Buying a 2nd Hand Bike

That's always an issue with 2nd hand goods and unfortunately there's not much you can do to be really sure. I'd be taking a look at areas like the bottom bracket to check for engraved ID details and suchlike, but otherwise all you can really do is take the seller's word for the fact that it's legitimately their's. I'm prepared to stand corrected on this of course but unfortunately, as far as I can see, it's just one of those ways in which people doing the right thing are somewhat at the mercy of those who will cheerfully shaft people for personal gain.

I'm also looking about the 2nd hand market for a roadie (Shim 105+/Campy equiv, suit 5"9' bloke, STi/Ergo shifters, to $1.5k - PM me if you're out there & looking at upgrading).

The blokes I've seen so far seem legit in that they're able to provide a believable history & they're not cagey or sound too dodgey aboput the little details.
If in doubt you can always walk away.

There's no sure fire way to prove the bike isn't stolen, it's not like registered motor vehicles.

I previously had a MTB stolen while parked at work (u'ground car park, chained) & I made sure I engraved my driver's licence number next to the frame serial number under the bottom bracket/crank. [Driver's licence numbers usually don't mean anything to people unless your a copper].

Marx SS said:

I'm also looking about the 2nd hand market for a roadie (Shim 105+/Campy
equiv, suit 5"9' bloke, STi/Ergo shifters, to $1.5k - PM me if you're
out there & looking at upgrading).

The blokes I've seen so far seem legit in that they're able to provide
a believable history & they're not cagey or sound too dodgey aboput the
little details.
If in doubt you can always walk away.

There's no sure fire way to prove the bike isn't stolen, it's not like
registered motor vehicles.

I previously had a MTB stolen while parked at work (u'ground car park,
chained) & I made sure I engraved my driver's licence number next to
the frame serial number under the bottom bracket/crank. [Driver's
licence numbers usually don't mean anything to people unless your a
copper].

Hmmmm where were all these people when I was selling my Trek?

petulance said:

Hiya,

I have been thinking of purchasing a 2nd hand road bike and have been
looking at the archives of this newsgroup for information.

The usual sources of 2nd hand bikes seem to be the Trading Post and Ebay.

My question is

Original receipts aside, how does one tell if the bike on sale is not
stolen?

I don't suppose I could call up the cops to look at their "stolen
bike" database. I assume Ebay offers some level of protection from fraud
but I am not sure about the Trading Post.

Thanks in advance.

One option may be to pick a local maker. For interest I took my Hillman back to Grantham St and they could tell me the year and the month they made it, confirm the tubeset and coould tell me who they made it for . (1983, June, 531C)

If you are in Melbourne Bicycle Recycle in South Rd have a fair stock of interesting secondhand bikes, I've never bought a complete bike from them, but several of frames, wheels and bits over the years and haven't had any issues.

Best of luck

Marx SS said:

I'm also looking about the 2nd hand market for a roadie (Shim 105+/Campy
equiv, suit 5"9' bloke, STi/Ergo shifters, to $1.5k - PM me if you're
out there & looking at upgrading).

The blokes I've seen so far seem legit in that they're able to provide
a believable history & they're not cagey or sound too dodgey aboput the
little details.

well, most people should have the history of their bike down pat, but
sometimes being cagey/doegey about little details could just be a lack
of knowledge on their part. Not everyone who has a road bike knows about
the different groupsets and technical terms, as they just ride and their
bike and aren't keen on learning more.

And even if they are the owner of the bike, sales receipts can always go
missing (though if I was selling my bike and had lost my sales receipt,
I would go back to my LBS to get a copy)

Quoted message said:

If in doubt you can always walk away.

true.

Quoted message said:

There's no sure fire way to prove the bike isn't stolen, it's not like
registered motor vehicles.

That's what I thought.

Quoted message said:

I previously had a MTB stolen while parked at work (u'ground car park,
chained)

sorry to hear that. I have been thinking of riding to work but I don't
have a spot in the underground car park to park by bike.

Quoted message said:

& I made sure I engraved my driver's licence number next to
the frame serial number under the bottom bracket/crank. [Driver's
licence numbers usually don't mean anything to people unless your a
copper].

thanks. that sounds like what I should do to my existing bike.

OK, back to Ebay and the Trading Post for me ...

Resound said:

That's always an issue with 2nd hand goods and unfortunately there's not
much you can do to be really sure.

Quoted message said:

I'd be taking a look at areas like
the bottom bracket to check for engraved ID details and suchlike,

I guess a good warning sign would be a filed off serial number on the frame!

Quoted message said:

but otherwise all you can really do is take the seller's word for the fact
that it's legitimately their's. I'm prepared to stand corrected on this
of course but unfortunately, as far as I can see, it's just one of those
ways in which people doing the right thing are somewhat at the mercy of
those who will cheerfully shaft people for personal gain.

Having said that, advertising stolen goods on Ebay or the Trading Post
will leave a bit of a paper trail, so I doubt if too many stolen goods
get sold that way (that's what I hope anyway).