Are bike shops and manufacturers selling the bikes that average people want?

By “average” I mean people who don’t cycle right now, but would given the opportunity, as well as most people who do ride.

By “want” I mean both what they think they want, and what would actually make them most happy. A lot of new buyers just don’t have the experience to really know what would suit them best, so they want an “ultra cushy comfort behemoth”, an “ultra-rad mountain bike”, or a “carbon miracle”. They just don’t know, so when it turns out to be less awesome than they think, it leaves them with a bad experience with cycling.

It seems to me that LBS sell a lot of “comfort/hybrid” type bikes, and that a lot of new riders want these, but they really aren’t what will make them happy. They need something that weighs about half as much, regardless of type/geometry/handlebars. I think Linus and some other companies are making things that would be more practical. I have nothing at all against the big guys, but sometimes I walk into a store and I see rows of tanks that I wouldn’t want to handle around the shop, let alone ride or fit in my garage. Some of those steer awful. There are also a lot of full suspension MTBs, and a few $2,000+ road bikes, but not much you would want to ride to the store with, or put in/on the car to take it to the park or wherever. Things are changing with the younger crowd, but IMO potential riders aren’t being presented with what they would actually enjoy riding. Agree/disagree?