When I introduced mrs non-fixie to downtube shifters a couple of years ago, I threw her in at the deep end: Huret Allvit with a five-speed Maillard FW. Within a few miles she was working that combo like she'd never used anything else. CLUNK! Done. CLUNK-CLUNK! Done. CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK! Done.
Rather industrial to behold, but very effective.
These days she mainly rides her DeVos, with a 7-speed FW and Shimano 6207 friction ....
... or her Méral with a 6-speed FW and SunTour Vx-GT friction (note the ingenious shape of that dropout, BTW):
She likes both, especially the way the Vx shifts, but both setups require a lot more trimming than the Allvit.