Unpopular opinion. But speaking as a definite luddite and tightwad, it's a great time to be into cycling, if you can ignore all the douchebaggery (I USUALLY can.) The tech explosion of the 80's and 90's is long gone, but the bikes and parts are still out there, scattered across the landscape. Many boomers were caught up in the hype during that time and (practically accidentally) bought great shit, only to enbalm it in storage units so that it could trickle feed into craigslist for decades to come. The last 2 decades have seen the almost total success of the industry in burying old standards for high-tier new bikes, which means current-day consoomers not only don't want the old stuff, they're barely even aware of it. With some specific exceptions for collectibles, bikes that cost thousands in 80's money now turn up for a few hundred; you just need to be ready with the knowledge to know what you're looking at. You can even go on a shameless, overpaying online shopping spree for top-shelf components and pay maybe 10% of what many people normally do for their "gravel bike." And the consumables like pads, tires, drivetrain etc. are still available and mostly better than ever.
I was worried for a while that the hipster-resto-mod-confused-cruiser treatment would boost up classic mtb prices a lot, but unless you NEED a stumpjumper or klein it doesn't seem to have had an effect. I hate the gravel trend for bringing cyclist goons onto roads that used to be my private property for rides, but at the same time I think it may have distracted people from wanting to buy the great bikes all around them and leaving them for me. Get a roomy old roadbike and put great new 35's on it, or get one of the lighter classic mtb's and go anywhere, delete social media, enjoy yourself.
