I've been looking at mountain bikes lately. I want to get a new one, one that fits me, since the current bike is over 10 years old. Add on the v-brakes, a dozen or so missing teeth on the gears, I think it's time I picked up something new-ish.

So I'm looking at the bikes, comparing the components and cost. I've paid attention to biking components marginally; I know that for Shimano, components with names are mid-range, abbreviations/letters like XT and XTR are high-range, and stuff that has "Shimano" are bottom range components.

I really wish the naming conventions would make it easy on consumers. Starter. Entry. Value. Solid. Beat on it. OMG YOU'RE LANCE!

Or tree themed. Acorn. Sapling. Fir. Oak. Redwood. Or activity level. Potato. Sunny. All-Terrain. Don't Stop. Crazy. Or by food. Generic. Fast food. Chain. Fine Dining. Are You Eating GOLD? Or by costs. $. $$. $$$. Buffett/Gates.

At least SRAM makes theirs pretty easy. x3, x5, x7, x9, xx, x0.