I'm reaching out to the community to see if anyone has purchased a new Specialized, or any manufacturer for that matter, and noticed a lesser component on the bike other than what was advertised? My story is I purchased two Crossroads Step-Through 2.0s for my daughters 3 days apart. After having both bikes at home for a week I noticed that one of them did not have the "dork disc" attached and also the rear derailleur is a Shimano Tourney TX which is supposed to be a Shimano Altus. The Tourney TX is a component of the lesser cost Crossroads 1.0. Email to Specialized has so far gone unanswered. The dealer has been very respectful however they don't have another bike to replace it and there's little confidence in Specialized addressing the issue with current COVID business. It was mentioned that Specialized likely reserves the right to change components without notice however I think it stinks that the components specified aren't provided. I also understand that there isn't much difference between the two model derailleurs but I still think this should be resolved by replacing the component.

I'm reaching out to you guys to see if there has been similar experiences and get your thoughts on the matter.

Thanks! - Chris

That’s BS. If the one bike has lesser components then you should get a discount. Bike makers base their prices on components, that’s why you see the same exact bikes but in different prices because of components.

The fact that the dork disc is removed tells me someone swapped something out. Specialized wouldn’t ship a new bike like that. If I’m buying a bike thinking I’m getting an Altus derailleur, then that’s what I want. Otherwise I would have bought the less expensive Tourney model.

Nearly all companies will note their right to change components with little or no notice. It does say this right on the bottom of the page on Specialized's website: "Specifications are subject to change without notice." It is possible that Specialized ran out of supply of Altus derailleurs and put a TX800 on it or something (what is the exact model number of the Tourney derailleur on the bike?). In practice, an Altus derailleur isn't that much different from a Tourney in terms of function, weight, or durability. In fact, looking at the picture on Specialized's website closely, the derailleur photographed on the Crossroads 2.0 Step-Through looks like an Altus RD-M280, which is basically a Tourney RD-TX35 with Altus graphics on it. If the Tourney derailleur on the bike is a newer RD-TX800, then you actually have a newer generation derailleur than the Altus RD-M280 that should have come on the bike.

Having said that, I do agree that the lack of a spoke protector indicates that somebody has been into that wheel somehow. Is it even the correct wheel? It should have a 7-speed 12-32 cassette on it. If the wheel appears to be otherwise correct, I would just let it be. You'll see zero difference in function or operation of the bike with this derailleur change. As stated above, you may even have a newer/better derailleur than what should have been on the bike.