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.
really, I think you'd be better off buying a suitable road bike, maybe a CX, or maybe something like one of the Surly touring bikes.
Sorry old boy but so much of that is just false. I use friction shifters on one of my bikes with 9 cogs and have no problem whatsoever. The OP has a THREE BY SEVEN setup not 9, 10 or 11. I've fixed up many bikes to drop bars by using a steel bar and MTB style shifters located on the top straight portion of the bar.
If the OP is using friction shifters then he can use any derailler road or MTB.
In short the OP does NOT need to buy a new bike.
Cheers