I tend to only use only the three or four gears on the rear on any vintage 2x6 setup. I prefer friction on both front and rear vs sis so run all my shifters on friction. Since I run few gears and like a drive with little noise, friction is it for me. Tend to shift both dt levers with the same hand but only drop to smaller ring on climbs anyway, otherwise it pretty much runs large to third. I do like bar ends on my touring type bikes though, they are obviously more stable for keeping hands near the bar.