Down Tube Shifters

[Chris L]

Just to add to the possibilities, my lad has a racer(-ish) with downtube levers fitted on the stem.  He's pretty comfortable on most bikes and can ride hands-free, but the position of the levers means his hands are never far from where they need to be to control the bike.  That said, he's got a BMX too, which he prefers, so there's always the option of ditching gears altogether, which kind of deals with the shifting issue.

[Karla]

Just to add to the possibilities, my lad has a racer(-ish) with downtube levers fitted on the stem.  He's pretty comfortable on most bikes and can ride hands-free, but the position of the levers means his hands are never far from where they need to be to control the bike.  That said, he's got a BMX too, which he prefers, so there's always the option of ditching gears altogether, which kind of deals with the shifting issue.

Ah yes, 'castration levers'.  I tend to avoid those.

Having shifters on the bars is incredibly useful for:
1) Mountain biking, where bouncy terrain will mean you definitely want to keep both hands firmly attached to the bars.
2) Racing, where you want to be able to drop the gears and accelerate at a moment's notice.

DT levers will do fine for most other things, though STIs/Ergos are certainly nice. 

[mcshroom]

I don't think anyone has said that it would be hard to use dt shifters.

They most certainly have!

p.s. good post Drossall.

Who has?

[TimC]

I did, but it was - to some extent - in jest. However, remembering the OP, we are trying to find the easiest and safest solution for a lad who's not a cycling enthusiast and who suffers a degree of dyspraxia. This isn't about what is anyone's personal preference, and my jest was to prick the 'it was alright for my dad and his dad, so it must be alright for you' thing that was beginning to appear.

I suppose we could modify the Monty Python 'You tell that to the kids of today, and they won't believe you' sketch to be cycling related?