General Cycling Discussion - bike purchase and swapping parts?

I have a new bike picked out and wonder if it is common or even feasable to swap group sets out for an upgrade. Meaning if a bike comes with only two options as a complete bike and I want a different group that the options would a dealer give any credit for the original group towards a higher end group? Hope that makes sense.

We had a dealer around here (Orange County CA) that did that a lot in the 90s. Us po' folk would pick up new take-offs for very good prices. Shop is long gone. Maybe they were better bike builders than business men.

Another option is to sell your take-offs on C-list or Ebay. Might get you a better return. Customizing a bike is usually more expensive than buying up a notch or two.

99.999% wont do that.

itd be cheaper just to buy the bike and upgrade parts as you go along.

get the bike with the group you want, It will be cheaper than bit at a time.
point of sale changes are 10% off, in purchase, Retail, as Accessories would be,

stem length changes to get the fit better should be a near straight swap,
particularly with Threadless stem changes being such a quick exchange..

a lesser group set is part of price point total ,

but OEM is still a lot lower price than one at a time retail

Depends on the shop. If you mean you walk in and see bike X with complete 105 build out and you want them to switch it all out for ultegra and sell it to you then I can't imagine any shop turning you down. However you will likely pay more in the end than just buying it off the floor or choosing a bike already built with the group you desire. Take off/switch outs are usually IMHO only a good value for basic fit items (stems, posts, saddles, etc) because the price difference for a different size is nominal so you don't get squeezed much for "custom." For a whole group you have to figure that there is not only a substantial price difference but a lot of labor hours you will pay for in breaking the bike back down and rebuilding it. There is competition these days though so if you can wrench yourself then they may be more willing to break down and sell you the upgraded components to then rebuild yourself...

In this particular choice from the manufacturers website this bike is offered in 105 which I don't want again, ultegra Di2 which is beyond my comprehension, ultegra or force. I could live with the ultegra, but really want to go with a chorus group. I was hoping it would be acceptable to have the ultegra taken off and be given XX dollars in credit for the ultegra to go towards the purchase of the chorus group. As was suggested I am pretty sure I could change out a group set myself so there is possibly some room to negotiate. I am mainly trying to get a grasp on the bike market and the ways of the LBS before I go in and lay down a lot of cash. It's easy for me to get distracted with all the shiny objects in a high end bike shop and can see myself walking out above budget.......thanks for the responses

I had the same question. I have a LBS that I'd like to buy bike from; problem is the bike I want (in the color I want) is only available in Ultegra - a bit more than I want to spend. The LBS is willing to get me the bike in Ultegra, swap on 105 components and sell it to me for the price of a 105 bike - no premium. Is that unusual? It sounds pretty nice because I'm sure it's harder to unload the Ultegra take offs.

Parts can't just be returned to the supplier if they weren't bought from the supplier. The bike manufacturer doesn't sell parts, only complete bikes. So you want the LBS to buy parts from their supplier, and then sit on the parts you want credit for. What part of non-profit (or loss in this case) do you think any LBS can operate as?

Parts can't just be returned to the supplier if they weren't bought from the supplier. The bike manufacturer doesn't sell parts, only complete bikes. So you want the LBS to buy parts from their supplier, and then sit on the parts you want credit for. What part of non-profit (or loss in this case) do you think any LBS can operate as?

I understand your point, but sitting on parts is relative. There are probably enough people that want a a certain group that could swap for something else down the road It would be a matter of determining what parts are in demand. To me there could be a potential profit in swapping new parts. Dealer gives a small amount in credit towards a more expensive group, then turns around and sell the take off at a more expensive price, but still a profit. I've seen take off parts for sale at a discount that I imagine are probably being sold at small profit. Even at a small loss the amount of money I would spend in the future at a shop that is willing to help out far outweighs the small loss up front.

Some bike shops will do it if the components you want to swap out are ones for which they have a pretty regular demand for. It seems to me that it is a bit problematic for a bike shop to take that kind of risk on inventory that they might not sell.

I ended up ordering a colnago clx 3.0 w/ultegra today. I figured it doesn't have the chorus I wanted, but I can change that myself eventually if I feel the need. I rode a clx a few weeks ago and loved it so I am happy today, thanks for the insight everyone.

a little late.. but i started buying parts and ordered a frame set..yes also a Colnago clx 3.0..my dealer has the frame holding it for me until i am ready for it which is something you don't get everywhere