Originally Posted by
nomadmax
One day, they will simply known as "shifters" because no one will remember anything else before them.
Is it really important what they're called now? Even if it is, I don't like the chances of anyone's groundswell effort on the internet to create a universal term for them.
Brifters stuck because the portmanteau is a good 2 syllable description. It'll be around as long as there are still separate lever setups--like on flat bar bikes, and bar end shifters on touring bikes.
The problem for people who want to campaign against the term is they haven't come up with a useable alternative.