Cues 9 speed Shifter Derailer Combo - $10, but read the description

This Cues stuff isn't something we'd ordinarily stock for the following reasons:

• It's based around 1:1 pull ratios, or something other than the 1:2 that is optimal for easy friction shifting. 1:1 means you have to push the shifter more than is ordinary for a shift, which means when you're in the low gear, the shifter is at a cock-eyed angle. If you're OK with that, friction still works fine. Mentioning it at all makes it seem worse than it actually is.
• Cues requires 11 speed chains, no matter how many cogs are on the Cues cassette. Our Silver cranks are compatible with up to 10 speed chains, so if we wanted to use Cues on builds for customers, we couldn't use our crank unless it was set up with a single ring in front. 

If you shift in friction, you can use regular 9 speed cassettes and chains. No need for Cues specific cassettes or an 11 speed chain. If you want to use the indexed shifter that's included in this combo, you'll need an 11 speed chain and Cues cassette. 

Why we have it:

We requested 9 speed Shimano stuff for our first run of complete assembled-in-Taiwan Platypus bikes, and since our usual functional potpourri of Altus/Acera parts were no longer available, our trading agent specified these Cues parts instead. That was before Cues was widely known and we figured, hey, it's 9 speed, it's Shimano, of course it'll be great, but then we learned about the 11 speed chain thing, the 1:1 thing, and we had to switch it at the last minute. We weren't able to return any of the stuff to Shimano (we're not big return-ers, but in this case we gave it a shot) so we had them ship it to us here. It's all OEM, so there are no complicated Shimano boxes to recycle. 

The nice thing about CUES, despite all that, is it's super affordable, and it works great if you stick to the ecosystem. You'll have to source the cassette and crank somewhere else. Some of the Cues cranks are around $40 (and square taper, even), so if you've got a bike build planned and you want to keep it cheap, this is a good choice. We have 9 speed shifters and 9 speed front derailers, and any 11 speed chain will work.

 Ten bucks! Now that's a unique experience. If it doesn't work out... no returns, no credit, no exchanges.