It can work both ways. If there are already lots of functional riders, they they probably have lots of functional bikes which means: They're confident about getting reliable use out of existing technology and are less likely to see new components as a silver bullet. In my case, none of the new developments are exciting enough to motivate me to replace my bikes, which work just fine.

Off road cycling is its own beast, with the development of specialized bikes for that use, and also the design of trails that challenge both your skill and your technology. But the old footpath through the woods, or gravel road, is still the same as it ever was, and a regular bike handles it just fine.

In the US, there's a perpetual effort by the bike companies to get people out riding, when everybody's already got a nearly brand new bike hanging in the garage. They want to sell new bikes, so of course the silver bullet is new technology. I think the rapid adoption of e-bikes shows that the real barrier was not the detailed performance of particular components, but physical effort. Who knew?