Originally Posted by
cbrstar
Go to Holland or Japan and you will see the ultimate utilitarian bicycles ever created.
But I sure wouldn't ride one.
The problem is no matter how good your bike is If you don't do the maintenance it's going to grind to a halt. My best friend has been riding around on his dept store MTB almost everyday for over 10 years. But he makes sure everything is greased up. I've had other friends who rode their rather expensive road bikes for a few years without even oiling the chain and get upset when "It doesn't shift anymore". You can't run your car forever without changing oil, so why is it so shocking your bike needs TLC to keep running?
Some people I know who work in bike shops have told me some funny stories. Like people who bring back their brand new bikes a couple of months after buying them, saying there is something wrong with the tires. The problem? You guessed it. They didn't know that every so often, they were supposed to inflate them.