shelbyfv

I think jetboy has this figured, especially his points 4 and 5. We'll see this bike again.

joe englert

I'm sure you guys are right. Looks like a scam to me. However, with ebay and paypal being notorious for taking the buyers side, how could he get away with it. If the new owner can prove within a certain time that the bike is NOT Roll's bike...it is not what it is advertised to be, then couldn't he get him money back right away and the seller would be kicked off ebay forever and maybe face charges of some sort? Seems like the risks weigh much more for that seller. On the other hand, what kind of dumb dumb advertises something for a fact unless he is one hundred percent sure. In other words, why wouldn't he just say "the guy I bought this from told me it was Bob Rolls' bike and it seems to be true. That would cover his butt and he might still sell the bike

jetboy 

if the buyer buys into the scam in the first place, then hes not going to go checking on the back end. that would mean admitting to being a sucker. people hate to do that. When confronted with a truth that is against their belief, most humans just double down on the belief - at least outwardly. quagmire anyone/

Kactus

A scammer. He has to sell the story to get top dollar for the bike.

By presenting it as "fact", people will be much more likely to believe it. By adding the little "secret facts" like the red cable housings and Deore seat post, people who want to believe the story will give the seller credit for being "in the know". If the seller expresses any kind of doubt, potential buyers will question it and be less likely to bid high.

crank_addict

I don't think it would be difficult to contact Roll and get some sort of answer, even if vague. Relatively in comparison, that was a budget sponsored team, same when they went pro. Maybe he could shed light if in fact that was his only allocation. Anyways, a super cool bike but waaaay beyond my means. If mine, it wouldn't be a wall hanger. I'd ride the snot out of it

edit: Sellers pics are poor, especially for something to show and tell time of this caliber. I would imagine these bikes should have some scar's and this one does have many. But....... it also looks repainted. Not a significant job either. Look at the red portions around the head tube. Does it appear as crude thick re-paint? One season racer or why the repaint?

jetboy 

also, hes a scammer-- but not necessarily a good scammer. if he was a good scammer we would never even have noticed. so some of his mistakes are not really calculated - they are just mistakes.

KonAaron Snake 

Frankly there isn't a lick of evidence to say it's a scam while all of the evidence presented checks out. It checks out visually as does the seat post. Is it confirmed every consumable is correct? No - but they're the right bits. In fact to me it's further authentication since it isn't well known but did happen. It is clearly a team bike and the size matches the research - so the skepticism is that it was a lesser rider? It is a team merckx.

As far as the bidding issue - it's very possible that was shill bidding. It's ebay and it happens all of the time.

The seller has sold under 100 things total on ebay, so it doesn't seem like he's an ebay sca, artist...and it's not that unbelieveable that a team bike would have a bidder at that number. I had a similar offer on my Bauer (which is rougher). So it could be a shill, or not. Bottom line is that it's an awfully cool bike. It's sad that's being over looked in this discussion.