Originally Posted by ryanparrish
for the ideal touring bike which one brifters or bar end shifters?
Personal choice. I like brifters for which I shall be consigned to the fires of Hell! (According to some people
) Others like barends but they are just Neanderthals (according to some people
)
Honestly one doesn't have a clear advantage over the other. I never like barends because they are constantly getting bumped when I stopped and I would out of gear to start. I was never fond of reaching down to the drops to shift...it just felt ackward. In my experience even downtube shifters were easier to use. But barends allow for friction mode if your bike is out of adjustment or the index shifting goes wrong...not a common occurence but it can happen.
Brifters, on the other hand are right where your hands end up most of the time anyway...at the brake hoods. They are easy to use and intuitive. They require little or no effort to make the shift. But, everything...and I mean everything...has to be perfectly aligned! If the cables are sloppy on either front or rear derailers, it's gonna complain. If the derailers are off, it might not make the shift or it might skip or just be a total PITA. I am overstating a little. If something goes wrong with the shifter...again not a common occurence...you don't have friction mode. You might be stuck riding a 3 speed or a 9 speed for a ways until you can get it fixed.
And then there is that problem with brakes. Brifter will only work with cantilevers or v-brakes with adapters. Barend will work with cantilevers or directly with v-brakes, depending on your lever choice. Cantilevers are good brakes but not the simpliest to get adjusted properly. V-brakes are good brakes too but you have to have special levers.
Try bikes equiped with both and you can decide. The Trek 520 comes with barend. Most everything else I've seen comes with brifters