Cool! That leads to a question I have about this. My bike also has a 6sp cassette and I wanted to upgrade to 9sp. I presumed that downtube shifters were gone by the time 9sp cassettes came out so I thought the idea was out of question but I hadn't considered friction mode (of course, a 9sp rear derailleur would be req'd) and chain too but then, would the chain rings need to be changed? If so, it would sound like a wholesale rebuild of the drivetrain would be req'd to go from a 6sp to 9sp cassette.