Originally Posted by
1989Pre
O.P. cited the lack of diversity (I'm para-phrasing) in the bikes at his LBS, so perhaps those types may be absent there.
Well it was you that suggested that the whole bike industry was becoming less diverse and more “conformist” implying that we are all idiots, which is complete nonsense. When I went in my LBS in the 80s it was full of drop bar steel road bikes with 6-speed 52/42 cranksets and very little else. Maybe a few 3x touring bikes. Now there are all manner of road, gravel, hybrid, commuter and mountain bikes. There are so many different models that the LBS tends to only stock what sells quickly on the shop floor - usually fairly low end builds. Every bike I’ve bought over the last decade has required an order. The chances of them having a specific bike in a specific build spec and size is practically nil these days.