Bike delivered with lower spec wheels from retailer...what's my recourse?

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Hilltopperny

Here is their initial response

Hi Adam,

Thanks for reaching out. Those are the wheels that come with the bike as they come as complete bikes from Pinarello. We won't do any extra discounts on the bike.


Best,

Epic Cycles Team

My response

The stock photo and the description state Red Rapid 500 which are mid tier gravel wheels. It's definitely what you have on your site and in all of the promotional videos. The 900 series is the lowest rung wheel. I don't have a N3W freehub for my i9 Torch hubs or I would just swap them out now.

Their response to this email

That is exactly what Pinarello sends us to post on our website. Unfortunately we do not control how they ship the bikes to us and we apologize for the inconvenience. I am happy to provide a return label for the bike once it is shipped to us. We will go ahead and do a full refund.


My response

You sent out a top tier bike with the lowest end wheels that Fulcrum makes instead of what is both shown and listed. Then you claimed you had no idea and that you had no intention of making it right and that I could send it back.

That is not cool and is called bait and switch. I am a reasonable guy, but sending out a lower spec wheel and just saying "oh well...send it back then" instead of trying to make it right is no good. The site clearly states the 500 and those are the pictured wheels along with the stated wheelset from the manufacturer and all of the reviews. Getting a heavier lower end set of wheels is a huge disappointment when dropping thousands on a bicycle regardless of the discount which includes the 500 series wheels not the 900 series
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IMO and experience they are not wrong and in the end it's on Pinarello. Could be the tail end of Covid disruptions in OEM supply with many brands scrambling to have complete bikes to ship. Most Co. sites to have a disclaimer regarding Spec changing without notice. If the discount was deep enough for you to grab it I'm guessing the retailer isn't making bank just moving product. They see the discount as the "fix" to the problem. Whether or not they should have to claim differently online vs the official Pinarello spec (which they too assumed would come as stated when they bought it) is a different story.

The free return label IMO is fair.