The interesting thing about Sheldon's comments to me (and maybe they were taken out of context because the press would never do that) is that he is a strong advocate of internal gear hubs, yet it isn't likely that changing a flat on a Shimano coasting bike is any more difficult than changing a flat on any other Nexus equipped system.

On the other hand, for this target demographic, they'd likely take the bike to the shop to get the flat changed. Personally I think it's silly to pay someone else to do something that you can easily do yourself. However, I've come to accept that there's a very large segment of the population who don't want to think about anything remotely "technical," whether that's changing a flat on your bike or car, patching drywall or backing up your computer's hard drive.

Maybe coasting should be packaged with a premium bike service offering, like dispatching roadside assistance for stranded cyclists.