Friction shifters are the Bicycle Handyman's duct tape. I have fallen back on my thumb shifters on a couple of occasions, and actually don't mind them. 8-10 speed and easy to set up, limited only by the range of your rear derailleur.

I used to own a Fuji Cross with 5600 levers, and sold the bike as soon as I could - the throw was wicked long, and this is how I discovered and now prefer Microshift. I have three bikes, all with Microshift levers, 8, 9 and 10 speed. I wasn't trying, it just happened that way. Even MS 8 speed feels better to me than 5600. My $.02