What do you think about bar end shifters? Do you use them on your strict C&V builds?

I've been thinking about how to make my 1978 Team Pro more rideable. One issue I have with the downtube shifters (Simplex retrofrictions) is that I am not coordinated enough to shift when riding out of the saddle. So if I'm, say, pushing hard on a hill and the grade eases so that I want a bigger gear, I have to sit down, shift, and get up again. I've gotten used to simply shifting while staying up, using brifters and Gevenalle shifters.

I do recall from prior bikes with bar ends that sometimes my knee hit them when sprinting or climbing out of the saddle. I don't know if those bikes were perhaps poorly sized for me.

So, the book on the Ti-Raleigh teams shows a few team bikes with bar ends, in races. Apparently a few of the team riders used them, back in 1976-1980, and thus I could try bar ends without losing the "correctness" that is important for this particular bike in the fleet.

I have a suitable set of bar end shifters and some CLB alloy housing that I could install. One thing I wonder is if Benotto tape works well when wrapped over housing. The other is if I should try to adapt the retrofrictions for bar end use, and how.

Comments?

I use barcons on my vintage bikes, including both my Masi and my Holdsworth-copy made by Rodriguez. I can’t see why Benotto tape would not work well over the shift housing. Dunno about the retrofrictions, though. How compatible are the innards with Shimano or Suntour bar controls?

I am pretty sure bar end Retrofrictions exist, but finding siome might be a challenge.
I would probably just go with Suntour.

You’ll still have to sit down to shift.

At at least I do.

one of the vintage bike parts suppliers (sorry - the name of the company escapes me at the moment - Boulder Bike maybe??) has been selling Cinelli “Diet Ebios” 26.0 NOS handlebars at clearance prices - these are extra short on the drops - perhaps these would be a good fit to work with bar end shifters.

Edit - I just checked and Boulder Bicycle has the Diet Eubios in 26.4 (old school Cinelli diameter) only. They have some 42’s and some 44’s for 22$ each.

I routinely shift my barcons whilst standing up. When standing up, you only need to balance the weight of your upper body since it’s leaning further forward. The following only usually works for me when standing up but not pumping at full racing effort. I imagine most people use some variation of this procedure.

Full-grip on non shifting hand. On shifting hand, I half-grip the end of the bar using my thumb and forefinger, with the knuckle under my forefinger as my main vertical support.
When moving the barcon lever “up”, I use my pinky or last two fingers. When moving the lever “down”, I push down using the lowest point of my palm (closest to my wrist). I’ve trained myself to use this procedure even when riding in the saddle.

For reference, I have suntour accushift indexed barcons on my old specialissima commuter.