Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
I have never seen bar end shifters on straight bars before. I think some people use bar end shifters on butterfly bars.
If I had a flat bar touring bike, I would not want a twist grip shifter. My errand bike has lever shifters (one lever for up shift, other lever for down shift) on flat bars, I think that it is best, but I do not have arthritis in my hands.
I rigged a city-type bike for a guy with a bum left hand and it featured a straight bar with a top-mount thumbie
and a barcon on the right side of the bar.
For my own bikes with straight or riser bars I like Grip Shift/SRAM brand twist shifters and I insist on the front shifter being "friction" rather than indexed, many small clicks for precisely trimming the front derailleur instead of the three steps. Never liked Shimano's Rapid Fire.