my favorite bike stopped being my favorite bike because of downtube shifting... so i moved it to the stem and it's fun to ride again. the dumb idea that you are going to loose your nards in a crash is kind of ridiculous to me. there are plenty of protuberances like the stem or even landing hard on the top tube, but i'm sure if it's a bad enough crash... well what is the alternative? a unicycle? you don't need an excuse like it's just a pub bike... if you are like me, 68 with all the aches and pains, fuggit, move your shifter and enjoy the ride!
