I set my girlfriend up with friction bar ends and she road her touring bike all over Europe with them. When I eventually "upgraded" her to bar ends, she hated them. If you want to go indexed, you need a new derailleur too.. SO you're looking at, new chain, new freewheel, shifters and derailleur. It's a lot to change. Servicing this and putting on some QR axles will make this a pretty robust touring bike. If he needs a longer post the bike may soon be too small for him and then you will lament all the time and aggravation you put into upgrades. I toured with drop bars for years because, that is what people in North America do. After seeing all the serious bike packers in Europe and that NONE of them tour with drop bars I decided to throw on some MTB risers with big two hand position bar ends.... I love it. expedition style touring is way better with some sort of upright and wide handlebar. I may try trekking bars in the future but am pretty happy with MTB and bar ends at the moment. It offers more control and is more comfortable for me. If I want to go fast I grab the forward extensions and hunker down. It is a matter of preference. let him try it as is first.