I'm upgrading an old road bike from the 1980s. It is an old 10 speed bike (I guess people would call it a 5 speed now, with a double crankset). I wanted to upgrade it to 9 speed with a triple crankset, since I am fat, old, and slow. It has been several years since I've bought bicycle components, and it seems Shimano, Campagnolo, and Sram have all gone insane with 11 speed cassettes for all kinds of bikes. It is nearly impossible to buy a new 9 speed system for a reasonable price.

Microshift sells 9 speed components for cheap. They are also all silver, so they look kind of retro. I don't think they would look out of place on an old steel road frame.

Does anyone have any experience with these in terms of reliability and function? I will be using friction shifting, so I don't care too much about indexing.

Microshift FD-R539 Triple Front Derailleur - 9 Speed:



Microshift RD-R47 Long Cage Rear Derailleur - 9 Speed: