UniChris

That such a thing would exist seems to be a perfect example of how several intersecting trends have made solid low-end items almost extinct in some settings. I can think of many markets where the incumbent agreement of what an "entry level model" featured was disrupted by cheaper imports laden with features, most of which didn't turn out to actually by anything more than eye candy to distract from low quality where it matters - and often as not just an unnecessary source of user annoyance.

Generations past, a plant bicycle would have been a solid single-speed coaster-brake conveyance likely thriving even in neglect.

But today? Too many gears to ever solidly be in any of them. Rider-defeating suspension forks. Goofy suspension frames that will never see worse than bad pavement. Brakes that disassemble themselves if you look at them funny. I see them bouncing down the rail trail with frustrated owners astride, and at least until the past year's wave of electrification living 2nd lives as misfit delivery steeds in the city in a way that would be comical if it were not so economically desperate.

It's ironic to think that the countries where these are made use solid basic bicycles as everyday transport.

What would it take to get the big boxes to import those, instead of the crap they do?

(In fairness it looks like plant bicycles have been re-invented on trendy tech campuses; like a lighter version of share bikes built to tolerate neglect but not overbuilt in anticipation of malice the way public share fleets are. So the technology is there, but selling them in quantity to organizations who get it is not the same as selling them in singles to those who need simple reliability)