I did exactly what Snapdragon did to my terry classic for a similar price. However, it is cheaper to do bar end not only due to the price of the shifters, but it won't require a brake change. There is a mis-match between the amount of cable pulled by a straight bar click shifter and an sti shifter, so I swapped out the side pulls for a special canti designed by shimano to work with sti shifters (as did snapdragon). But, you could also handle the problem with travel agents (although they don't work as well), or if you use bar end shifters they are compatable with v-brakes (assuming that is what you now have) and you won't have to mess with the brakes. For me, I have no regrets that I spent the extra money on the sti shifters and cantis. But, be sure the frame is worth the upgrade. In my case, shortly after the conversion I decided the frame was too worn (rust holes started appearing) so I bought a new frame for a great price on ebay and transferred the parts.