I posted this before looking for topics, but it kinda ended up being online support for general bicycle troubles.
Which is a good thing! Ask your questions about bicycles that are currently on your mind and we all try to help.
Pre-Emptively calling in @dallasw and @Kissmydadonthelips for their knowledge.
I was kind of wondering just why everything is so expensive now, even for entry level bikes. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the idea of indexed shifting systems like the Shimano ones, but it seems like when you go into a bike shop they are expecting you to drop like $800+ on your first bike. I feel like it hasn't always been this way, is that true? I got the impression that things were way less expensive back when even the fancier bikes were welded aluminum tubes, But maybe I'm wrong, or that is just inflation or something. I was bike shopping probably around six years ago, and none of the shops that I went in (5+ shops) even offered the old-school style steel or aluminum framed road bicycles at all.
I mean on a shorter timescale Corona has basically gotten everyone and their grandma to get on a bicycle for recreational purposes which has driven all the prices up.
If we're talking 6 years ago and if I read this correctly as being from the US, looking from the outside in there is just very little staying power for the bicycle as anything other than for the poors (who don't buy their bike from bike shops) or as a gear-intensive hobby.
The latter one, to me, would explain why hardly any bike shops would sell you an old school alumnium tubed bicycle for a cheaper price. Maybe try one of the direct delivery brands for that one? They still exist, after all, even new.
Buy used, spend a ton of time trolling FB sell groups and criagslist to get a sense of what’s out there. I can’t stress this enough, ride a lot of bikes.