Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
Especially since most bicycles in the U.S. are sold at big box stores to customers with little or no interest in long distance, racing, "training" or club cycling events.
I doubt that most of the bicycles sold in the U.S. have that much in common with most of the bicycles used in RAGBRAI, by frame type, brand name or cost.
People who purchase bikes at Big Box Stores may not have an interest in many organized bicycle events but the selection of bikes that they have
is influenced by those events. A cross-section of Big Box Store bikes is pretty much indicative of the broad types of bikes sold. Mountain bikes dominate with a few road bikes thrown in. And the vast majority of them are going to be aluminum. There are very few new steel bikes outside of kids bikes being made and sold in steel.