Marc Kitteringham
Lets talk about shifting.
My building philosophy has always been to keep shit simple. I don't want anything superfluous or extra on a build, and I want to be able to maintain it at a minimum cost. Bikes are things that are meant to be functional. They should always work, or should be very easy to make work again. Going back to my previous statements about simplicity and fulfilling a purpose, bikes should also be able to fit into a niche and fill a certain role with aplomb.
I've been riding my BRC Explorer dirt drop mountain bike (AKA Red Baron, Randobeest, etc) for just over a year now. I started with simple thumb shifters that were mounted at the top of the drops near the stem. They were friction shifters and were around thirty years old, however they gave me all of the functionality I needed to keep my bike running.
They were not to be the final product for the Beest though. Over the winter, the Beest got a full rebuild. I decided upon barcon shifters from Rivendell Bikes. The shop I worked at had access to the pods for a ridiculously cheap price, so I jumped at the chance to get them. For levers, I went to the local bike kitchen and picked up a pair of downtube shifters for $4.00. After some modifications with a drill press, I was able to mount the old Shimano shifters to the pods.
I like the RivBike pods because they are not indexed, allowing for a wide variety of gearing. They are simple, just a lever that pulls a cable and are super easy to use. For the rest of the Drivetrain, I have an old set of Shimano RS derailleurs, a new Tourney freewheel (only $12!) and a found Deore XT crankset. It truly is a mixed bag of componentry, but it works wonders for me. The Megarange freewheel has a great gear range to get up and down hills, the 3x crankset multiplies this gear range to rival even the most high end MTB drivetrains and replacement parts are incredibly cheap.
I know drivetrains like this are often ridiculed and dismissed, but it has worked quite well for me. I am not looking to save weight on this build (full steel MTB with dual racks) and the replaceability and serviceability of this drivetrain is well worth any issues that may arise. Besides, the main issues that come from low end drivetrains are the shifters not indexing properly. I bypassed that issue by going with friction. For a daily driver or touring rig, I wouldn't go with anything else.