One serious problem with modern gear is that it doesn't seem very durable. For a racing season, or two, maybe, sure. But, you tell me, how many heavily-used index bikes will still be useable 30 years from now?
I can go find a 30-year-old Nuovo Record bike that's been heavily used, without much fuss, and with a few modest adjustments and some lubricant I can probably have it working flawlessly.
Maybe it'll need a new freewheel, or chain, or cables..all easily and cheaply found and installed... but that's it.
I have the sense that modern indexed racing bikes are all but useless after a season or two. Everything wears out quickly, and is expensive and/or difficult to replace.
On a bike used exclusively for professional racing, this is a non-issue (you just go get a new one from your sponsor)...but for any other kind of use, this kind of performance is unacceptable. Of course, some old racing stuff was like this (early alloy freewheels for instance, which lasted for one day of racing, if you were lucky)... but you could take any bike from the pro peleton in 1972, ride it regularly for 20 years, and other than chains, freewheels, chainrings, brake pads and cables, it'd need nothing but regular cleaning and lubrication
This is all obvious, I know, but worth remembering in this context: the old stuff really IS better than the new stuff, if performance *and* longevity are the standards..
Charles "old, but not yet worn out completely" Andrews Socal