Bike Forums - New guy intro

Hi folks. I'm new to the forum. I was a bike nut back in my teens (70's), even worked in a shop in CT. In '84 I bought a Lotus Competition, which for me, was a pretty nice bike in the day. I "restored" it last year and it is as mint as they come.

I recently have been following the forum and the usual Ebay/Craigslist stuff, wanting to get back into riding. I didn't want to put a lot of miles on my Lotus.

A few weeks ago I saw a listing for a "new" 2009 Specialized Tarmac Pro, in white.

I bought this bike. $1500. The person listing it and in further conversation and inspection said it was a brand new frame he put an Ultegra set etc on. The 2009 Tarmac Pro in white was only sold as a frameset, so it made sense he put the equipment on it. I really wanted it for the frame, was ok with Ultegra (for now), used wheels etc and we made a deal.

Yes, I was concerned it was a fake, a fully equipped '09 Tarmac Pro for $1500 but had some good advice on inspecting it and called Specialized too. This frame was not one they had issues with fakes and it had a never registered serial number. They felt it was the real deal.

I brought the bike home quite happy and went to my local bike store to sort it out some. Interesting what they found and I missed. Working in a bike store in the '70's does not qualify one for a bike inspection. That's the takeaway here for others shopping used deals.

The gent installed an older specialized seat post (and crappy seat) that had been cut too short. So, I needed a better seat (I knew that) and a post. $275.

The cables were all poorly installed. I had the shop do proper cables. $

The front shifter was not installed correctly so they sorted that. They are mounted different now than I was used to. Yeah, it's simple but while there I said ok for them to set it up properly. $40.

The pedals were junk - he just threw them in so I could test it. New Ultegra pedals. $200 at a store. Kinda dumb but I said ok.

The wheels were also thrown in too. Older Ultegra stuff with the cheapest tires one can buy. I was ok with that. It's the frame, right? Shopping for a new wheelset now. $800 min.

The older wheels/hub however were only 10 speed compatible so he took a cog out of a new 11 speed Ultegra cassette. Never noticed that either. When I get new wheels I'll have to decide if I keep it the way it was originally - a 10 speed, or just go 11. Either way a new cassett is in order. $$

All in all, I'm very happy. The bike is a dream even on the older wheelset and a bit funky gearing. I can fix that.

My $1500 purchase however, became more like $2000 and that's without a new wheelset.

In the end, albeit a bit surprised, I'll probably have close to $2800 in the bike with new wheels.

Yes I could have done some of the work myself. Yes, some parts are a lot cheaper online. My local store did give me solid advice and I learned a lot from them. That's worth money to me. That's how lbs shops stay in business. It's all good.

Thrilled to have the bike and my lurking here was very helpful before the sale. Now I need to get in shape. It's a cool bike but it does not completely pedal itself ��