Need some help on drivetrain components...

Bike parts are way cheaper when bought stuck together as a bike than when bought piecemeal. Unless you're willing to invest a huge effort in tracking down bargains it will be financially much more sensible to go for a "new" bike instead. And for used your budget should put you in the range of some fairly nice rides.

Also, if you want to hit the hills you can certainly reconsider the 53-11 high. That'd have you spinning out at 40 MPH - not a particularly useful gear for anyone not on the Tour...

But if you insist I'd say go for shimano 9-speed stuff. With the exception of the FD and v-brakes it will allow you to mix any old how between MTB and road stuff for maximum drive train customisation.

Thanks for the reply!

I already saw the price difference in buying a new(er) bike, but the problem I have with that is that I'd just end up with a new(er) bike that didn't have the gears that I would want. I suppose I could still go that route to get MOST of the components, then change out the cassette and chainrings, then dump (or keep for a spare) the frame.

I just know that for hills, I can climb anything locally with what I've got (34 front/28 rear), but I would prefer to do so at a higher cadence so that they don't necessarily take so much out of me. On the flipside, there are clear downhill stretches where with the 52 front/14 rear, I max out my cadence and have to stop pedaling. Not to mention, going from 12 (really 8 with the overlaps) to a triple and a 9-sp or 10-sp would help on the flats if I catch a gust of wind or a slight incline my cadence won't have to change with a smaller ratio change.

Heck, on the Bucket 100 ride, I left Bloomington, IN not realizing that my derailleurs had been bumped on the transport there, so I couldn't shift to my small chainring--I had to climb those hills standing up. That took a lot out of me.

Still hoping for some more opinions on some specific equipment...

Jason

52/14 and modest pedalling technique should still have you reaching 30+ MPH. 46/11 would give you 35 MPH at the same cadence. If it was me, I'd be quite happy to coast out any section of the road that had me topping out above that.

Shimano LX has been revamped as a trekking group, get one of their triples in 46-36-26(?), a 9-speed road cassette starting at 11 and a long cage MTB RD, Deore and LX has a nice price point. Shifters - Sora have progressed to 9-speed. Nothing wrong with those apart from the lack of bling value. Might be some trial & error to find a FD that works.
If you don't mind running a mixed bag you can try to locate a pre-QS Campy left brifter, they've got almost a micro ratchet instead of conventional indexing, and will work with a wide range of FDs. Or get a pair of Campy brifters and do a net search for "shimergo" to find out ways to make a mixed drivetrain work. Maybe bite the bullet and go for a Shift Mate adapter,won't take much in terms of servicing before you've gotten that money back as compared to staying with all Campy.

Wheels - go for a traditional build, J-bend spokes and all that. You'll be running more dish than before, having a rear built with butted 2.0-1.5-2.0 NDS spokes and 2.0-1.8-2.0 DS spokes will increase the odds for a durable wheel - if tensioned correctly. If you get a prebuilt "factory" wheel, have it serviced before taking off, bearing play and spoke tension.
Hub - I'd go for Shimano there too, not to particular about which one. Freehub bodies CAN fail occasionally, and staying with Shimano means that spare parts are cheap and readily available.

Ok...that Shimergo search cost me several hours of my life--but it was well worth it, I think. Many thanks! That's exactly the type of information/discussion I was looking for.

Jason