Dreadful bikes, awful bikes, triage and maintenance

Simon Brooke wrote:

If you inspect the sheds and cellars in your average suburban street, you
will find several dozen sub-£100 bikes which have been bought, ridden
once, put in the shed/cellar, and never taken out again. Why aren't they
taken out? Because they're no fun to ride. A bike which isn't fun is
pointless and a waste of money, because it won't get used.


Do people who have cheap bikes hardly ever ride them because they're
cheap, or do people who hardly ever ride bikes have a cheap bike
because they hardly ever ride them?

We may be of the opinion that cycling is a fun activity that everyone
would enjoy if only they could be bothered and/or had the right
equipment. But some people just aren't interested and only want a
vehicle for the 2 nice weekends in the year when they have the time and
the inclination.

Why tie up a lot of capital in an occasional play thing?