks that bicycles would be useful for any reasonable period after such a collapse is delusional...