I had BE shifters on my 2002 Trek 520. They were easy to reach, but I'd also hit them with my leg if I was walking around with the bike. I also had a lot of ghost-shifting problems with them (9 speed). My bf worked at a LBS at the time I had it and he fiddled around with them a lot, lubed the housings, even sent them back for warranty and put new ones on. Finally he just put DT shifters on the bike. They work perfectly. I had a few balance issues as I reached down to shift, but I feel it will make me a better rider to get used to this.
Have since traded the 520 frame for an LHT and still have the DT shifters now working an XT drive train (22-34 low gear). It all works perfectly.
The Pauls Thumbies is also an excellent idea. I'd love to have them, but I already have cross levers on my small road bars, not much room left.
I have Ultegra 9sp STI on my Pacer sport touring bike. I haven't had any problems with them in 4 yrs. If I was going to do a very long supported tour on this bike I'd probably throw a set of DT shifters in with my gear in case the STIs had a problem en route.
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