Originally Posted by
HarborBandS
My old shop was not in a wealthy area, and we sold LOT of bikes around $350 (today that would be about $575) in, say, 1995. If you went "off brand", you could get a bike for $280. The shop had dozens of them in this price range out on the sales floor. You can find a bike at this price range in a shop, but sales floors are crammed full of more expensive models than before. I think this is adding to the perception that bike prices have gotten out of control.
Maybe it has more to do with buying habits in general, or perhaps consumers have become price-desensitized from what’s happened in other categories. During the same period, consider what’s happened to cars, real estate, and higher education.
Also, I take the number of middle schoolers with smart phones as a sign that “making do” is a dying art. Now who’s the curmudgeon?