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My recommendation if you're a little wary about variable gears, is to learn about working with it, some kind of course or even a friends.
Having that knowledge will make life a lots easier and more relaxed about touring with integrated shifting.
Even if it fucked up, you can set the dérailleur to sit at a gearing similar to how you run fixed(single speed.
edscoble-
My worries are not in working with variable gears so much, I work as a bike mechanic/teach people to fix bikes so actual indexing/set up/etc is fine, I've just seen a lot of dead brifters and it scares me a bit. I hate having to just replace something rather than being able to fix/service it. Dead barcons/DT shifters so much easier to deal with. Think I'll just HTFU, enter the 21st century and run 10spd with brifters and a compact. No 11spd cause chains wear out too quick and are £$£$£$.
zooeyzooey
I was thinking to go with 10 speed Rival, going to test ride a bike to see how I find DoubleTap but it seems like a good group. Thanks!
I think I need to get over my fear of "overly" mechanical things. I ride fixed a lot, carry a chainbreaker, and the bike will have adjustable dropouts. If all fucks up on the road I just singlespeed it.