I'm unconvinced. The LBS can still work on Buffalo bikes. They can still repair tubes, true wheels, fix pedals, replace spokes, fix chains, change brake pads, etc. They may not have unique parts, like the AK2 freewheel, but it's far from being unable to repair most bicycle failures.

I think Evan found an upset businessman who's in the business of selling Black Mambas. They're in that same situation as a local doctor that's been displaced by Doctors Without Borders. And they're upset that they have to compete with WBR. The complaint is understandable yet it doesn't absolve them of their own failures.

No bicycle donation program is going to survive on a single LBS or two near a city. If I were to buy a kid a Black Mamba and it breaks down, then the kid has to take it into the city to repair it at that one shop with high repair prices. What's far more likely is the kid will stop using the bike and sell it. Kids-in-school objective failed.

Note, this is also why WBR only operates in places where there is insufficient bicycle support. There's no need for WBR to donate and sell bikes if there's already a healthy local bicycle market. You can't buy a Buffalo Bicycle and WBR doesn't want you to have one. Instead go buy a Surley or a SOMA or a Rivendell. We have a robust LBS network. WBR operates where there's nothing.

And, IMHO, the Black Mamba isn't a great rural bicycle. It'll work but it's far from ideal. By donating to WBR, I know it's the best bicycle that will go to some kid. I know that it'll survive long enough for that kid's few more years of school. I know that it'll be strong enough to be passed down to their little brother or sister. And I know their village has a dude with a wrench to fix a flat and adjust a pedal. Such robustness is worth the extra $50 over a Black Mamba.