in the "old" days the bikes came with integral kickstands. never occurred to me as a kid to remove it, so I got used to them. I find them useful especially when traveling as a group in a tourist area. it makes parking them easier. there isn't always enough wall area available to lean them all. the stands just give us more options. my Bottecchia doesn't yet have a stand because frankly if I'm on that one, I'm not stopping.