Percist

I recently noticed after 3 months of ownership that my madonne 5.2 has a 105 cassette vs the "full Ultegra" they told me. I don't really care, the discount I got on the '06 was significantly more than the price difference. It was just the dishonesty which I would normally chalk up to carelessness until someone told me this weekend that they've seen bikes marked down only after spec parts were replaced by lower end components in the same LBS at season's end.

Is this common? Do shop owners get a lot out of moving frames with lower gruppos?

The next time I buy a bike from a seemingly reputable dealer do I really need to know what every component is supposed to be?

Better yet, does this mean I can haggle for them to trade up the rear derailleur and stick some other poor sap with the other?

BigSean

I hardly think that a cassette swap really saved the shop anything. It was probably standard on that model. Check the Trek website and find out.

rog

Pardon my ignorance, but how were you able to tell?

grahny

Please don't say it looks like it says "105" in the spacers between the cogs

KevinF

How did you determine that it's really a 105 cassette? This comes up here periodically; apparently Shimano 10-speed cassettes are stamped with a "10S" (note: "S" as in the letter, not "5" as in the number) to indicate "10 speed". A little wear, a little chain grease, some dirt, etc. and that "S" looks amazingly like a "5".

Percist

It is, and I know the cassette didn't save the shop anything. Hence the not caring.

But change out some derailleurs or cranks. . .I just assumed it wouldn't be worth the trouble, so why bother to check.

kokomo61

That one got me once, too.....I bought an Ultegra cassette, and when I was installing it, I saw the 10S and said HEY! They ripped me off!......then thankfully, I found the correct answer before calling the seller on it...

Mariner Fan

That's interesting. I can see how people could get confused. Is there much difference between an Ultegra cassette and a 105?

DaveSANYYZ

One way is to check the lock ring which has the model stamped on it.

Sirrobinofcoxly

I know at our shop, it wouldn't be worth our time to swap stuff out. We would lose more money that way than just selling at cost.

adam

I had that happen to me once with an LBS back in the UK. Told them I wanted a Ultegra chain and cassette. They gave me a SRAM chain and a 105 cassette. Brutal. Didn't figure it out for a few months when I took some things apart for some cleaning.

Waldo

There's a reason all bike catalogs and web sites feature a disclaimer about parts and specifications being subject to change...manufacturers do little things like this all the time. Also, "full Ultegra" is rarely that, and it's fairly common for manufacturers to step down a notch on a cassette as it's not a super visible part and offers a marginal difference in performance.

Lastly, as has been said, it's not at all worth it for the shop to swap cassettes.

brianb

Trek frequently puts "other than spec" parts on new bikes, at the factory, when they run out of the spec parts and need to ship bikes. This happened on my wifes Lemond Chamberry, which was spec'ed with 105 brakes, but came from the factory with Ultegras (no extra charge - bonus!). They usually put a higher level part on, but if that's not available I could see them putting a step lower and adjusting the price down on that one bike accordingly. I guess when you deal in truckloads of bikes, things like that are bound to happen. I wouldn't sweat the LBS on it, unless you don't like them anyway. Chances are they never realized the difference. Probably not worth complaining over if you have a good relationship with the shop. (No I don't own or work in a bike shop, but hang out in them enough to see this thing happen alot, especially with Trek)

Percist

DOH! 10S

Actually, I hal already asked them in passing. funny thing was, the kid helping me didn't know either, he just gave me a line about how his tri bike was full dura ace with an ultegra cassette. His ignorance makes me feel a little better. I didn't sweat them about it though, they've been good to me so far. I did think the story of switched components was odd because of the labor cost aspect mentioned above.
Just thought I'd ask.


How about wheelsets or other parts that don't require the adjustment of something like a derailleur?