When I bought my first bike in Feb 17, it was the most I had paid for a bike $300 used. Once I was hooked, I started looking at $1200 full suspension bikes, and quickly realized I needed to spend more in order to not be upgrading again soon. I caught a $3000 bike 25% off and bought it. Now I expect my next bike to cost $3500-4500, after my skills progress. I would have never imagined spending that much on a bicycle a few months ago.