g,
As your typical riding conditions won't favor disc brakes (you mentioned that you live in the desert), you might consider a bike with good rim brakes, and then use the extra money for Shimano 105 components.
AWR has got it just about right, here:
Quote:
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I would strongly suggest sticking with Shimano 105 or its equivalent or better. The stuff is lighter and stronger, and stays "tuned" for quite a bit longer than low-end components.
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Also, there
is a downside to disc brakes: down the road, your upgrade/replacement choices for wheel sets will be very limited compared to the upgrade/replacement choices for wheel sets on rim-brake bikes. Similarly, the prospect of changing out a disc-only fork will reveal two realities: 1) there are just a couple of expensive junk forks out there, and 2) there are even fewer -- and
more expensive -- decent disc-only forks out there.
Even though I still advocate disc brakes (when their advantages can be exploited), I thought that it was only fair to sketch out the challenges associated with changing out disc-only forks, wheels... and frames, for that matter.
DG's advice on seat selection -- while it might seem counterintuitive at first -- is spot on, in my experience.
AWR, I LOVE the stealthy look of your BMC! Very cool.