These guys you speak of seem knowledgeable and know value. I am a HUGE Rival fan. There really is no need to go higher end unless you want to spend the money. Red shifters make sense only if you can get them cheap. Putting money into wheels makes more sense for the few grams you'll save between Rival and Red. The Rival front deraileur shifts better than Red which is known to be flexy. The Rival crank is known for its stiffness but I would go Force crank and Rival everything else. Put the money you save into nicer wheels.