I noticed this in many decades flying from Barton. Most local pilots were well wedded to spammy stuff and were fully signed up members of the Flat Earth society; with a handful of exceptions.
We even had a Citabria on the LAC Club fleet for a while at less per hour than a C150! Only a few of us flew it! Most shied away from tail wheels and aeros despite having one of the very instructors in both arts on site! Tailwheels and aeros or, at more cost, a boring C150 straight and level wheelbarrow? I'd have thought "no contest", but the Citab didn't pay through lack of use and got sold off.
If the Tiger Club had been based up north it would have sold off its Stampes, Tiger Moths, etc and bought C150s and PA38s!
No, I don't begin to understand it!