Originally Posted by
old and new
This also may pertain to the OP who should dismiss the idea of stem shifters altogether.
Those were an entry level bike feature; didn't work all that well, were unsightly and don't belong on a Columbus EL frame, you gotta do better than that fellow. It sounds like you're joking.
It's like putting cruiser bars on the bike. No reason at all to not put DT shifters on it.
+1 on that. DT shifters are definitely the way to go unless you're built like a T-Rex (I'm heading in that direction but I still prefer DT). My first bike had stem shifters but that was a 1976 Malvern Star Superstar SL with Shimano Eagle II derailleurs. Weighed about 100 lbs without lights or pump and could crash through walls without decelerating noticably (and it had suicide levers too).