Bicycles built for long duration use - people do ride for 16-24 hours straight more than you'd think do exist.

Sure, but those bicycles don’t cost 100 bucks they probably cost 5000+. The last bicycle I bought was $7000 and that was midmarket (my recreational cyclist standards).

I was recently in Rwanda where seemingly half the goods of this very hilly country are transported by bicycle, and those are single speed old english style bikes with steel frame reinforced with rebar. (they carry hundred of kgs on the racks). The bike are run 8 hours a day for years and cost $100.

The recreational market does spend a lot of money on bikes. Much of it is of questionable gain already, and in the context of Rwanda negative since the recreational bike generally compromises comfort for speed - a fine compromise for recreation but bad one for most Rwanda uses.

However some of what they are spending money on would make those bikes in Rwanda much better. Better/more comfortable seats can greatly ease the toll on your body. Disk brakes would stop the load much better and so make them safer. A couple gears would be nice (assuming it doesn't compromise drive train strength too much). Modern cargo bikes likely have a better cargo position as well.

This is the definitely the standard we should strive for when considering the needs of our wheelchair bound friend and family. If they want anything more than a 130lb wheelchair made out of old rebar they're just being selfish really.

In India millions of women are walking miles to fetch few gallons of water everyday. I don't get why people in California are screaming water shortage. Should be possible for Americans to live on a gallon of water if hundred of millions live like that in India.

It’s very hard to change your standard of living, and the standard of living in California is very different. We live off of tens of gallons of water a day or more. When you have to cut back, it’s difficult for your human animal to accept it. Population wide, it’s nearly impossible.

Yeah. This is why I’m so pessimistic about long-term prospects for the human race.

Living minimally is a skill that society has essentially turned into a negative trait. Our planet can only support so much, and individual humans are very selfish. There are 8 Billion now.

Possible? Sure, and a lot oft of hippie/environmentalist types in America do live that way, both in cities and in rural areas.

Is it desirable? Not necessarily. The goal is to be more efficient with water sourcing, distribution, and usage so people have more water to use, not less.

How many of them do that every day?

And of those people that do, how much do you think they spend on their bikes?

And, when people do use cheap bikes that don't really fit them out of necessity long-term, what's the toll on their body? It's probably not zero!

The parent comment is so bizarre

No one who uses a wheelchair does it because they like doing it

Everyone who rides a bike for 16 hours a day does it because they like doing it, and/or they’re an athlete

When you’re done riding your bike for 16 hours a day - likely one week in a year - you can go to the gym, stretch out

The wheelchair guy has to drag himself everywhere

I don't think many people do that, and if so, how many of them do it on one that cost "couple of hundreds"?