Originally Posted by
cyclist2000
If I were going on a long tour and wanted a back up for the brake shifters I would carry a pair of downtube shifters then I could use them until I got a replacement to the brifters. These are small simple to install, don't take much room and weigh next to nothing.
Right. The old brifter cable would almost certainly be long enough to reuse, as well. If you run barcon cable under the bar tape on a larger frame, precut shift cable housing sets (I'm looking at you, Jagwire) aren't long enough and neither are 'normal' inner wires. I've had to buy extra long tandem cables to replace the rear derailleur cable.