gauvins

In another thread someone mentioned purchasing used high end equipment.

On the one hand, it makes perfect sense. Competitors and enthusiasts are likely to upgrade as soon as the newer groups hit the shelves. There are certainly excellent deals to be made.

On the other hand, used DuraAce/XTR/RED/SuperRecord may have been "sourced creatively".

I wouldn't want to encourage theft.

How would I know if a used part is "ethical" ? Where/how do you purchase used components (LBS/eBay/from someone you know).? Is it really worth it (if you save 50% on price, did you sacrifice 50% in durability)?

fietsbob

It snowing Up there Yet?

andr0id

Yes, Dura Ace and Ultegra parts have a chip in them that knows how much you paid for them.

The durability is adjusted accordingly.

Dave Mayer

The good news is that folks selling higher-end bikes and components are almost always the legitimate original owners, and they know more about their gear than your average rider. And that that the high-end stuff sells at a greater discount than the low-end stuff, relative to original purchase price. Why is this? Because folks with high-end stuff have money (obviously), and they have more to spend on new high-end stuff. The best guys to have as pals: young professionals who race in Walter-Mitty leagues on the weekends.

Low-life flippers and thieves are lazy and stupid. The bad decisions they made in their lives, are also manifested in the bikes they own and try and sell. So the addicts around here almost invariably ride POS department-store full-suspension mountain bikes. Or BMX bikes with no brakes.

You leave 2 bikes on a rack in our downtown, a Colnago and a full-suspension Schwinn, and the druggies will steal the Schwinn.

The bike flippers in our Craigslist are profoundly stupid and illiterate; they have nothing to offer. So the same obsolete, worthless crap gets reposted for months.

So don't sweat it too much; buy used bikes from hedge-fund managers and dentists.

DiabloScott

The Ultegra chip also weighs more.

gsa103

Ask for the back story. Why are they selling, strike up a conversation, pictures of their other bikes, etc. You'll very quickly either get a reasonable story or something that makes no sense. Then it's just a matter of walking away if you don't like things.

3alarmer 

.
...I would have a lot of trouble paying MSRP retail for bicycle components. If you wait a year or two it all goes for at least half off.

The most recent bike I restored is a GT Course, which I'm certain must have been stolen somewhere along the line, just not by the guy I bought it from. A lot of the original components were missing, but some of the more expensive ones like Ultegra triple crank and brifters were still on the bike, but not functional. It was outfitted along the lines of @dav Mayer's description, with one retrofitted cheap brake, one chain ring, and set up as a single speed.

Frame was in remarkably good shape, though.

This topic comes up all the time on the forum. I'm pretty sure that of the 50 or 60 bikes I have, at least one or three were probably stolen at one time or another. Telltale signs are some cheap, fat ass saddle, road bars flipped upside down, and a lot of missing parts. Who knows where they went ?

If there were some chance of reuniting the owner with his or her beloved bike, I'd be interested in the topic.

As it is, the advice to simply ask for the back story and use some personal judgement in the situation is also my advice.


For example, there used to be some ads on the local CL here out of some trailer park in Lodi that smelled bad. Just don't get involved with those.

Drew Eckhardt 

Parts are probably being sold by a legitimate owner when the seller knows what they have and prices it fairly. Thieves are opportunists with poor morals, not cycling enthusiasts.

Ebay sellers who've been moving a lot of parts for a long time are probably not stolen. Thieves eventually get caught.

JonathanGennick 

I used to cruise eBay a lot and mainly bought from either cycling enthusiasts getting rid of their outgoing frames and parts, and from established businesses like The Pros Closet that are run on eBay's platform.