Upgrading components on a new bike

joah
joah Posts: 46
in MTB buying advice
Hi all,

I know companies like Bird do this, but Just wondering if it's possible at other bike shops to upgrade components at the point of sale, at a discounted rate (i.e. taking off the value of the component you don't want).

E.g. I'm looking at bikes like the Scott Spark, Trek Top Fuel, Merida One Twenty. Is it possible to get a model lower down the range but replace say the rims or fork for one that a higher model has?

I'm guessing probably not or else it risks cannibalising the manufacturers product line, but just wondering if people have had experience of negotiating something with their bike shop?

Thanks,

Josh

Comments

  • Darius_Jedburgh
    Darius_Jedburgh Posts: 675
    Why not ask the shop?
  • reaperactual
    reaperactual Posts: 1,185
    edited May 2020
    With Bird it's more of a custom build rather than swapping parts.

    I've never asked a bike shop to do this so can't say.

    You could buy a lower spec bike, run it with spec'ed parts then upgrade over time.

    Buy replacements straight away on sale and bargain prices and remove parts you don't like and sell them 'fitted but unused' on EBay etc. for a decent price.

    Overall you might save a small amount of money, (only if you do the work yourself) compared to just buying the higher spec bike in the first place.
  • joah
    joah Posts: 46
    Thanks. Yeah I'll ask the shop as a first try.

    For reference, I was checking out the Scott Spark 920, but the next model up has a lighter wheelset. It's not enough for me to pay more for that model, but if I was able to swap out the wheels for the spec up at not too much cost it might be worth considering.

    https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/product/scott-spark-920-bike
    https://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/product/scott-spark-900-bike
  • reaperactual
    reaperactual Posts: 1,185
    Yeah, worth doing and wheel upgrades is one of the best things to. Sure the shop will do it, for a small price.

    Nice bike Pal!! Worth it to get exactly what you want and have your 'dream bike'. B)
  • joah
    joah Posts: 46
    Thanks. Tbh it's a bit out of budget but will see if I can wrangle a discount or otherwise sort a finance scheme.

    The Merida One Twenty range is better VFM and has had glowing reviews. I just need to try and find somewhere near me which stocks both makes to do a back to back test (not much luck so far!).

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