Originally Posted by
CraigB
Before I got my Fisher Marlin a few years ago, I hadn't used anything other than DT shifters, either. The convenience of the trigger and thumb shifters on that mountain bike are what made me start to dislike the DT shifters on my old road bikes. And one of those still had its original friction (non-indexed) shifters. Anyone remember those? How you had to develop a certain degree of touch or finesse to trim your shifts so they'd be quick and quiet? Those were the days.
Two of my older bikes have downtube friction shifters. I rode them last month for the first time this year. I think that they are pretty fun. I do have a set of friction shifters in my touring gear, incase problems develope with the brifters on tour.