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@edscoble
My new Elephant 650b bike will have Claris derailleur, down tube shifter and Sora crankset (46/34 external bb), it's hard to tell any difference in performance with down tube/bar end shifter as Andy pointed out, I have the advantage that if something break, it's easy to replace with start that a LBS will definitely have without ordering it in.
The majority of new derailleur will happily go up to 32t so less need for an MTB derailleur.
My "best" bike, the Oak 650b, have Simplex down tube friction shifter, a modified Campagnolo Veloce derailleur (jockey wheel is spaced out for the wider chain), and a 13-26 8 speed cassette.
It's mechanically perfect, shift exactly when I want it, excellent feedback from the Simplex shifter and the range of the 13-26 is idea (how often do you use the 11t cog on a day-to-day basis?).