Is this bike dodgy?
burdturglar
Posts: 10
Might not be the ideal section, as I have already bought the bike, but would appreciate some advice. I recently won an ebay auction for a silver ridgeback genesis day 05 and have some suspicions that the bike might have been stolen at some point.
The bike itself has a broken gear cable and front and back tyres are different colours.
The seller has about 50 ratings and his history shows he has sold a number of bikes in the past year. This by itself doesn't indicate much, but I recently found a recently cached google page of a gumtree ad listed for the same model of bike. This advertisement doesn't give many clues that it is the bike I have bought, but looks like it could have been written by some illiterate crackhead. So I am thinking this ebay sellar might have recently bought a stolen bike, and has now sold it on to me.
Does this look like something I should try to get out of asap? Or should I be asking the ebay seller some very specific questions? (I am due to pick up the bike at his house tomorrow). Thanks
The bike itself has a broken gear cable and front and back tyres are different colours.
The seller has about 50 ratings and his history shows he has sold a number of bikes in the past year. This by itself doesn't indicate much, but I recently found a recently cached google page of a gumtree ad listed for the same model of bike. This advertisement doesn't give many clues that it is the bike I have bought, but looks like it could have been written by some illiterate crackhead. So I am thinking this ebay sellar might have recently bought a stolen bike, and has now sold it on to me.
Does this look like something I should try to get out of asap? Or should I be asking the ebay seller some very specific questions? (I am due to pick up the bike at his house tomorrow). Thanks
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Comments
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You shouldn't have bid if you suspected the bike was possibly stolen IMHO.0
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Why not phone the local cop shop where the guy lives and see if it's been reported stolen.http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
Specialized Roubaix SL3 Expert 2012, Cannondale CAAD5,
Marin Mount Vision (1997), Edinburgh Country tourer, 3 cats!0 -
@ Lilywhite - thanks for your honest opinion but I didn't see the gumtree ad until the auction was over.0
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Could be an honest guy that simply doesn't know a great deal about bikes so not sure asking lots of specific questions about it would help. Ask if he's the original owner and if he has a receipt. If you're really concerned then call the local cop shop and see if anythings been reported stolen.
Thing is that even if it was nicked, there would be no real way of knowing and I can't imagine the police will care. More important would be to have a really good look at the bike itself to make sure it's in good nick - take it for a ride and check it. Not necessarily for things like how well the gears shift (many cyclists know bugger all about setting up gears and don't bother taking it to a shop) but for things like creaking or grinding in the BB, headset, hubs etc.
If you buy a duff bike it can end up costing the price of a new bike just to get it working properly.0 -
Ask him for the bike's serial number.Smarter than the average bear.0
