I've used similar friction shifters (Falcon) on other bikes and already knew I liked them so there were no surprises with this set for me.
I like these shifters because they are super cheap compared to other options like trigger or grip shifters. They're dead easy to install and maintain because you don't have to worry about indexing. You can make adjustment on the fly by tightening or loosening the screw that presses down to generate the friction. They are really easy to use you just push till the derailleur changes gears and like all friction shifters they allow micro adjustment at the lever to "trim" shifts. The have a clicking sound to assist in knowing how much to move the shifter for each shift.
Since they just pull as much cable as you make them they work with wide range of derailleurs without issue. I used them on a trip along the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh PA to Cumberland MD. They worked great and shifted perfectly the entire time. I used them with a Shimano Alivio front 3 speed mech and a MicroSHIFT Marvo LT 9 speed rear mech.
The open clamp on these shifters would allow them to be installed almost anywhere like inside of the loop on a Jones Loop bar. I have them installed on trekking bars.
I don't like the bulky rubber covers I think they make the shifters look cheap. They are removable but they are pretty uncomfortable without the covers.
These are FRICTION ONLY not indexed. This could be a con for some that don't realize that these don't work the same as shifters that normally come on bikes were one click drops one gear.
Shifters came with cables and housing. I was able to switch from my downtime shifters to these in less than an hour and with only the cable and housing included (reusing the housing on my chainstay).
The only issues I have is that they rub on my Tektro Eclipse MT 2.1 MTB Universal Brake Levers. The lever has a thick mount and I’m not concerned about it but it’s leaving a slight mark in the lever mount. It may not be an issue for other levers…;
