First off, the current situation is affected by the COVID-related supply chain issues, pushing used bike prices through the roof and eliminating any incentive for retailers to give discounts. So lets put that aside and look at what things were like pre-COVID.
Of course, even pre-COVID, there may have been a temporary spike in prices due to tariffs. We will see if/when that issue gets resolved.
That said...
This complaint about the rising cost of the sport gets raised.... Every. Single. Year. As long as I have been on internet bike forums (~22 years) this complaint has persisted..
But here is the thing: Once you adjust for inflation, and the fact that most non-BSO components generally work better than they used to, I never find it turns out to be true. I've done this research too many times to count over the past 15 years, and it always comes out the same.
Sure, some particular brands or specific models might be riding a wave of popularity and push up prices of certain items, but on the whole, the cost of entry never really goes up. So maybe Specialized or Santa Cruz find they have the cache to raise their prices, but then someone like Bikes Direct or Canyon comes along and undercuts the price.
Last edited by Kapusta; 04-02-21 at 09:58 AM.