Originally Posted by
pierce
friction shifters are a pain in the a-- with 8 or more gears in back, way too fidgety. I wouldn't even think of trying to use them with a 9 or 10 speed system.
you can't use mountain derailleurs with road index shifters, either, at least not in 9 or 10 speed, maybe 7/8 speed is OK but noone MAKES index road shifters in 7/8 anymore.
the hand positions are all wrong for using mountain thumb shifters.
oh yeah, road brake levers are strictly short pull, so if this bike has V-brakes or mechanical disk brakes, you're hosed. at least v-brakes could be swapped for CX style cantilever brakes. with disks, ugh. and if you have hydraulic disks? double ugh. maybe you can put a CX disk brake system on there, I dunno.
Did you even read the OP? An early 90s Giant Boulder definitely does not have disc brakes, or even V-brakes unless they were added later.
Drivetrain is specified as 3x7. Unfortunately, shifter choices are limited there.
Also, Shimano MTB RDs do work with road index shifters, all the way up to 10 speed. The cable pull is the same (the exception being the new Dyna-Sys MTB RDs.)