^^^
It's dangerous, in business, to blame the consumer for their likes and dislikes and what they are willing to pay for. People generally don't pay a lot for bicycles because it is an occasional use item. Not a necessity by any means, and it doesn't get many hours per week as recreational goods goes. Us commuters (and by extension, roadies and mountain bikers too) pay for stuff because we get a lot of use from them. Would you sink $500 into anything which you use maybe once a month for a hour?

If you want more people to ride bikes in the US, start building cities which enable bicycles to be useful. Then, and only then, will people start paying good money for bicycles. Until this happens, the bicycle industry will be perpetually catering to the "enthusiast" group who bicycle because they love to bicycle.