Sold this 70's TdF today and had a head-scratcher to go along with it. Curious if anyone's had a similar experience. I've sold a lot of bikes, and I always pay attention to what's going on with my customers with their level of involvement or lack thereof. This one had me going.

Guy named Alex makes an appt to see the TdF today. He arrives with his girlfriend Kate in tow. They're younger, probably late 20's, and not the age where they would have grown up with these bikes like I did.

I show them into my sunroom where the TdF is waiting on a stand. Since I never assume the bike is for anyone currently there to look at it (it could be for anyone - family member, friend, kid, etc.), I ask, who's the bike for? Alex looks at Kate. OK, Kate wants it. No problem.

Since this is a classic French 531 frame with some interesting parts (a nice Avocet triple crank and matching pedals, Mafac Competition centerpulls, SunTour barcons and Cyclone RD, racks, 3T stem), I asked if they were bike aficionados or just looking for a nice bike. They said the latter. OK, we'll demo the bike in that mindset.

I show them the 3x5 setup and that it shifts well, show them how to avoid chain rub in a friction shifter, they were all fine with that. Went through all the other bike functions, everything cool. But Kate looks like she'd rather be in another universe. This doesn't escape my attention.

So after my spiel, just as I'm getting ready to take the bike off the stand and set seatpost height, I turn directly to Kate and asked, "Curious, what attracted you to this bike?" She looks sheepish for a second, doesn't say anything and looks straight at Alex. Then she says, "He did." I look at Alex, grinning ear to ear. Ah, the truth comes out, I say. I tell Alex, you be sure and take a test ride yourself if you want one.

Then I size the seatpost for her, and we get her all settled for a test ride. I go inside. They ring the bell a few minutes later, she wants it. Sold. I pack it in their vehicle and they drive away.

Now in the Great Material Continuum of bikes, it matters to me not a whit whether that bike was really meant for Alex or Kate, I was happy to help pass it along. But what I didn't get is that if the bike were truly for him, I'd rather make sure he was comfortable with fit & a test ride, not her, if he were the intended rider, or the mostly intended rider, anyway.

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this? Is this a one-off situation? Can't say I've ever heard of anyone buying a bike by direct proxy like this.