the bike shop man is correct in that they are no longer manufactured. he is,
however, a ****er. get out of the disco age, my arsch! these things are
exceptionally well-designed, easy to maintain, and basically indestructible.
my set of suntours have 60000 miles on them, only sign of age is a slight uv-
caused discoloration on the tops. with the friction setting, they will work with
just about any 7-spd fw or cassette. don't know about 8/9 speed...probably, if
the cluster is the same width. index shifting? nah, i know where my gears are.
best bets are to call around to your lbs's. sometimes they'll have old stock tucked
away under the cabinets. ebay is a possibility. or you could look at yard sale
junkers or police auctions. strip some good components off a trashed frame.
i'll check my parts bin. i may have an older, spare set in the garage. good luck.
they can have my thumbshifters when they pry them from my cold, dead hands !!