Quote Originally Posted by tytbody View Post
What is so technically different now in the 2000's that was different in the 1960's ?
Hmmm. Well, some of it is technology, and some of it isn't. Constantly making components lighter & lighter costs money, for one thing. Your basic 10-speed of the 1960s is the basic 20 or 30 speed today. Etc. Faster, lighter, stiffer, ....

Material prices fluctuate, and a few years ago they skyrocketed. Steel. And oil prices drive everything up. It really seems like bikes have doubled in price in just the last 10 years. Maybe I'm just always looking at bikes that are better than whatever I currently have (after all - why trade down??), so maybe my perception is skewed. I just know that when steel prices went way up for stuff I was having made at work, bike prices were also increasing sharply. Of course, material prices tanked with the economy, but what ever comes down in price?

And, also, it seems like people are willing to pay more and more to have the best. So the best keeps getting better (and more expensive), and everything trickles down. Some of it is a status thing.

Just my thoughts - I may be out to lunch. Have you compared the price (and size) of a loaf of bread to 1960s bread?

Northern Michigan? If you have time, maybe a nice trip down to Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, or Detroit for more choices.
If she's near Lake Superior, those places could be 500 miles away. They are for me. She could be a bit closer than I am, but could also be 2 hours farther away. There is Northern Michigan and there is Upper Michigan. Northern Michigan is what they call the northern part of the Lower Peninsula. The Upper Peninsula is on Lake Superior, and is farther north. Weird, I know. Minneapolis and Madison are both actually several hours closer than Detroit or GR, unless she's way over on the eastern end.