seafood

It's all good -- no need to teach anyone any lessons. You like the tech and believe in it, great! Maybe it'll be better someday in some way, though I gotta admit that for getting my ass to work, the bar is set pretty high: no brand lock-in, dead simple, less than $200 a year in the whole bike upkeep annually and about 30 min per week.

monsterpile

A few years ago I would have told you I would never intentionally ride a bike with DT shifters. I thought I would never like having my hands of the bars to shift. years later I learned how to setup my bike better with correct saddle height reach etc and I felt significantly more balanced. After purchasing a minivelo with headtube shifters I decided that type of shifter was pretty awesome. That was also the bike that convinced me that road bars were pretty great too. Now I have 2 of my bikes that have DT type shifters and they are 2 of my favorite bikes to ride. I have 1 bike with STI brifters and I want to convert my full-time commuter to them. I do really like my DT shifters though they are really great. If you don't like them it doesn't offend me. =)

rodar y rodar

Bar end fan here. My current frames have no DT shifter bosses and are too fat for strap-ons, but I wouldn`t mind trying DTs one of these days. They look so COOL! Serious question for the DT gang:
Can you shift front and rear simultaneously? Does it matter whether they are traditional "off the sides" bosses or the short-lived "both on the top" style? By shifting both simultaneously, I mean bumping up one ring and one sprocket at the same time for a single-step upshift or down one each for a single-step downshift. That`s what I do when I start getting towards the end of the useable range for my rear cluster in whichever ring I`m currently riding.

scroca

I suppose you could but I've never tried it. Now you have me wondering.

Reynolds 

Of course you can. In fact, front and rear work opposite, so you push both levers forward to go to small ring/smaller sprocket at the same time.

ThermionicScott 

Yep, although it would be hard to do it as gracefully as you can with bar-ends. Basically, you push both levers in the same direction like Reynolds pointed out, or you cup one hand and rotate it to pull one lever up while pushing the other down. I generally just shift the front when I see that the grade will change and then adjust the rear when I need to.

bigbenaugust 

Some days, I decide that NO shifters at all are better and I ride my SS to work. 23 miles and no shifting whatsoever.

Burton

Not only that - you can do both with two fingers of the same hand. Compared to playing a piano - its not that long a learning curve.

monsterpile

I have done it, but I usually plan more and shift one lever at a time. Whats really handy about the DT shifters (or bar ends) is how you can go across a whole cassette or freewheel quickly and of course its even easier in friction. I like having the indexing becasue it helps me know for sure what gear I am in I am running my Le Tour in friction right now because I have been trying out a 8-speed wheel and the friction works well enough too it doesn't take that long to get the "feel" right.

tarwheel 

I've got 2 bikes with STIs, 2 with bar-ends, and one with DT shifters. I like them all! STIs are definitely easier to use but are much more expensive and more prone to wear out or break. DTs are the hardest to use but are kind of fun in the way that a manual transmission car can be fun to drive; they are also extremely reliable and durable. Bar-ends are a nice middle ground -- they are easy to use, inexpensive, very reliable and durable.

Booger1

Like driving a stickshift,it just becomes habit after awhile.I don't shift that much anyways,they could put them on the seatstays if the want.

rodar y rodar

Cambio Corsa? If you think STI brifters are expensive....

ThermionicScott 

There's a dude on BF who mounted the shifter for his three-speed fixed-gear hub on the seatstay. Looked pretty sharp!

Linky: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ng-experiences

daveF

Sounds like you're describing DT shifters in friction mode. However, the person who is neglecting the chain, cassette, derailleur pulleys, & running Di2 has probably also failed to charge the batteries.

seafood

I've been involved in the motorcycling world for a bunch of years. I once spoke to a dyno operator at a shop, who told me about the numerous customers coming in asking for tune-ups and dyno runs, spending hundreds or thousands of dollars to eek out 5-10 hp, then promptly going out into the real world and neglecting their bikes -- blissfully unaware that an improperly adjusted chain can cost as much as 3 hp. Laziness and foolishness are powerful forces of nature I embrace mine and run the simplest and foolproof equipment I can get away with.