I recently built up a new commuter with bar ends and like them a lot. Personally I don't find reaching for the shift to be much of inconvenience.

I also have an IGH commuter with the Versa shifter and it works well also. For what it's worth, if you're converting from flat bars, you'll probably need to replace the brake levers also. As a price comparison, Tree Fort bikes sells the Versa shifter/ brake levers for $180 and I think the j-tek usually sells for ~$100(?). By the time you buy the brake levers the cost may be within $40-50. Just a thought...