Sora 3500 shifter would be a worthy replacement which will work with the 9 speed stuff you were given;
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/sora-3500-2013-9-speed-sti-road-levers-triple-ec041949?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle&utm_content=mkwid__pcrid_17321847296_kword__match__plid_
While 3500 shifters are no mean fantastic, they're a massive improvement over the original thumb shifter version.
@edscoble started
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Sora 3500 shifter would be a worthy replacement which will work with the 9 speed stuff you were given;
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/sora-3500-2013-9-speed-sti-road-levers-triple-ec041949?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle&utm_content=mkwid__pcrid_17321847296_kword__match__plid_
While 3500 shifters are no mean fantastic, they're a massive improvement over the original thumb shifter version.