Originally Posted by
Squeezebox
Somebody above mentioned using mid-range components, so they can be swapped out easier than the high range stuff. I've always been an advocate of buy the best you can afford, But if you break down in the middle of no-where mid range just might be better. I will try to back off of my pissy attitude and try to accept that mid range is probably the best way to go.
Right On! Oh sorry! That's Ride On!!!
In terms of swapping things out, I don't see how it would matter as long as you stay within the compatibility realm you want. For instance, if you're deciding between 5800 105, Ultegra 6800, and Dura Ace 9000, your choice will have no effect on which components you can compatibly swap in later.
Originally Posted by
jefnvk
OK, serious question: as you move up on the component range, from mid-range to high end, what are you actually getting in benefit? It was always my understanding that as you moved up, you were generally sacrificing durability for weight, and the higher end stuff, while more precise with some less slop and tighter tolerances, required more fiddling to keep in proper tune. Is that a fair understanding, or am I wrong in that?
Higher-end components are lighter because they're made of fancier materials and have much better build quality. For sprockets in
some transitions this might mean reduced longevity (i.e. if a steel cog is switched for an aluminum one), but for most stuff higher-end parts are very tough. FD-9000 versus FD-5800 is a good example of a top-end component just being better in every way.
Less slop if anything means less fiddling to keep in tune, since it needs more error before offsets start randomly causing issues.