[NorthOf33rd]

That may have been true 20 or 25 years ago but the technology gap technologically between a “cheap” bike and the highest end bike you could buy was much much smaller than it is today. Same with tires. You can still buy a 200 euro bike. It’ll be better than the 200 euro bike from before. You just don’t want it.

[ghaff]

The decent but mid-tier at best mountain bike I bought 20 some years ago doesn't even have suspension. I'm not even sure you could buy a steel frame mountain bike without suspension (which otherwise had ~mid-range components) today--though I rarely ride these days and am far from an expert.

But to the parent point, I still probably paid more than $200 for it.