landotter wrote:

However.... back 15 years ago when I did have a bike
and lost of riding, I remember friction shifting.....
and when things were not quite aligned I could manually
make that small adjustment so that it was.

See my point?

Not really. After the cables bed in, a bike should shift perfectly
indefinitely.

OK

Maybe everything is index now? Friction no longer
available or desirable? tell me ok?

It's available if you want it. Ultegra bar-end shifters are switchable
to friction or index, best of both worlds. About $70.

Cool!