Originally Posted by
bikemeister
I like this opinion!
My poke at index shifting has always been: If it's so perfect, why do they keep changing it? Every year it seems the manufacturers are "updating" things, there's the incessant incompatibility issues (even between the same model but a different year). This chain won't work right with this derailler, different chains for different cogs, these shift levers will only work with this model #, blah, blah, blah.
What a pain! And, if you ever needed a part that was more than 2 or 3 years old, you got the, "Sorry, that's an obsolete model # - better just buy a whole new setup!" line.
Friction shifting is like breakfast cooking at the ole diner - no matter who's working the grill, the food comes out great! You can mix virtually any shifter with any derailler and any speed freewheel (within the movement range of the lever), and anybody can make it work. Very simple mechanism, compared to the complex monstrosity of index levers. Plus they're cheaper. And, as I recall, most index systems HAD a friction option available - just in case the indexing failed!
There were a few failed starts at indexing in the early days, but I can still get a derailleur that works perfectly with the 5 speed thumbshifter on my son's beat-up old bike and good quality chains and cassettes for my 7sp and 8sp bikes (I do not own a 9 or 10 speed bike yet).
All that being said, my touring bike's 7sp bar-end shifters are currently running in friction mode - I may or may not ever try to revive the indexing; and my son does not actually have a 5 sp indexed shifter - he has a Suntour friction shifter. What I am trying to say is: I know indexing has disadvantages, but they are outweighed but the benefits in many applications. Most indexed systems do lack a friction option now, but I don't think it is really missed by most.