Only 3 significant changes to bicycles over the past 50 years - disc brakes, 7+ gear cassettes, and electric motors. I have a $7,000 ebike and a $2000 carbon fiber bike I bought in 2001 and I use them both equally.
When I was doing boat deliveries when one needed to use a sextant and tables an accurate timepiece was critical. Smart sailors had $20 digital watches that lost far less time than a $10,000 Rolex mechanical watch. But for most people the perceived gain in status with conspicuous consumption (and waste) is all that matters - small men with big egos.
The good side is that the profits generated for companies like Shimano has led to an amazing amount of innovation for all levels of cyclists. In 1970 I bought my bike shoes and cleats from Italy and my touring panniers from the UK and had to go to a fellow who made custom frames to get the geometry I wanted for touring. I laced my own wheels to minimize spoke breakage with my touring loads over bad roads. Lycra and Gore-tex did not exist nor shoes that one could safely walk in when off the bike.