Originally Posted by lego
Thanks for all the great advice! I think I will definitely give them a shot. Interesting about the 7-speeds: I haven't seen any out there (just the new 9/10 speeds) and some old used friction models. This is of note as in all likelihood my project bike will start with an old school steel road frame, and unless I'm mistaken rear fork spacing on those is generally for 7 speed gearsets.
Sure thing, I'm happy to proselytize bar-end shifting
Don't let the 126 mm (6/7 speed) dropout spacing stop ya from using 8 or 9 if you prefer. On a steel frame you can permanently spread the dropouts to accomodate a wider hub. I'm lazy, so I just squeeze them open a few mm when I change the wheel. No problems to report.