back in the days of mao, before china became the world's factory,
consumer goods....like food....were in short supply. certain luxuries,
such as sewing machines, transistor radios and bicycles were only
available in a few stores, and only with the required ration cards.
few people were in a position to rate these cards, even fewer could
afford the goods. having one (or two of them) meant you were
somebody. you'd be proud to show off your pigeon or forever bike.

of course anybody who was somebody lived in beijing. including
western reporters who saw all those bikes and started calling china
the bicycle empire or some such nonsense. outside of the capital
bicycles (and western reporters) were like talking unicorns.

as china has advanced, bikes and sewing machines have been
forgotten. they want buicks and pabst blue ribbon. bicycles are
for the remaining 300,000,000 who live on less than $50/month.
until recently, it was rare to see anyone other than a student or
peasant on a bicycle. those with limited means bought e-bikes
or small gas scooters; those with more bought clunky little
fiat-type cars. middle managers bought volkswagons and dreamt
of audis.

now with greater disposable income, and more free time, a growing
middle class is enjoying the delights of increasing obesity. cycling
is now becoming fashionable, such that even in some of the smaller
towns (small town = population 2 million+), boutique bike shops
are appearing.

unfortunately, there's not much middle ground. you've usually got
the choice between a $50 wally-world piece of garbage or a $5000
bmw/farrari full-suspension titanuim gold-plated diamond-encrusted
clothing rack.