BobbyG

I have brifters on my main commuter, bar-end shifters on my winter bike, and downtube shifters on my old 12-speed. I used to have trigger/crossfire shifters on my winterbike when it had straight bars for its first 22 years.

WIth the brifters and the trigger shifters, in traffic, with cars around, it is nice to have your hands by the brakes even when shifting. Plus my fingers are also near my Airzound Airhorn trigger on one side, and my bell on the other. With both setups I could shift, brake, ring the bell and honk simultaneously, although I don't remember that happening ever. (that doesn;t mean it never happened)

Since converting my winterbike to drop bars with bar-ends I do have to move my hands to shift, but not as far as I do with my "downtube" 12-speed.

However, since my 40s I have had to vary my hand position every so often to avoid cramping, so moving my hands to shift is actually a plus in some ways. And reaching down to shift adds some other kinds of stretching to my ride.

I think I would be happy with any kind of shifting except an old, rusty Sturmy-Archer 3-speed.