Originally Posted by
since6
You know you kind of gasp when you see the price, but then you go to the Performance Bike website and look up Road Racing bikes and see $8,000.00-$6,000.00 and realized what a steal/bargain this NOS vintage Road Racing bike is. And the parts to keep it running are still pretty abundant and robust....unlike so much of what is new and will never be supported past the show room's door.
Just my two cents.
$6-8k on one bike is more than my fleet combined, though it may be closer to 6 than I'd like to think (slow and steady goes the value increase!). But yeah, certain things help bring context.
As for modern components, I think many of them will be fine. Speaking for Shimano (due to interest and experience), the cranksets aren't going anywhere (as they are made well) and they still run a 24mm BB spindle which works with a standard BSA BB shell. FDs and RDs are robust, too, and should last a while. 11-speed cassettes will be consumables like lesser-cogged ones before them. The rim brakes will be fine as well. The sticky part is the shifters. And here I think the advantage goes to Di2 for longevity because to shift is to just press buttons and not worry about a cable and mechanism dying.
As for other companies, I'll see how Campy's various cranksets and BBs go. SRAM? Have no clue as I have no experience or really any interest in them.
The biggest losers in the future may be second, third, and fourth owners having to work with a million BB standards that shift about like sand dunes. Headsets, too. Will I get a creaky frame with its press fit BB interface? Modern carbon is strong and well made (from the correct companies, of course), and any damage/delamination/chipping may take out many bikes. Thankfully, all this stuff is well inside the internet age, so the information has a lot better chance of still being available down the road.