Bar End Shifter Guidance

make sure you buy compatible ones. The cable pull is different on indexed shifters between SRAM/Shimano/Campy. I believe Microshifts all run Shimano pull.

Dumbing it down a bit...
Index = you click the shifter up or down, the rear cog moves 1 cog up or down. You get a pre-determined (by the cable pull ^) amount of movement per click. This is how almost all modern day shifters work, and for the most part (when properly set up) removes a large amount of human error from the situation.

Friction is the old way we all used to have to shift. You moved the lever and an equal amount of tension was applied to the cable to move the derailleur up and down the cassette. On the downside, there is more thought involved, as you need to have a better feel to get the gear you want. On the plus side, you pretty much eliminate the rd/cassette skipping, as you have full control over the movement of the derailleur.

For the most part, if you are unsure, just stick with indexed ones.

Edited by Leegoocrap 2016-04-06 10:12 AM

The benefit of friction shifter is that you can micro adjust the shifting point to compensate for less than a perfect setup rear derailleur, plus you can use it with any brand. The drawback is that you need to find that shift point and unless you are quite good at it, it's easy to over- or under shift.

Indexed shifters only work for one brand (and number of gears...), but it eliminates the problem with over/under shifting.

I would spend a bit more money and get a used set of 10 speed Shimano bar-end shifters instead of the microshift ones... yeah, they are cheap, but they are cheap for a reason...