Originally Posted by
Herzlos
Given each manufacturer wants to stand out as the provider of the best bike, and the retaillers want everything in stock to sell, I think it's pretty likely that everything will converge on what is defined as good at the time. It's just a sign of a mature market.
Bike shop customers want to buy fast, comfortable drop bar bikes with good brakes and a good range of gears.
The same happened to cars - there's really not much difference between most of them now.
There are many different types of car, but in any particular category there are many similar options from different manufacturers and very few complete dogs. Back in the 70s and 80s there were far fewer categories and options within each category and a lot more complete dogs! It's a similar story with bikes apart from the proliferation of BSOs at the lowest end of the market.