Originally Posted by
_DavidGrossmann
ok say basically the bikes dont matter and the higher end bikes are mainly just preference (Better frame vs better shifters....)
Basically, for an entry level bike. It's easy to get hung up on Sora vs 105 vs Dura Ace etc but unless you just have to have 10 speeds or 11 speeds, or some other specific feature, it really doesn't matter that the bike comes with Sora shifters and Claris derailleur.
Or Altus/Acera etc on mountain bikes, same thing with the exception maybe of the front shocks where the cheaper ones may develop problems.
The gotcha is when you find bikes with lower range of components than these, and you can have a real drop-off in quality.