Count me as another one who prefers bar-end shifters. For racers, their major drawback is that it's possible to shift with your knees when you stand on pedals and rock the bike. But tourers don't stand a lot and hardly rock the bike (load would do strange things), so that's not a problem.

One aspect I like is that I set up my bars on the high side – tops about level with saddle– and I ride mostly from the drops. From there, I can shift with either the palm of my hand or my little finger. No need to move the hands, which is especially good on the tandem + trailercycle.


Apart from comfort, here are a few real advantages I have seen in the last 5 years:

– When I needed to change the 8 speed cassette on my tourer, I made my own custom 9-speed cassette. I continued to use the 8-speed shifters, friction mode, until I needed those 8-speed shifters on another bike two years later. At that point, I bought 9-speed shifters.

– My single tourer has 44-34-22 chainrings (i.e. mountain-size). No problem with bar-end shifters. I can use all cogs without any front derailleur noise, because I just need to fine-tune the front derailleur adjustment if necessary (impossible with STI).

– My tandem tourer has 48-38-28-18 chainrings. Setting up the quad was a bit of a challenge, but it works because the front shifter isn't indexed.

– At an intersection or when riding roller coasters, it's easy to shift all the way from gears one to nine.

– A quick look at the shifters allows me to know what gear I'm in. It's impossible to do with STI, unless one buys the Flight Deck (more $). I know one could always look behind at the cogs, but it's almost impossible to do at night or on the tandem.

– And in term of looks, my shifter cables are concealed all the way along the handlebars. Much nicer than dangling cables!