Originally Posted by The_B.O.C.
i might be buying a bike with stem shifters. i've never used these before and i'm debating whether or not it would be worth it to switch 'em to down tube shifters.
so, do any of you have any opinions on downtube vs. stem shifters?
As I said in another thread, I find stem shifters just as bad/good as downtube shifters, except that they tend to be of lower quality in general since they're mostly on low-end bikes.
I say switch to bar-end shifters. You can get SunTour Barcon or Accushift bar-end shifters CHEAP, or modern Shimano ones for a bit more. Bar-end shifters are ideal for commuting: they can be used in either friction or indexed mode, they are nearly as convenient as STI in my opinion, and they are very very very reliable and durable. I don't think I'll ever want to commute with any other shifters!