Will bar end shifters work?
 

I bought a steel frame and am trying, with the help of friends, to build out a back up road bike. I have been offered bar end shifters (shimano) and would like to know if these would work with a 9 speed shimano (12-27) cassette. Will the bar ends have enough throw to reach the entire cassette. I realize I give up indexing but for now that's OK.

They seem to work on my 8 speed shimano 105 group on one of my bikes.

Any thoughts?

Yes, they should work just fine in friction mode. A 9sp cassette is only 5mm wider than the 8sp, so it comes out to 2.5mm on either end.

Actually, 9-speed and 8-speed are the same width. Your bar end shifters will work fine in friction mode. You might even want to consider keeping the bike 8-speed. Then you could retain the index shifting feature.

Thanks for the responses. The 8 speed idea is a good one. I'll give it a try since I'm not married to the 9 speed idea, just want to try out a steel bike without sinking a whole lot of $$$ into the project.

Given the choice during my last build, I opt'd to stick with 8 speed. Components were less expensive but still had great availability. Having one more gear, typically in the mid-range didn't seem worth the money.

just for reference, I have some shimano bar end shifters that do not have enough throw to run 8 speeds.
But it sounds like the one's you have will work.

I also agree that if you're looking to build inexpensively without sacrificing quality 8 speed is a good place to compromise.

Older shifters would be for 7sp or less, which was a narrower set of cogs. 8-9-10 are virtually the same width, so 8sp bar ends should work on 9 and 10 in friction mode.

I'll have to disagree (partially). I've got a set of Suntour shifters, running in friction, that have run the pull for a 9 speed cluster. Maybe they have more pull.