Have you ever bought a misdescribed (knackered) bike?
Discussion
Really annoyed. Bike was described as immaculate and it was a two hour round trip. I spoke to the seller, met in a layby loaded the bike up and drove home. Once home it was immediately obvious that the Fox forks have the dreaded CSU creak and oil leak on stanchion. I emailed the seller Abit miffed and he replied 'there were pedals in the van you could have had a ride'.
Partly because the bike is a XS size, I'm a L/XL. (It's a surprise first proper MTB Xmas present for my 9yr old son).
A pretty major thing to hope isn't spotted. I've always sold bikes openly and honestly not 'if you don't ask about a major issue I won't confess'.
Partly because the bike is a XS size, I'm a L/XL. (It's a surprise first proper MTB Xmas present for my 9yr old son).
A pretty major thing to hope isn't spotted. I've always sold bikes openly and honestly not 'if you don't ask about a major issue I won't confess'.
Edited by Sa Calobra on Tuesday 11th December 07:58
Not knackered, but I recently bought a road bike off ebay, picked it up in the dark and didn't ride it (it was a good price so I wasn't too bothered). Testing later, the chainrings 'wobbled' in and out by about 5mm - not enough to make it unrideable but definitely enough that anyone who rode it would notice, it rubbed the FD quite badly.
Eventually (with the help of Rotor's tech support team, which were very helpful) I figured out that the lockring holding the spider on had backed off slightly and chain wax had jammed down the back. I removed and reinstalled it and it's now perfect!
I wasn't too annoyed - carbon aero frame with Ultegra/Dura-Ace/Rotor/Hope/Di2 for £600.
Eventually (with the help of Rotor's tech support team, which were very helpful) I figured out that the lockring holding the spider on had backed off slightly and chain wax had jammed down the back. I removed and reinstalled it and it's now perfect!
I wasn't too annoyed - carbon aero frame with Ultegra/Dura-Ace/Rotor/Hope/Di2 for £600.
If the bike was posted and you hadn't viewed then i would completely agree that it should be described properly. I've bought and sold many bike by distance and accept that you have to deal on trust. Dependant the amounts involved i sometimes take a punt, or not.
However on the basis you could of checked it before paying your money then its down to you in this instance in my opinion (same as buying a used car) A used mountain bike will never be perfect and if you want perfect then buy new or thoughly check what you are buying.
Even new £1100 Fox forks creek, and a seal kit can be done for £30 so not exactly the end of the world. The seller probably didnt even pay that much attention to a slight noise and a bit of oli on a used bike. This is all of course unless you say it was £8k of used bike. How much was it? and how old is it? for context
However on the basis you could of checked it before paying your money then its down to you in this instance in my opinion (same as buying a used car) A used mountain bike will never be perfect and if you want perfect then buy new or thoughly check what you are buying.
Even new £1100 Fox forks creek, and a seal kit can be done for £30 so not exactly the end of the world. The seller probably didnt even pay that much attention to a slight noise and a bit of oli on a used bike. This is all of course unless you say it was £8k of used bike. How much was it? and how old is it? for context
Had it go the other way.
Poorly described bike, bloke selling it not really interested in cycling, had just been commuting on it and was converting his garage into an extension so needed rid of it.
I must have been mad when Ibid on it on e-bay, but instead of clicking 'watch this item' I went in with a daft minimum bid, presuming I'd be outbid fairly swiftly. I wasn't. Previous high bidder didn't have another nibble, and no-one else was interested. So my bid of £53 won it, and now I had to schlepp off to the coast of Essex (from Farnborough, Hampshire) to fetch the damned thing.
I was worried that it might be knackered, and asked the seller as many ways as I knew how if it was up to snuff and ready to ride. In the end it was fine. A bit scruffy cosmetically, and with God-awful "Made in Sri Lanka" no-brand tyres on it. But I'd taken a set of c.40 mm Conti tyres down "just in case" and fitted them in a car park up the road after collecting it.
So, after a long round trip to collect it (which probably cost as much as the bike in the end) I found that I was the (proud?) owner of an early-to-mid 1990s Cannondale Backroads HeadShok™ equipped hybrid, converted (I suspect from new) to drop bars and period Shimano 105 gearing. I've spent a little over £200 on it in total, and spent a few hours fettling it, but we're now 1,007 miles into life together, all ridden in the three months between me buying it in February and then breaking my damned leg in May.
It's a fabulous bike, a "Gravel Bike" well ahead of it's time. My only criticism? It's a fair bit heavier than it needs to be, but that's about it. And a lot of that £150 I've spent fettling it has been on stuff like a cassette, chain, tyres, cables, and pads, not bling. I'd have felt awful too, if I'd gone all that way to pick up a 'nail', but I guess I just got lucky with it...
Poorly described bike, bloke selling it not really interested in cycling, had just been commuting on it and was converting his garage into an extension so needed rid of it.
I must have been mad when Ibid on it on e-bay, but instead of clicking 'watch this item' I went in with a daft minimum bid, presuming I'd be outbid fairly swiftly. I wasn't. Previous high bidder didn't have another nibble, and no-one else was interested. So my bid of £53 won it, and now I had to schlepp off to the coast of Essex (from Farnborough, Hampshire) to fetch the damned thing.
I was worried that it might be knackered, and asked the seller as many ways as I knew how if it was up to snuff and ready to ride. In the end it was fine. A bit scruffy cosmetically, and with God-awful "Made in Sri Lanka" no-brand tyres on it. But I'd taken a set of c.40 mm Conti tyres down "just in case" and fitted them in a car park up the road after collecting it.
So, after a long round trip to collect it (which probably cost as much as the bike in the end) I found that I was the (proud?) owner of an early-to-mid 1990s Cannondale Backroads HeadShok™ equipped hybrid, converted (I suspect from new) to drop bars and period Shimano 105 gearing. I've spent a little over £200 on it in total, and spent a few hours fettling it, but we're now 1,007 miles into life together, all ridden in the three months between me buying it in February and then breaking my damned leg in May.
It's a fabulous bike, a "Gravel Bike" well ahead of it's time. My only criticism? It's a fair bit heavier than it needs to be, but that's about it. And a lot of that £150 I've spent fettling it has been on stuff like a cassette, chain, tyres, cables, and pads, not bling. I'd have felt awful too, if I'd gone all that way to pick up a 'nail', but I guess I just got lucky with it...
subsea99 said:
When i sell bikes i always make sure they are serviced and ready to ride.
The last bike I sold had an issue with the BB (spindle length following a crankset replacement), I realized at the last minute and wouldn’t let the buyer take it until I had sourced, bought and fitted the replacement.Fortunately the chap was local.
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