OK, my vintage bikes all have friction downtube shifters and my modern steel bike has sti. I had barcons on my 70s supersport until it went fixed. My bonafides stated, I'd like to make one point.

The one great advantage I find to STI is that I don't have to remove a hand from the bar while riding in a pack. hitting a pothole that you didn't see with one hand on the bars surrounded by a pack is a rare, but scary occurrence.

Does it make me faster? Not much, especially if we're outside of the city, but it does make me a little safer in the pack.

Paul