I've noticed that there's a similarity now with bikes and headphones where focus on technology actually has left consumers with higher prices and less choice by killing the middle segment. If you want a racer today it's probably going to have hydraulic disc brakes and carbon frame and electric gears, and an entry level bike will cost twice as much as an pro-bike 15 years ago. Besides there are only so many models a manufacturer can make and they also need to fill the electric bikes segment which reduces the middle range even more.
I think we seen this exact same thing since apple killed of the headphone jack forcing people to Bluetooth headphones. Now you either buy super cheep headphones, or super expensive ones. But there's basically no middle range. And since headphone manufacturers not traditionally been doing software they don't have the skills in-house which makes them buy the technology from elsewhere and leaves the consumer with basically the exact same products but with different logos - which means even less actual choice.
I think this is an apt comparison, but for me it comes down to the complication of the products. I used to be able to just plug in my headphones and they worked. Now it's a constant struggle of bluetooth syncing, connection issues, forgetting to charge the battery. I have multiple pairs of wireless headphones sitting around the house, but I've gone back to $19 wired headphones because I was sick of the headache of dealing with wireless.
I feel this is the same thing with bikes. A mountain bike requires nearly constant work/maintenance. I bet a well maintained bike costs 1/10th the value of the bike/year. And this is without any electronics. Maybe electronics will simply maintenance a bit, but when they inevitably break I'm hosed.
I don't want electronic shifters. I want a simple and reliable bike.
Maybe electronics will eventually be the solution to this, but right now they cause more headache than anything.
I think we seen this exact same thing since apple killed of the headphone jack forcing people to Bluetooth headphones. Now you either buy super cheep headphones, or super expensive ones. But there's basically no middle range. And since headphone manufacturers not traditionally been doing software they don't have the skills in-house which makes them buy the technology from elsewhere and leaves the consumer with basically the exact same products but with different logos - which means even less actual choice.