It really is a matter of personal preference. I started with downtube shifters because that is what my first bike came with. I then tried a series of different shifter positions until I found Campy friction barcons. I used them for many years until switching to indexed barcons. I spend most of my time on the tops, so brifters aren't really that convenient, but barcons work great for me.

If you're wearing heavy gloves or mittens, nothing beats bar ends.

Some folks don't always ride when it's 70 and sunny :-)

I much prefer brifters. Effortless shifting to maintain perfect cadence while firmly gripping...
But my list of lightweight take-alongs for unsupported touring includes a set of levers for the downtube stops just in case I trash the brifters (admitting I mostly do larger-group sort-of-supported tours) Other lightweight take-alongs I wont ever need: chainring bolts, spd clip hardware, extra braze-on bolts, etc

I kind of like this idea, http://retroshift.com/

its K.I.S.S,, less to go wrong,, friction levers , both sides even better, But/..

the market has made people want 9 packed into the space of 8, which is

A Seven + A gear, .. Now historically, :50:

back in the 6 speed era the spacing between cogs was wider , and
so friction and tall teeth were fine.. a slight over shift and trim, back, once on the gear the chain stayed Put.
and there were Half Step + a Granny Cranksets.. ( sort-of a 12 speed and a Bail out gear )

now that hardly anyone can drive a stickshift , car Or truck
the engineers took over, and are trying to make the bicycle like a push button thing.

People tour on The latest stuff, because Its what they are familiar with .. thats fine.. its a choice..

Back in the early 80's the micro ratchet down tube levers were on the Specialized Expedition down tube ,

It was Possible to take 1 hand off the bars and shift Both levers ... But , for safety.. and control,

bar end shifters were My 1st adaptation, Double shifting both levers while both hands
were holding on to the widest part Of the handlebars.

The Importers Product Manager fills out the parts spec. for a given Model, but If You want Brifters ,
But, they didn't include them, The Dealer can Make that parts change .. your choice overrides the brands selection

If thats what You want. Just costs a bit more to replace Included Parts.

My 1980 Schwinn Voyageur came with dt friction shifter and that is all I've ever used on it. I have brifters on a road bike and think they are terrific for that use. But for touring, I like the KISS concept mentioned above. Combined with aero brake levers, I also like not having cable housing running everywhere.

The huge advantage of brifters is that you can shift when out of the saddle. Most tourers don't do that, so that advantage is lost. Barcons are less stress on the hands and wrists. The twisting motion of shifting brifters can get old. I prefer friction barcons, or indexed set to friction mode. Nothing to adjust is good.

I use one of my sport bikes for my tourer, so it has brifters. I have barcons on my rain bike largely to save weight and money. Same Suntour barcons work for every gruppo, big advantage.

LS, Touring bike are generally equipped w/bar end shifters partially because some integrated levers don't play well with some drivetrain combinations and/or brake systems without a Travel Agent (or similar device). Partially from the crashability aspect and partially because they're more or less traditionally preferred by tourists. While all of this accounts for something, it ultimately comes down to what YOU want to use, which may involve some parts swapping.

I don't have a bike with disc brakes, but while they reportedly brake better in the wet and they will not heat a rim while descending a long downhill rim brakes work well when modulated between front and rear during the descent.

Brad

Likewise!

I absolutely hated the stock downtube shifters on my Fuji when I bought it in Fall '76, and liked the bar-ends on my college roommate's Viscount... so one of the first hings I did was to place an order with Bike Warehouse for the SunTour bar-end shifters... They've been there ever since - 37 years and some 45,000+ miles without a hiccup. Original cables too! The feeling of NOT having to look down for the shifter is priceless in traffic or when riding on a bumpy road - just slide my hands back on the drops and - 'Voila!' shifters! - and I only need slight push with the heel of my hand or the pull with the pinkie hooked under the lever to change gears.

The 'n+1' classic that I picked up recently has downtube shifters - but not for long! I've already sourced the used SunTour Bar-end shifters for it as well!

The Nishiki I picked up last year will get the bar-end adapters and re-use the downtube shift levers on them.

I'm running a Wald #8095 upside down "three speed" bar with MTB shifters and brake levers. I previously used STI and bar end shifters and the current setup is the best. STI shifting is vague by comparison and MTB levers work the road discs much better. Bar ends are less convenient and on rough terrain it's sometimes hard to shift one gear at a time. MTB controls need a bar with a 22.2mm diameter verses 23.8 for road. Eventually I will change to hydraulic MTB discs. The latest Shimano dual piston disc calipers make cable discs feel stoneage.

For touring I prefer the simplicity of bar ends, I have brifters and have had more than a few sets crap out on me and been unable to purchase replacement parts, I have never had a set of bar ends get to where I couldn't make them work. Bar ends versus downtube, dt shifters got in the way of my water bottle, reach for the wb, shift the bike :eek: Also as pointed out, dt shifters require taking your hand completely off the bars. I have seen the Kelly adapters but have never used them, looked like a good idea if you have the bag clearance for them. I have one set of Suntour friction barend shifters that are almost 40 years old that are still in use, never had a well used brifter last more than 4-5 years tops. YMMV.

