I have had this problem for years... is there a good web source, say a chart, table, anything listing and evaluating different components? is there at least such a reference source for shimano?

In terms of the stuff that carries one of the major Shimano model names it's fairly straightforward which is the "best", or at least the "most expensive bought new." Some more obscure things like small-hand-sized shift levers only have model numbers. Less visible components like cassettes, chainrings, and bottom brackets also sometimes have numbers only.

Shimano road stuff (high to low):

Dura-Ace, Ultegra (formerly 600), 105, Tiagra, Sora

Shimano mountain stuff (high to low):

XTR, Deore XT, Deore LX, Deore, Acera, Altus, Tourney
Saint is downhill-specific and I gather it's XT-ish

Forgot Alivio:

XTR, Deore XT, Deore LX, Deore, Alivio, Acera, Altus, Tourney

Shimano.com > products > road/mountain

Bottom line.... if it costs more, it's nicer. What does nicer mean? Typically it'll feel nicer... shifting and braking will be more spot on. And it'll be lighter. So you'll be super fast!

Shimano's website has data and instruction sheets on all current products. The data sheets are ranked in order from best to less best.

I only build my bikes out of used components, so I'm looking more in the realm of old stuff from companies such as Suntour and Sugino. Yea, Shimano isn't too hard to figure out. But then when you get into the realm of frames: Univegas, Raleighs, etc. It gets a little difficult. So I can't go by the price of an item 'cause usually I'll buy or find a frame then work with the components on that frame.

Read the Classic and Vintage forum for a few months and you will get to know what the better vintage components are.

Some of it is personal taste, but there is some agreement by most on some components...

As far as frames, generally lower weight = higher quality... Also, they will usually have the better components.

If in doubt, physically pick up a bike... if it is light, then the frame and components are probably high end.

Forged dropouts are a sign of a better frame as well...

With steel frames there are a few things to look for:
(a) Is it high-tensile steel (junky), standard 4130/chromoly/cro-moly/Cr-Mo, or bike-specific tubing such as Reynolds 531 or Ishiwata Feather or Tange whatever.
(b) Are the dropouts *stamped* (2D look) or cast (3D look). Better frames always have cast dropouts.
(c) Is it drilled for water bottle brackets? The cheapo frames rarely are, the good ones usually are.
(d) Do the original cranks (if present) have removable chainrings? Cheap crummy frames usually came with cheap crummy components...

With Suntour and Sugino components things get pretty hairy... by which I mean that I do not personally know the complete history of their component lineups Ask around about specific components. Since most bikes have their original components, and since most frames are roughly matched in quality to their components, you should be able to tell a whole lot just by looking at the frames.

That being said, I have/had 5 or so Sugino cranksets with removeable chainrings, and all worked great. The cheaper ones were heavier than low-end stuff today, but more solidly built.

Here's a chart with some statistics on steel tubing materials. The lighter the tubeset, the more expensive (usually). Disregard the weight limits, as they are very conservative. However, if you are very heavy, some of the super-featherweight tubesets might not be the best idea.

This is a great website with some scans of catalogs of some now obsolete component makers, including Suntour. It will give you some idea of the component hierarchies, but it is by no means all-inclusive.

There are quite a few high-end frames with few or no braze-ons (for downtube shifters, water bottle cages, cable guides, etc.), though these tend to predate 1980 or so. A tubing sticker can help with identification of better tubesets in this circumstance, but as Little Darwin advises, some time spent researching in C&V is quite instructive.

Good advice. Also look for cranks and spiders that are one piece, rather than swaged. This usually applies to older components, predating the mid 80s or so. There are plenty of 'low-end' one-piece crank/spiders, though even these are better than the swaged design.

Oh, and don't let the sirens of 'high-end' tubing fool you. Some framesets use the more expensive tubes in the main triangle only, but will use high tensile in the stays and forks, or some other 'lesser' material. If you're paying a premium, makes sure there are genuine looking decals on the frame and forks, usually indicating that the entire frame is constructing of said tubing.

That being said, there are plenty of 'gaspipe' or high tensile framesets that are fine. Ride quality is a tricky thing, and is probably more dependent on geometry and build quality than tube materials.

So many confusing answers, here's the easy explanation. Anything Campagnolo makes is better than anything Shimano makes.

Tim

Well, that's why I put the "usually" in there... it seems like there was a time period where minimalist frames were all the rage.

+1