Originally Posted by
cargomama
What you say about the gears is entirely valid. It is a big concern of mine, I am friends with a bike mechanic at a LBS (he doesn't know campy that well or nuances of fitting etc. but he is very helpful within his knowledge-base) and want to discuss my options with him. I think the brifters are history, I just don't like them, any major gearing change would be something that would really take some time to consider. I'm insistent nothing should ruin the ability of the bike to go back to how it was originally.
I think downtube shifters would be great, and probably pretty easy to do. Our frames are so small, the DT shifters are just under the bars and a bit inward. Quite easy to reach. I was worried about them at first but i loved them once i tried them! May be a cheaper option than bar-ends,
I think.
Plus, you could get smaller (or WSD) brake levers for your smaller hands.