Campagnolo Thumb Shifters: 8 Speed Set

I've owned the same pair of thumb shifters for seventeen years now. They consist of Paul Components Thumbie plates - the first-generation ones without hinged clamps and sporting clearance issues with some hydraulic master cylinders - and Shimano DuraAce 9spd barcon shifters. The right-hand one has been missing its plastic cover for at least a decade but has continued to do its thing without maintenance. When I ditched front derailleurs, the left-hand one found a new life jerking around a rear derailleur and suddenly I had the potential to run two bikes with friction drivetrains.

I used the 'rear' shifter in its indexed mode for a few years but even before I started running it with 10spd, 11spd, and 12spd drivetrains, I had switched over to the friction-mode. That is to say that there are no stops or gearing indications anywhere in the shift lever's stroke. Choosing a gear is done entirely by feel. There's an art to positioning the shifter just right in its seamless path to hit the next cog in the stack. In the heat of battle, it's a dark art I doubt I'll ever truly master.

If immediate gear-change gratification is your shifting goal then thumb shifters are dumb anyways - indexed or otherwise. Get a trigger shifter, adjust it perfectly, and bang off bad shifts all day. Done. If you want to become a better mountain bicycle rider and have a unique experience, grabbing a friction thumb shifter is a cheap, eye-opening, experience."