Originally Posted by I-Like-To-Bike
The other side of the coin is that some (most?) people may not be that fussy with an inexpensive bike. Some things that a perfectionist may choose spending much time or money "fixing", might be ignored by some (most) people who are not "savvy enough" to tweak things that are not broken and serve them well.
Right you are ILTB. In the case of the brakes. Unlike speed-racer CigTech
many people enjoy sight seeing at say 8-10mph. If the brakes don't work, you just put your foot down. No big deal. Same with shifting. If it doesn't shift good, ride it fixed-gear style.