Polo Bikes

I use deore lx - general mid-level shimano.

Second hand I reckon you can get a bit more bang for your buck.

In my experience decent pads are where you should not skimp.
I bought some bike-shop cartridge pads when in a tight spot and they lasted approx 2 weeks each pair, and didn't really slow me much whilst they lasted.

Sweet, just bought a Deore LX for £3 on ebay, got some kool-stop pads