"For example, the industry and ‘media’ sold Plus bikes as being for less fast, less radified & less shredly folks. "
Because bikes in the middle of the bell curve - as far as marketing goes - are Boring. How do you market something that is "its pretty much fine at a lot of things" in an exciting way? You don't.
To look at a different industry, car companies run motorsports programs that look like this: 
to sell cars that look like this:
Now the problem in Mountain Bike Land is that consumers can actually just \*buy\* the version brands are racing, whereas the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris is probably $750,000, and not for sale anyway.
No one wants to see Jane and Jim puttering along out there on a Boring Bike on Lost Lake trails, and a day riding Crank It Up - its not going to sell bikes, despite that being the experience a HUGE amount of people have. Would these people be better suited by bigger rubber? Often, probably yes. But how do you sell that? Cause... I don't think this was it.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSxqZZ-v0xw&list=PLE9EC2266B5439E50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSxqZZ-v0xw&list=PLE9EC2266B5439E50)
April 14, 2023, 8:49 a.m. - Cooper Quinn
"For example, the industry and ‘media’ sold Plus bikes as being for less fast, less radified & less shredly folks. " Because bikes in the middle of the bell curve - as far as marketing goes - are Boring. How do you market something that is "its pretty much fine at a lot of things" in an exciting way? You don't. To look at a different industry, car companies run motorsports programs that look like this:  to sell cars that look like this:  Now the problem in Mountain Bike Land is that consumers can actually just \*buy\* the version brands are racing, whereas the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris is probably $750,000, and not for sale anyway. No one wants to see Jane and Jim puttering along out there on a Boring Bike on Lost Lake trails, and a day riding Crank It Up - its not going to sell bikes, despite that being the experience a HUGE amount of people have. Would these people be better suited by bigger rubber? Often, probably yes. But how do you sell that? Cause... I don't think this was it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSxqZZ-v0xw&list=PLE9EC2266B5439E50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSxqZZ-v0xw&list=PLE9EC2266B5439E50)