Originally Posted by
linberl
One thing they were not comfortable doing was installing a 9 speed rear derailleur on their 8 speed bike - they simple refused to do it, so I ended up pulling the cheap Claris rear derailleur and installing my own 105 NOS short cage once I got the bike. They said it was a compatibility question and they weren't comfortable installing the 9 speed, yet it works wonderfully with better clearance.
It sounds like a little too much "by the book".
I can understand why a company wouldn't wish to experiment, but I think all the bike part companies made some confusion with the 8/9/10 numbering.
Obviously 10 MTB and 11s are different.
One would think they would have 105 or Ultegra, at least on the Pocket Rocket, and could put it on other bikes.
I'm wondering if drop bars are being used on several models now.
Obviously lots of different hub choices (although they don't all have to be offered).
Shifters, derailleurs, etc are all pretty standard, and I'd expect them to all be stocked (except like I said, I've never seen them list Campagnolo). Even so, they could stock perhaps a few Chorus or Athena parts.
Cranks have a couple of different lengths, but they could have say 170/175 standard for all models, and order other lengths special. Also special order tandem sets.