What to check or ask?

[S6PNJ]

I've just bought myself a previously enjoyed (ok so it's second hand) Trek SLR off that auction site and am going to collect it on Sunday. Whilst I'm mechanically minded, I'm not too sure on what items I should check for when collecting the bike (to make sure it meets his description and has no hidden faults). Clearly I'll be looking for true running wheels, no grinding in the bearings and smooth indexing of the gears (on a quick ride) but what other things should I be looking for? It's Shimano ultegra front and rear, not sure on the brakes though.

I'm not sure of the exact model but hope to find out more once I've got it home.

[Gooby]

Ebay is awash with stolen gear. I would check that it is a genuine sale and not that some PC will knock on your door in 6 months and remove the bike and then charge you with handling stolen goods.

This has happened to a riding buddy a few weeks ago. Suitably pissed off he has been asking around and it seems the police view on ebay is the largest proportion of stuff is stolen.

[Spleeble]

Gooby said:

Ebay is awash with stolen gear. I would check that it is a genuine sale and not that some PC will knock on your door in 6 months and remove the bike and then charge you with handling stolen goods.

This has happened to a riding buddy a few weeks ago. Suitably pissed off he has been asking around and it seems the police view on ebay is the largest proportion of stuff is stolen.

I would have thought that you’d be extremely stupid to sell any stolen goods on eBay especially if it’s rare or desirable. It’s going to be the first place the victim is going to check and the thieving scrote is going to be easily traced. The only problem is the police, even though they could easily catch these thieves and organised gangs in the act they probably don’t have the time or motivation to tear themselves away from their doughnuts to do anything about it.

To the OP. Check the welds for any cracks, saddle for bent rails, brakes move properly, every thing spins freely, mech hanger straight, etc. The gears are easily set up properly and cheap to replace if knackered so are the least of your worries.

[Parrot of Doom]

Run your finger along the downtube, look for any signs that the bike has collided with something. Check the fork is perfectly straight and not bent in any way.

[S6PNJ]

Gooby said:

Ebay is awash with stolen gear. I would check that it is a genuine sale and not that some PC will knock on your door in 6 months and remove the bike and then charge you with handling stolen goods.

This has happened to a riding buddy a few weeks ago. Suitably pissed off he has been asking around and it seems the police view on ebay is the largest proportion of stuff is stolen.

So how would I go about checking it is a genuine sale? If I ask the vendor, he will say yes! If I ask the local plod, it may have been stolen from elsewhere. As the bike is a few years old, I doubt the vendor will have a receipt etc so what method is left available to me?

[S6PNJ]

Parrot of Doom said:

Run your finger along the downtube, look for any signs that the bike has collided with something. Check the fork is perfectly straight and not bent in any way.

Thanks PoD, I'd not thought of that and it's a very easy method - eyes and hands are quite sensitive to lumps and bumps!

[Parrot of Doom]

Yeah, do it with other parts of the bike too, fingers are much better at finding indentations than eyes. If it's ever hit a car it might have a ripple just behind the headtube, on the underside of the downtube.

Edited by Parrot of Doom on Thursday 20th May 13:06

[HDM]

S6PNJ said:

Parrot of Doom said:

Run your finger along the downtube, look for any signs that the bike has collided with something. Check the fork is perfectly straight and not bent in any way.

Thanks PoD, I'd not thought of that and it's a very easy method - eyes and hands are quite sensitive to lumps and bumps!

All very good advice, if this is a road bike I'd also stand behind it, and look to see if the back wheel lines up with the front (ie front wheel should not overlap a the top or bottom), this is checking to see if the frame in is track, if not, it could indicate it has hit something hard.

Also check to see how worn the brake pads are, hopefully all similar amounts of wear, and take a look at the allen key sockets and other bolts and fixings, here you're looking to see if there is burring, or any evidence of heavy handed tightening or adjustment with wrong sized tools, an indicator if the bike has been well looked after or not.

[Gooby]

S6PNJ said:

Gooby said:

Ebay is awash with stolen gear. I would check that it is a genuine sale and not that some PC will knock on your door in 6 months and remove the bike and then charge you with handling stolen goods.

This has happened to a riding buddy a few weeks ago. Suitably pissed off he has been asking around and it seems the police view on ebay is the largest proportion of stuff is stolen.

So how would I go about checking it is a genuine sale? If I ask the vendor, he will say yes! If I ask the local plod, it may have been stolen from elsewhere. As the bike is a few years old, I doubt the vendor will have a receipt etc so what method is left available to me?

Check for the frame numbers. Check that they have not been filed off. Get a feel for when the seller purchased the bike, a genuine seller will have researched his purchase and show some pride in it. Check original spec of the bike and question how it differs from original.

[dubbs]

Ask the vendor for the frame number and where they bought the bikje - call that dealer and check.

Frame number can be checked through forums or dealers to ensure the one you was given is correctly formatted.

Police can be asked to see if it's on a list of stolen one's.

My LBS has a full list of the bike and components plus serial numbers so I don't have an issue come claim time if it gets stolen.