Recumbent - Downtube shifters on steerer stem?

I'm not fond of twist shifters, and have considered putting downtube shifters high up on the steerer on my V-Rex.

So far I have not found any clamp-on DT shifters for oversized tubing. I'd prefer to keep indexing but would give friction a try if some clamp-ons were available fairly cheap.

Has anyone tried this?

Have you considered triggershifters? I have SRAM X-9 triggers on my V-Rex. I can't imagine reaching to the riser to shift.
When I rode with downtube shifters, I didn't shift nearly as much as I do when riding recumbents.

Have you thought about thumb shifters? May require longer cables but would give you the ease of friction shifting. The old stem shifters may also be an option.

I would be very concerned about steering mishaps while fiddling with the downtube shifter on the steerer. Grabbing the steerer is going to
reduce your range of motion and thus increase your risk of gyrations while shifting. Bad enough on the level the thought of double shifting
on a hill makes for a high pucker factor. Gives me the shivers. OTOH if you are one of those rare riders who can ride no hands on your
bent, that may be less of a worry.

I'm not fond of twist shifters, and have considered putting downtube shifters high up on the steerer on my V-Rex.

So far I have not found any clamp-on DT shifters for oversized tubing. I'd prefer to keep indexing but would give friction a try if some clamp-ons were available fairly cheap.

Has anyone tried this?

It'd be a bit of a kludge- down tube shifters don't have an integral cable stop, so you'd have to rig something up. Terracycle has some clamp-on cable stops, I think. They're seen here: http://www.terracycle.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=T&Category_Code=SM . I don't know if they'd fit your steering mast, though.

Plus, how are you going to keep pedaling while shifting with one hand grabbing the shifters between your knees? And will the shifters clear your knees?

I think you should look at some Pauls Thumbies: http://www.paulcomp.com/mtthumbie.html . They'll bolt right on, no kludging needed.

I agree with the above, you may want to keep the shifters by your hands.

Ken