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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 run 9 speed deore on the rear, 9 speed 105 on the front, 105 Sti, 10 year old bike and no bother. It seems to got little love when I got it freehub body was gone, sestpost stuck so not exactly well maintained either...
Get old 9 speed is the touring mantra. If you dont mind used parts, deore 9 speed lasts for ever it seems and old 9 speed is mix n match.
Or look at how Thorn specs their bikes they go for durable parts.
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You seen a lots of people abuse their bike, your set up will last a lots longer as you're a mechanic and being very aware of issues before it become a problem (frayed cable in shifter).
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Brifters (especially older ones), IME, are quite reliable as long as you keep them un-gunked. I've never seen a truly broken pair.
JWestland
edscoble
Kidneys
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.