My first road bike was a '63 Schwinn Varsity (it was in 1964). DT shifters, handle bar tape... was tape [no padding], saddles were leather, feet attached to the pedals with a metal cage and a leather strap, and bicycles were made out of steel. In the case of my Schwinn... a LOT of steel (about 38 pounds of it). That old Schwinn with all of its shortcomings generated a love for road cycling that has lasted for half a century.

Modern bicycles with modern features are nicer!

Most of the time I ride an alloy lightweight with brifters, cushy-soft handle bar tape, and a saddle that doesn't make body parts go numb. But I also love my time on one of my lugged Cro-Mo, DT shifter, vintage steel bikes. I can't see how it would hurt to mix-and-match ether. But if some one can spend sometime on a classic steel with DT friction shifters.... I think it would enrich their entire cycling experience.