Originally Posted by
livedarklions
I don't think there's been any comparable change in reliability for bikes, it's always been a relatively reliable machine. And a simple single speed bike can be just about the most reliable of them all.
Car complexity has made them more reliable in that it's really the electronic controls that have curbed the IC engine's tendency to slowly blow itself up. A lot of independent mechanics shops closed a few years back as they couldn't afford the ever escalating number of electronic devices needed to service a car.
Fair point, I was thinking more reliability for cars since bikes are pretty simple mechanically anyway. The technology has definitely improved and brought advances, but those are mostly performance/ease of use rather than reliability. The only reliability improvements I can think of are things like tyres with better puncture resistance, and better manufacturing quality.