A while ago I broke the shift lever on my bike.  Being cheap, I bought a cheap aftermarket shift lever for about $40 on ebay, rather than the $80 stock replacement.  It then proceeded to break only about 5-6 months later.

Question 1:  Was the $40 I saved worth this aggravation?

Question 2:  After dropping $18 on a repair, is the $22 I ended up saving worth this aggravation?

Question 3: How long is this repair going to last?

To buy:
3/8″ Drill
3/8″ x 2″ Stainless Steel Bolt + Nut
3/8″ ID tubing (needed to buy 10′ at Home Depot.  Used 2″, or 1.66%)
“Blue” threadlocker

And now the photo…

Looks nice, don't it?

It actually feels better than the aftermarket part, since the bolt/tube combination is stiffer.