Bike price inflation . . . ?

was following the June bike of the month thread and people were commenting how top quality bikes have got more expensive over time, ie a 1980s Pro standard Pinarello would be £2300 in new money, but Froomes bike would be more than £10,000+

The market has changed for sure but I think mainstream stuff has actually got cheaper - indeed that was a regular topic of conversation in my folks bike shop when I was younger

for example
1980s Raleigh Arena was less than £100, it was a plain Hi Ten frame 5 speed thing. £100 was a sizeable chunk of a weeks wages - so maybe 30 hours "work" to buy one. A mid range 531 Carlton would have been more than a weeks wages for a lot of folks

These days £100 is nearer 10 hours work and will still get you an Arena equivalent bike. A weeks wages today would but something really good

Re:

15hrs on minimum wage, a typical Retrobike wage otherwise we'd all be buying the new stuff because we could afford it ;-)

Today's modern bikes are packed with electrical dataloggers though. They ain't cheap.

Re:

Agree, in real terms the cheap and mid range modern bikes have got cheaper. The top end bikes are probably the same. In the early 90s a U.S. import flagship bike with all the bling was £3500-5k and today the equivalent is £9k...ish.

I think it's fair to say you get 'better' bike for your money these days. Example, a 2015 entry level bike is still around £400-600. In 1996 list price on my backwoods was around £600. But today you get disc brakes as opposed to cantis, are more likely to get alloy frame, more gears, less plastic parts, a nice aesthetic.
If inflation means that £600 isn't as much as it used to be, then yes bikes have got beer / cheaper.

Top end bikes are always cutting edge. Back then the mortals cutting edge was light steel or alloy, carbon or thermoplastic was exotic and priced accordingly. Now carbon is nice but common, and the cutting edge is in the cad, the composites everywhere, the data loggers etc, ie the high end well expensive kit, and that's priced out of a normal market. That's sponsored competition territory where big bucks fly around.

Not sure where I'm going now, think I'm off on a ramble.