Originally Posted by Hiro11

I'm personally always amazed how little people think bikes should cost. Bikes are full of complicated machining and construction techniques that require lots of hand work. To make a bike strong, light and reliable involves lots of expensive materials and thoughtful engineering. High quality bikes also are produced in small quantities and don't benefit from economies of scale.

And yet, I see a lot of threads with new cyclists here asking about sub $500 bikes for serious riding. Your average hybrid buyer at the bike store balks at anything over $400. A lot of these same people will gladly spend the same amount on a single golf driver or a multiple of that amount on a rarely used, mass produced kitchen appliance. I think this stems from people grow up riding $150 POS department store BMX bikes that last one year. That becomes their benchmark.

I'm not saying $15K for a bike is in any way required or practical. At that price, you're getting into esoteric/conspicuous consumption fetish properties sold to rabid enthusiasts. However, something like $2,500 on a bike you plan to ride thousands of miles a year seems completely reasonable to me. After all, lots of people spend that on gym memberships they never use every year.