Tomsl923833

I was talking to the owner of my local bike shop about options installed at the factory. He said that it was a common practice to substitute parts during the assembly process. And, that the catalogs are more of a reference then actual blue print. In the catalog my particular bike called for suntour stem shifters. I suppose somewhere along the line a past owner could have changed them. If so it was done early in the bikes life because the done appear to be new. Being on the down tube and w/ a shimano stamp on them. I'm pretty sure that they aren't suntour. Not that it matters since mine is on the low end of the spectrum. The catalog also mentioned a high tensile steel frame not the 4130. I suppose it's apples and oranges... I did notice other variables from the catalog that weren't an option that are on my bike. The paint sceme is not an option but I can tell it's factory. The manufacturing process is very fast paced so if they run out of suntour shifters and have on the line are they going to stop production just to get a particular part or grab whatever is available at the time. It's been my own experience from working on a production line grab and go. That might be the case... It aint rocket science. That's my thought anyway. In some instances a hickup in the process you very well could get more or, less then you paid for...

oddjob2

I am sure you've seen this before:

Specifications subject to change without notice.

brian3069

It was not unusual for changes to be made after the catalog was printed, but paint color and frame material are major changes. Maybe the catalog you're looking at isn't for the model year your bike was manufactured.

T-Mar

Yes, there were substitutions but, in my experience, you have to assess the probability for each case and often there are clues. After all, replacement components is a simple and common occurrence due to factors, such as wear, breakage, corrosion, obsolescence or simply customer preference.

Often there are clues as to whether it is OEM or not. In the case of stem versus down tube shift levers, old stem shift levers would almost certainly have left marks on the stem from the clamp.

4130 versus hi-tensile is quite a change and more likely it is a model year variation.

gbi

....and sometimes bikes are never even listed in a catalog.