>>1654603Most computer users don't upgrade or even repair their shit, either. In the case of bikes, especially mountain bikes, upgrading can be a pretty big hassle if the bike has a lot of proprietary bullshit going on. For instance, my Cannondale Scalpel has proprietary headset, bottom bracket, rear wheel, RD hanger, and some other things. Even upgrading the brakes was a hassle because it required a wacky post mount adapter that Cannondale makes, but is so obscure that Cannondale doesn't know that they make it. At least switching out droppers was easy.
Another common issue to run into is cassette splining, as different manufactures use different spline patterns, and SRAM and Shimano change theirs every few years. Amazingly, Campy somehow kept the same pattern for over 20 years, from 9sp to 12sp, which is kind of a feat of engineering. Anyway, if you do a drivetrain upgrade, you'll often wind up needing a new freehub body for your rear wheel, which can mean a whole new wheel.
So, I think that it's the same situation as PCs. A small group of core enthusiasts enjoys upgrading and fiddling with their configuration, while the mass market would rather just buy a new thing every few years.
