How much should a road bike cost?

If you asked this question 10 years ago the answer would be much different. Not only have the quality and value of components increased significantly, the ability  quality of components has become much better than older generations. Smaller brands have been able make high quality bikes at a fraction of the historical road bicycle price, and now consumers have many more options to purchase bikes than they did in the past.

A few factors contribute to this...

1. Historically you had only one option, purchase your new road bike from a bike shop. Only a few major brands existed and they only distributed bikes to local bike shops who then sold to the consumer. Today the internet smaller brands to sell direct to the consumer, thus cutting out the middle man and only one business has to make a profit on the sale.
2. More accurate and efficient manufacturing techniques have let to a trickle down effect in the component lines. Today a Tiagra level group set is similar to that of Ultegra from 10 years ago. Yes the highest end components are also that much better, but Road Bike Research is trying to helping you research quality bikes at a price point that you can afford. I dont know about you, but I cant see myself spending $10k on a bike unless I am training for professional road racing
3. Amn increasingly global market has lead to many brands expanding past international borders and undercutting the established companies in other markets. The largest eample of this is Canyon Bikes who has become one of the largest global bicycle brands in only a few short years.