Originally Posted by Andy_K

I'm a numbers geek, so I have a spreadsheet where I keep track of how much I spend on bikes and how many miles I've ridden them. My most expensive bike (not vintage, FWIW) I've spent over $2500 on between what I paid for it and what I've spent on upgraded parts. Right now, that works out to 34 cents per mile that I've ridden it. I could give it away and I wouldn't have "lost" money in any meaningful sense. My vintage bikes get a lower share of ,my total mileage and so most of them have a higher per mile cost. My Stella, for example, currently sits at a whopping $5.62 per mile that I've ridden it. I don't have a good formula for the cost per times that it has made me smile just looking at it. On the other hand, riding the shorter "Piedras Blancas" route at Eroica last year cost me around $4.50 per mile and I don't expect to get that back in some way by selling the experience.

All this is to say that the only relevance to me as to whether the C&V market goes up or down is that it changes which bikes I'll be willing to buy. I'm pretty confident that I'll be about to find new owners for any of my bikes when I decide I don't want them anymore. For people who like to restore bikes and pay for their hobby (or even make a few bucks) by flipping them, I can understand that this works out differently.