Originally Posted by
WhyFi
When I bought my first road bike 10 years ago, the going rate for a 2nd-tier CF frame, 10sp 105 and place-keeper wheels was $2k. Currently, most manufacturers (I've only checked with Trek, Spec and Giant, but would imagine that most are similar) are selling their 2nd tier carbon (which is better than top tier from 10 years ago), 11sp hydro disc 105 for $2200-2500. That seems totally reasonable to me. Giant is one of the few manufacturers offering a rim brake 105 model, and it's currently going for $2050.
Seems to me with Spesh, atleast, that the $2000-2500 price point gets you their third tier carbon frame. And a lot of the tier 2 frames I am speccing out these days end up closer to $4k than $3k. I got a second tier carbon Ridley with a mix of Force/Ultegra for well under $2000. Even allowing for inflation, it seems that you get less for your money for the price - or rather, the gap to the top-end has widened a lot more. Some of it could be because of how much higher the top end has gotten - that leaves more room in the middle for additional tiers.