Originally Posted by
Jimbo47
One thing I've noticed when I was bike shopping and comparing components on some popular models, is how, as an example, a lot of manufacturers combine level 1 and level 2 components only changing one out such as leaving an Acera FD and only change out the RD with an Alivio calling it an upgrade.
I bought my bike based on this practice and chose one that all the components were of the same grade, and that included the FD, the RD, and the crank set.
Did it make that much of a difference?.....I don't know that it made that much, but what I do know is if I'm paying for an upgrade, I want to at least feel like I'm getting one.
Pretty common marketing practice: the r/d is the one bit 'hanging out there in plain sight', so throw a Tiagra group on a bike, but switch the r/d to 105, and mfg. can claim that bike X has a "105/Tiagra mix". Not going to do it with the shifters, brifters or rapidfire, 'cos they're expensive (cost) relative to a r/d!