Originally Posted by
dkatz1
How much difference do these things make? I really don't' know..
How thinly can you slice the baloney. Shimano, for example, makes so many grades of road bike components that I can't keep track of them all.
As you move up the cost food chain, the components really do get progressively nicer. They are lighter in weight, they function more crisply and they look better. The lower lever offerings still work, just not as nicely. The Shimano marketing people have been tasked with making sure that, however much you are willing to pay for a derailleur, they will have a product on offer that will consume that entire budget. They have done that job quite well.