jamey: the 29-spoke wheel was on an ancient monster of a bike... probably of soviet make, definitely communist. That's a whole different world of engineering you never heard of. It was indestructible. Many of those bikes are still running, after 20 years with zero servicing. Tyres changed every five years, chain and possibly sprocket changed every ten years. That's about it...
Those bikes weigh 40 pounds despite being singlespeeds Everythingwas made of steel beams, practically.
Of course the wheel was way out of true, and of course he didn't care. Coaster brake was still working fine.