Urgent help needed on a Trek bike!



Mico7716

New Member
Jul 4, 2005
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Hi--I'm new to biking, and I'm trying to purchase a used Trek off of e-bay for under $350.00.

I won an auction tonight for a Trek 1420. The saler is saying that this bike is a year 2000 model. However, now that I look closer at the bike and found a few things online, I'm starting to think that the bike is older than that.

The link to the auction for the "2000 Trek 1420" is below:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=98084&item=7166238068&rd=1

I also found another bike on e-bay that seems to be EXACTLY like this one--and it is marked as a year 1995:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=98084&item=7166428437&rd=1

I need someone to give me some input--urgently! I won the auction for this bike for $242.50, which is cheap enough. However, this chick wants to charge me over $100 for basic shipping (whaaa?!) and I'm beginning to feel that someone is trying to screw me over and sale me something that it's not.

Can someone tell me if Trek made the 1420 model in 2000? Or is this bike older?

Even if it IS older, did I still get a good deal on it?

Thanks!
-Mychal
 
If you are concerned about model year, I would ask her how she knows that it is a model year 2000 road bike. The down tube shifters and 21 speed gears make me suspect that it is older... Maybe there is a way to tell the model year from the serial number of the bike?

$100 for shipping seems high but it could be that she is going to take it to her local shop and have someone package the bicycle up in a professional manner. In the eBay posting, she really doesn't address the shipping costs and she looks to be a new seller.

When you buy stuff on eBay, you should always ask these sorts of questions before bidding. Once something is sold on eBay, you are obligated to purchase it. In this case, since shipping wasn't talked about and this may not be a year 2000, you might have an argument against go through with the transaction. I would keep asking questions before sending any money.
 
You should be able to confirm the year of manufacture from the serial number - contact Trek. Trek may also be able to provide you with an image of that model bike from their 2000 model year website. They have archive links for their 2004 and 2003 models on thier main website and the model 1420 is not listed in 2003 so it was discontinued sometime prior to 2003. As the other poster said, the shifters on the downtube is a big clue. I doubt that they were selling bikes in 2000 with shifters on the downtube. If the seller misrepresented the bike (e.g., year of manufacture), you have a basis to not go forward with the transaction. The $100 does seem high, but you could take responsibility for the shipping and thus control the costs. If you post a query on this forum, you should be able to find out the lowest cost to pack/ship a bike in the US. Finally, the other eBay listing for a 1420 looks to be a nice, clean, 1-owner bike. I wouldn't worry too much about the year of manufacture. And, you don't need the aero bars on the other bike. As to the model 1420, I think you would be happier with a bike with the shifters on the bars. Good luck.
 
RapDaddyo said:
You should be able to confirm the year of manufacture from the serial number - contact Trek. Trek may also be able to provide you with an image of that model bike from their 2000 model year website. They have archive links for their 2004 and 2003 models on thier main website and the model 1420 is not listed in 2003 so it was discontinued sometime prior to 2003. As the other poster said, the shifters on the downtube is a big clue. I doubt that they were selling bikes in 2000 with shifters on the downtube. If the seller misrepresented the bike (e.g., year of manufacture), you have a basis to not go forward with the transaction. The $100 does seem high, but you could take responsibility for the shipping and thus control the costs. If you post a query on this forum, you should be able to find out the lowest cost to pack/ship a bike in the US. Finally, the other eBay listing for a 1420 looks to be a nice, clean, 1-owner bike. I wouldn't worry too much about the year of manufacture. And, you don't need the aero bars on the other bike. As to the model 1420, I think you would be happier with a bike with the shifters on the bars. Good luck.

You can get a new entry level road bike for around $450 and not pay shipping.