One of the most irritating rides I had was with a guy with bar-end shifters who simply didn't seem to realise that his rear derailleur needed trimming. The noise was a nuisance, but I held my tongue. I decided then that bar-end shifters just didn't seem to cut it, despite this being an operator error rather than a malfunction of bar-end design. On the other hand, my STIs changes positively, smooth and precisely right the way through the 200km ride.

As to adjusting cables as seems to be a significant moot point, I have downtube barrel adjusters on my bikes. One simple one-eighth turn on an adjuster is usually all it takes to get my transmission back in perfect tune... really no different from trying to judge the trim on a bar-end.

The argument about chains rubbing on FD cages also doesn't ring true with the bar-end protagonists -- that is why there is a one-click trim adjustment on the STIs that I use. You have to do it anyway on triples as the chain moves down the cogset on 9 and 10sp, and I don't have to take my hands off the hoods to do it.

The notion that touring doesn't involve the need to change gears often in some circumstances also is stretching the rubber band a bit. Going through towns and cities always involves a decent amount of gear changing, especially at junctions, hence my previous comment about braking and changing gear at the same time.