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The road/gravel segment of the industry is in a weird space it seems. Frames and full builds seem to be more expensive and (due to aero focused integration) that increases maintenance and replacement parts cost as well. Yet, if one wants a cheap set of nice, reliable modern carbon wheels, there are numerous options. Not to mention, rim brake used bikes are true bargains.
So, it’s really the future proofing that is driving costs. As an example, I chose to pay $500 premium to purchase a disc frame over its rim brake equivalent. While I always justify a purchase as the lifetime bike, the reality is that I may end up selling it and that drove the purchase consideration, (not wider tires, or better braking).
So, the manufacturers have upsold us and that cost increase trickles down as many of us consider relative pricing when making purchases. That $8k premium model is out of reach, but ok, there’s a comparable model that “only costs $5k”, and I’ll upgrade the wheels later.
For me the one of the biggest changes in price creep was SRAM’s AXS drop. Now, if you want the lovely clean looks of modern bikes, you can’t buy a cheap group-set and you are locked into their eco system with hubs and expensive cassettes and consumables. It was a truly brilliant move, particularly as the product delivered in terms of looks, ease of integration with aero cockpits and the modern clean aesthetics (look ma, no cables!), but man is it expensive for the end user.
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