Originally Posted by
ljonesjo
I might be perfectly happy in the front with the straight bars with some bar ends I don't know. I just want to know what my options are if I am truly uncomfortable.
As a Shimano brifter user on all our bikes including our tandem, I haven't thought much of bar end shifters. Last time I used them was on one of my racing bikes in the 1970s (Cinelli Super Corsa). Never tried the indexed bar end shifters until last week, when I demo'd a Co-Mo Americano. Wow! If you are on a budget and are comfortable using bar ends, they're great IMHO. For a tandem, depends on whether you want to drop your hand down to the bar end, but after a few miles on the half bike I felt very comfortable with them.