Please don't let anyone make you imagine that there is anything much more than weight and serious bling between today's SHIMANO groupsets. It's not like years ago where there was massive differences between them, at the cost of production and efficiency, many parts are exactly the same except for the finish/material being used. If you look at the 2012 deore, slx, xt and xtr you will see it evident in many parts such as brakeset's, shifters, mech's, etc etc. If you are starting off, there is nothing wrong with a bit of a mix and match, for example, my "dream recipe" for a beginner who want's a great SHIMANO groupset would be: Deore M596 2012 Brakeset SLX Chainset XT Rear Mech SLX Front Mech Deore M591 Shifters Then, if you want something a bit more blingy: SLX 2012 Brakeset SLX Chainset XT Rear Mech SLX Front Mech SLX Shifters If you want something with street cred: XT 2012 Brakeset, i-Tech Rotors XT i-Spec Shifters mounted to brakeset SLX Chainset XT Rear Mech XT Front Mech If you want almost racer/sponsored, flashy XT 2012 Brakeset, i-Tech Rotors XT i-Spec Shifters mounted to brakeset XTR Chainset XTR Rear Mech XT Front Mech If you have loads of cash full XTR.
