Custom Oak Cycles 650B French Randonneur Project.

You say that with this bike the down tube shifters are closer to you than bar end ones. That is only possible if manage to ride the bike whilst sat inside the front triangle. You may be a contortionist and this how you roll of course.

I said the opposite, the bar end is closer to my hand than the downtube.

I prefer downtube over bar-end for this kind of bicycle.