Quote Originally Posted by boy in a kilt View Post
I've ridden with down tubes, bar ends and brifters (I hate that word, but there is no other generic term for the STI/Ergopower shifters).

I've never been a huge fan of bar ends. My big complaint is that I tended to hit my knees on the things which hurt and frequently put me in a gear I didn't want to be in.
Ditto and I just can't operate them with my small hands. At least not comfortably in high speed or very low speed situations. Just can't get quite the leverage I like.

Quote Originally Posted by boy in a kilt View Post
However, with that all said, if you switch to Ergopower, you had best plan on using a Campy cassette. I have Phil Wood hubs which aren't compatible with Campy cassettes. The spacing on the Ultegra 10 speed cassette is similar but not identical to Campy so while it works, it's not quite right. My wife's drive train is all Campy and her shifting is much crisper than mine.

Here's why that is an issue. Shimano's widest range 10 speed cassette is a 12-27. Personally, I'd like a 12-30 but I take what I can get.
JTEK SHIFTMATE FOR THE BEST IN ITALIAN-SUSHI SHIFTING!
http://jtekengineering.com/shiftmate.htm

Stocked by the best shops to work with Campy which has a 29 as their largest 10 spd cog.

PS - SRAM at least makes an 11-28 10 spd cassette.