[razorback-bert]

Just think of all the wreaks that were ridden in the 1950's. I and my friends all rode Sears(some from the catalog),Western Auto,Montgomery Ward and other discount stores of the time. Not one ever saw the inside of a bike shop, if something broke, our fathers or brothers fixed them.

[Melas]

Ah, well the difference is that modern bicycles are ridden quite a bit differently than your good ol' 65 pound cruisers from Sears, Wards, and even the Schwinn phantom. Those were neighborhood crawlers that kids mostly walked up hill. A modern bicycle weighs anywhere from the neighborhood of 1/3 of that for mountain bikes, to 1/4 of that for road bikes. The speed and manner that bicycles are ridden have increased dramatically. The result is a lot more stress on the equipment and risk to the rider. It's not the same world anymore.