I don’t see how spending 160 on used ultegra shifters are irrational? Am I missing something? I mean if I posted a question asking if I should buy some gold plated shifters that lance Armstrong used to win his first tour de France for 4500 I would expect such a response from you DMF. I am watching some ultegra sl component group of a madone on ebay. If I get a wild hair I may buy it and have some extra parts to play around with. Maybe I can buy a Lemond race used frame and put some used shimano 105's on it and some of my wife's used bontager hybrid tires.
I think from the start your help has been that of irritation and indifference. If I irritate you then please don’t reply. I understand you are knowledgeable and probably have many more years of experience than me....in fact I am sure of the second part.
Just like the guy that posted a thread *****ing about the guy that had multiple carbon bikes and the obligatory BMW. I prefer quality things. I won’t apologize for it. If I spend an extra 50 bucks so be it. I am not really concerned that I will get the extra 50 dollars worth of performance out of the shifters. I bought this bike to ride for the next six months until I find a bike that fits my needs. I plan out putting little higher quality components on it in the mean time. It will be a decent back up bike when I need it. If I were fiscally irresponsible I would have stroked a check for a 7k bike without ever researching or relying on other people’s experiences. Or I could take the bike I have and install New components such as the SRAM red line or Ulegra Dura Ace. That I understand would be overkill. But if someone wanted to do it and it didn’t effect the mortgage payment or food on the table then it's a free country.
Sorry for the rant and I am not saying your intentions intended to be mean or unhelpful. But I am fully aware that I am green when it comes to this hobby but like everything I do from my professional to my personal life I will learn it and become fully immersed in this hobby and will one day hopefully be knowledgeable as you. Until then I may have to ask some "bonehead" questions in order to make progress. I do appreciate some of the PM's with suggestions and advice as well as everyone else’s including yours DMF.