Originally Posted by
himespau
You could also get some
Kelly Take Off's to put with whatever brake lever you like, throw some 7900 downtube shifters on there, and you'll be able to shift whatever you want with the friction front and pre-Dynasys RDs. The thing I liked about the Take Offs when I used them on my commuter is that I could keep my hands up on the tops where I had interrupter brake levers or on the hoods and shift easily from either position. Shifting from the drops was hard, but, if this is a touring bike and you think you might be spending a fair bit of time more upright, it's an option to consider.
I had Kelly Take-Offs on a bike for quite a while and did like them but the Gevenalle version of the same concept is much better. The benefits of both are the same; the convenience of brifters but using downtube or barend shift levers, but the Gevenalle "brifters" are ergonomically far superior as well as lighter.