How do I know what bike components are best?

Both drivetrains are about the same quality...good and generally dependable.

I would think the disc brakes would drive up the price...if it is not the bike might be cutting corners elsewhere. (Disc brakes are good if you plan to ride in the rain and don't like the potential squeal of rim brakes, but they do add weight)

Ride them, see which feels better, more intuitive shifting and braking. Turning, accelerating. And which is more comfortable and fun.

Those aspects are important, too.

You seem to be talking with people of limited info on this subject. "Taking you life into your own hands" What a bizarre statement. Since 99% of cyclist do not have DA equipment, I guess we should be seeing 10s of 1000s of serious injuries and deaths from failing components... but we don't. Hemmm Further DA and Record parts are comparable not the Veloce, which is not as good as the Campy Chours line either. I could pick out more erroneous info but I'll move on. Shimano, Campy and Sram all produce very good equipment. It's pretty much your preference as all 3 companies are represented in the Pro cycling ranks. This would be far more abuse than you would ever put on the components. I'm not sure why you would budget 12,000 for, "riding around town to and from work, and just on the weekends to get away" as it would actually be almost impossible to spend that much using off the shelf parts. I guess if you want to unload some cash, the economy can use a boost.

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RE:

How do I know what bike components are best?

When I bike shopping the store clearks keep telling me about how great this component is and this bike is more expensive because of these components. I have no idea what component is what or if it makes that much of a difference. I'm sure is does however I don't know how much. The following...

It's hard to really know about components when you're a begginer. It's just that there is sooo much things going on.

The two brand of components to look for are Shimano and Sram for mountain bikes, and Shimano and Campagnolo for road bikes (I think, I don't really know much about road biking).

Are you looking for a road bike? Your casette relationship (12-26 tooth) are more for road bikes, while mountain bikes can go up to 32 or 34 tooth.

If you want to know more about components and such, you can visit the manufacturer's sites (shimano.com, sram.com) to know more about them.

Also, Mountain Bike Review has a very comprehensive section that posts user reviews on almost any component or piece you want, and it has an excelent forum section. (mtbr.com)

C'ya!

The SRAM bike is going to give you a lot more choices in the future - ability to run a silly low 11~34 cassette.

Sram has a lighter shifting action and STAYS IN ADJUSTMENT BETTER than Shimano.

Sram is engineered right here in the USA - Chicago to be precise.

Both have two year warranty

Sram has better ergo's - your hand is more natural when you are allowed to keep your index finger out on the brake lever, instead of reaching it in for a shift.

I've been Racing/Relying on it since 1998 - it's TRIED and TRUE.

My wife finally asked me why I didn't put it on her bike... So we put SX.5 shifters and X.7 on the rear mech - she loves the lighter action and the fact that she doesn't have to juggle finger positions to shift...

Hmm... I've said enough - Sorry, just a HUIGE FAN!!!

Usually I've found the best way to tell what components are the best is look to see if they've got the SHIMANO brand name on them......... if they've got that, they're usually very good components (my bike still has most the original SHIMANO bits from when I bought it 14yrs ago, and they still look almost as good as new, despite being ridden pretty hard).