Bikes in general are a ripoff. I wonder if it's because they sell poorly so the prices must be high or it's just some sort of monopoly (perhaps tied in with the bike theft mafia) :D
I've never had an issue with my $200 used bike for commuting 45 minutes to work, honestly. Those multi-thousand dollar carbon fiber things are just for racers and status symbols and minor improvements, basically. There are people at my company who use their bike for the Malibu Triathlon, etc. but if you are cost conscious, it's not actually necessary to pay so much.
Really? I wouldn't have said so. Yes, if bikes had the scale and vertical integration that automobiles do, they could be somewhat cheaper, but the price point has never felt unreasonable to me.
Particularly given the fairly smooth ramp from Walmart special ($100-200) through to entry level "good" bike at a sporting goods store ($300-600) to an actually-good specialty bike store bike and ultimately pro-am ($800-$2000+). And across all these tiers, there's typically a robust second-hand market in most places, though at the higher levels you'll find it via local riding club forums and so on rather than FB Marketplace.
Perhaps a duopoly. Shimano and Sram probably run the high-end mass market for most bike components. And in the case of e-bikes, the batteries are pretty pricey.
It's an industry that could use some disruption. Maybe it's too old-school a business though, and the margins are too low for today's entrepreneurs.
I think e-scooters will shake it up a bit. I chose a scooter over an e-bike because it was a third of the price, half the weight to carry up stars when I get to the office, and didn't need peddling.
I also find standing up for my 15 minute commute far more comfortable that the hard saddles that seem to be in fashion on bikes these days.