Aaron :)

I've got STIs, down-tube and bar-end shifters on various bikes. They all work fine and have their pros and cons. STIs are most expensive, more clunky looking, and perhaps more likely to break or wear out. They are the easiest to shift, but encourage you to keep you hands in one position all the time, which can lead to numbness. Down tubes are the least expensive and most durable and maintenance free, but are hardest to shift. If carrying a load, you might wobble when you shift if your technique is not perfect. Bar-ends combine the best of both styles, IMHO. They are relatively inexpensive, durable and easy to shift. The only downsides are that cable routing can get kind of funky, you might not like shifters at the end of your bars (eg, if you use bar-end mirrors), and in some cases the levers might interfere with your legs.

I am replacing the handlebar on my only bike that has DT shifters and I'm using the opportunity to switch that bike to bar-ends. If my STIs on other bikes wear out at some point, I will also replace them with bar-ends. So, I guess you can say that I like bar-ends.

This one had me puzzled. Unless you're commuting in heavy traffic, the use of integrated brake shifters isn't any more likely to cause hand numbness that any other form of shifter/brake lever combo. It's not like you're shifting constantly when on a touring bike. Does that encourage me to ride the levers all the time ?. Well, no. This is the most common form of shifters on a bike outside of a mt. bike and it's not like we see and/or are reading about constant complaints from a million roadies about hand numbness. Bad advice here.

I recall that Sheldon Brown weighed in on this issue - bar con vs. brifter, maybe 15 years ago and came to the conclusion that brifters were perfectly fine for touring applications, that they didn't fail easily or more often and that in his experiences they did not suffer catastrophic damage from a collision or fall.

Mind that I like and have used bar-cons on assorted bikes, but after the move to 9 spd. systems, found that one major usefulness to bar-cons, namely the ability to friction shift odd combinations of user chosen chainrings, became a bit of a moot point when cranks and bottom brackets moved to integrated systems. I don't think the newer cranks and b-brackets are better, in terms of user choices, though installation and setup is easier.

Bottom line though is my Ultegra triple brifters work pretty well.

Well, I ride all of my bikes quite a bit (all 5 of them) and I find that I tend to keep my hands planted on the hoods when riding my bikes with STIs. It's just so convenient for shifting. In contrast, when riding my bikes with DT and bar-end shifters, I am forced to move my hands around the bars when shifting. A lot could depend on the roads you ride on. It is very hilly where I ride, plus I bike commute, so I do a lot of shifting. If you are riding on mostly level terrain on roads without a lot of traffic signals, then you wouldn't need to shift much regardless of the type of shifters you have on your bike.

All this talk of going with this or that for simplicity's sake. I think it only gets unsimple if something breaks. As long as the STIs keep working, they're as simple as any other shifters. :)

STI/Ergo brifters have a safety advantage over barcons or DT shifters, as they keep hands positioned to immediately reach brake levers at all times. IMO this is essential for commuting duty.

Barcons are fitted to touring bikes mainly because they're cheap. Microshift barends now equipped on complete LHTs cost QBP ~$40. Lowly Tiagra brifters cost 4X as much. The >$100 cost difference of these options is not insignificant to bike companies in the design phase of a bike.

Hate to think I have been riding a death trap all of these years....:rolleyes:

FWIW I have used brifters and still have them on one bike, but don't really think it really makes that much difference when it comes time to brake in an emergency. Can't recall ever hitting anything because I couldn't get on the brakes fast enough. I only ride on the hoods part of the time, I also use the drops and the tops on a drop bar bike.

Aaron :)

Having just spent 4 days on the road this week with bar end shifters I can definitely say I liked them alot. It was the most extensive time I've had with them. I can say that brifters would not have garnered that much of an advantage in safety or comfort because I was changing hand positions a lot so quick shifting from brifters wasn't needed. With brifters or barcons you are probably moving your hands to shift because you won't have them in the same position on the bars.

These old Suntour ratcheting barcons I used worked flawlessly and the click/ratcheting was a quick way to trim after shifting. I found the 3x7 gearing worked quite well with plenty of rang.

I rode with dt shifters for years and went with bar end shifters on my LHT. Compared to dt shifters, my hands stay on the handlebars, I have better stability and I don't have to glance down to find the shifters. I'm a big fan.

I just got a road bike with brifters. I like the convenience of having the shifters right there on the hoods (where I do most of my riding), but am not quite used to shifting them yet (which paddle do I use?) and kinda worry about all the bits and bobs in the hood. Give me a few more miles and I'll be ok with them.

I think I'd rather tour with bar ends, just because I feel like I can fix them if something breaks, but ultimately, I don't think that it really matters. The brifters seem to be pretty reliable at this point, so if you like them, use them.

I found the best of both worlds in this setup, but I know it's not for everyone. I run front (triple) and rear (7 speed) both friction so I can do some extended double-shifts on MTB trails. It's great to be able to shift from the bar ends in steep climbs. The downside is that the levers do get bumped in transit, but they've never failed even after being dropped.

http://imageshack.us/a/img507/5060/p1040512d.jpg

The bar end shifter is on the end of the bar, where the leverage is the greatest, and a little nudge can cause the bike to weave. People who use them will know what I mean.

People who have poor riding skills should use brifters.

:)

Yes, you don't just remove your hand from the bar and push on the shifter. Grip the end of the bar and shift with the heel of your hand or little finger. More of a squeezing motion than a push.

Same could be said for those who complain about taking their hand off the bar to shift DT shifters.

Cheers Sixty Fiver. :)

PS You said the B word.

All this discussion makes me chuckle.

Why not go with no shifters at all?

:innocent: