And my wise-*** comment. Index vs Friction Shifters. Like solid state vs tube amplifiers. Solid state is so much easier to use. (And so rugged. With a good cabinet, indestructible. I backed my car into a Peavy and it didn't care.) I love tube amps.
Really good friction shifting is a joy to ride. Yes, it takes a level of skill. Yes, it requires removing one's hand from the bars (for DT). Yes, it is completely obsolete and would be a several shot handicap in a race.
I am currently dismantling a Pro Miyata with lots of rust and putting most of those parts on another Pro M. Snazzing up parts as I go along. SunTour Symmetric shifters, Superbe FD (if it can handle triple, near new Cyclone GT rear. (Tried to put the GT cage on the Superbe but can't quite.) For a start, this will be the 52-42-30 X 13-26 Sedis/SRAM I've been using.
Only drawback to the wonderful shifting of those derailleurs and the Symmetric: on a pure race bike of early '80s clearances (like none at all!), that front tire is way too close to my index finger on my routine shift. A hard jam I feel in the bones every time I do it and that is nearly every ride. Not good for hands as old as mine and that are not going to relearn how to walk shift. So for last Sept's Cycle Oregon, I made an elegant wood shield that neatly zip ties below the DT. Love it! Barely notice it but those jarring jams don't happen!
That bike is totally old school. Skinny tires, dinosaur shifting, heavy enough to anchor an entire modern peloton. That CO had a day of riding the Willamette Valley. Miles of farm fields. North or west. Always along property boundaries. And all upwind. Every turn, shift a gear or two and settle in for the next few miles. But the bike simply disappeared. It was some of the most magic riding I have ever done. Like when all is right with that tube amp, the song and the other musicians.