Touring - Backup shifters

I am thinking of getting some friction shifters to back up my Shimano 8-speed RSX brake lever shifters. I am leaning towards bar end shifters rather than downtube shifters.

Will I need different cable ends? Can I simply pull the cable right off the levers and attach them to the bar end shifters? Do indexed bar end shifters have a "friction mode"? Am I paranoid?

If you have downtube bosses, then its much easier to keep an old friction DT lever as a backup. Converting from STi to bar-end needs longer gear cables, and re-jigging your outer cables. The spare is just to get you out of trouble, and a DT one can re-use the cable and takes no outer.

Bar end shifters do have a friction mode, and are great for touring, but too much hassle to use as backups.

Thanks MichaelW,

I do not have DT bosses. Maybe I need a new bike...:)

Originally posted by MichaelW
If you have downtube bosses, then its much easier to keep an old friction DT lever as a backup. Converting from STi to bar-end needs longer gear cables, and re-jigging your outer cables. The spare is just to get you out of trouble, and a DT one can re-use the cable and takes no outer.

Bar end shifters do have a friction mode, and are great for touring, but too much hassle to use as backups.

As always, excellent advise from MichaelW.

In addition, I have found that down-tube shifters are just plain easier to rig and maintain than bar-end shifters. If you need to maintain or change the cables on bar-end shifters, you have to unwrap the handlebar tape and that is a hassle.

Also, SOMETIMES if the bike falls over or some other hazard gives a good wack to the bar-end shifter, it can pop out of the handlebar and be a real bugger to get back in properly.

If you are looking for something for back-up, use down-tube shifters.

Clamp-on DT shifter work OK. I use them on my everyday commuting bike. Most older bike shops have a bin-full of used clamp-ons.