One way to find out... wait a couple of years until the $5,000 bike bought now is then worth $500. Then take it for a spin.
What you will then find is that all the marketing gurus and their customers will tell you that today's $5,000 bike is nowhere as good as their 2009 bike worth $8,000 in ride, handling and shifting.
There are, of course, many who ride years-old and much cheaper bikes (even steel ones!) that do everything they want them to do with the same perceived comfort and reliability that a $5,000 one could provide. Their comfort usually comes from having a thicker wallet to sit on.
