Whether someone is able to buy a bike, or a car, with cash or whether they need credit is purely academic. And I really don't think this thread needs to head into the "I am able to write a check for..." direction. When some people can buy a house with cash, taking a checkbook to buy a bike or a car is pretty far down the food chain.

I can see instances, especially during the pandemic, where parking spaces are limited and prohibitively expensive, public transportation has shut down, and less expensive bikes are no where to be found and a bicycle is the best mode of transportation. For whatever reason, maybe buy a bike, lose a job, will the day come when the bike get repossessed was the question.

John