Hi kajero,

I'd say for bikes priced the same, go with the better components. It seems that blue one is the one with better components and you liked how the shifters worked (go for it!).

It's all guesses for us not knowing what you are looking at... from your description, it sounds to me like these two:

2012 Ruby compact carbon/pink with Tiagra
2011 Ruby compact in blue/white

The latter has Shimano 105 and the carbon/pink has Shimano Tiagra. 105 will be better quality and lighter than the Tiagra set. The wheels on the blue one will also be better than on the black one. Yes, you could swap the components later, but that is a pricey proposition.

Anyway, a new bike is very nice. Ultimately, what matters is how the bike feels and rides.