1. You can put together a vintage bicycle and ride it. Then it serves a useful purpose.
2. You can restore a vintage bicycle and put it on the wall. Put it somewhere where you will see and enjoy it EVERY DAY. Then it serves a useful purpose - visual enjoyment is enjoyment, after all. Its not my cup of tea, but its not the worst thing you can do either, viz:
3. It is HARMFUL to stockpile vintage parts and grouppos in a drawer somewhere, "just in case" you need them some day. In fact, it encourages others to strip down original bikes and sell off the parts, because the hoarding contributes to a vintage parts shortage.
It would be far better and more friendly to the vintage bicycle market to stock modern replacement parts or generics as riders - where possible - as spares. Nearly all CR sponsors sell these parts.
I know it doesn't make me popular to say this but I believe its the truth.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA