I think I may have found something.
 

So some of you may know my Leader was stolen a few weeks ago. I've been searching for it none stop and randomly while browsing ebay for random search terms I stumbled on this.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Beautiful-FULL-C...3#ht_500wt_922

It looks just like the Bianchi San Lorenzo Fork I had on my Leader 725 originally bought in this auction

After being in a head tube I imagine the label may have been damaged and the chipping to the drop outs looks very similar to the damage I did to them. I just wanted to ask an online community of strangers what they thought and how the two forks compared. He's located in Los Angeles, I'm thinking of winning the auction and trying to pick it up in person.

P.S. the only thing that doesn't look like mine (which I may just have not seen because I didn't remove the brake) is the area around the brake hole being silver. But someone may be able to let me know if its likely to happen from mounting a brake.

Residing in a headtube doesn't damage a fork's label... but thieves trying to make stolen goods less recognizable does. He says the steerer length is 8 inches, was yours approximately/ longer than that length? If yes, I think you're on to something definitely.

Another note; he sells large lots of parts; check them/ his other auctions for parts that possibly came from your bike if you haven't already.

Did you post a thread on your bike being stolen? (other than this one)

The one the possible-ass-face is selling is quite chipped up, especially around the fork crown. Also, the brake hole on that fork seems really worn too.

Do you have pictures of your bike with the fork? Post them up so we'll have more to look at.

He's got a lot of tidbits that could be stolen goods.

I found something that might or might not help.

Look at both fork crown pictures on the possible-ass face and the original guy; the one that ass face has shows a little hole on the crown but it doesn't seem to show the same hole on the original guy's picture.

Do you remember that the fork crown has a hole like his?

Oh yea, I remember you bought a ****** compression plug for the fork, how does it look like?

After looking at his store, it doesn't seem to have a black 27.2 seatpost but all his forks are labelled the same way:

The steerer column is X" long. I checked with the manufacturer's website and it doesn't list the rake on this brand so I included a side view of the fork so you can determine it's offset.

It has a really nice [insert adjective] [insert colour] finish. It's a used fork but still in great condition. As you can see in the pictures there are some scratches and stains but it's still structurally sound and a very sturdy fork.

Here's your chance to upgrade your bike to a lighter and stronger fork for a really cheap price!!

It seems like if he owned the forks at one point, he would know the rakes on them. Something doesn't smell right.

Yea also casually inquire into other parts that would work with this...say its like your first time building it up and stuffs. Me might try to shift more of it onto you

I like the way he says he doesn't know the brand but that he looked at the manufacturer's website to find the offset.

I hate to burst the collective bubble here but he's most likely just a bike shop owner or garage mechainic-type selling stuff off on eBay. Either that or he's stolen a LOT of bikes.

Could be a guy running a similar scam to this

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/26/canada

do the local pick up, and kick his ass just because.

In the bad old days when I was a bike bum travelling the country to do races and sleeping wherever I could, I engraved my last name on my frame BB, fork steerer and other major parts like cranks and wheel rims for future identification if my bikes were stolen and parted out. I recovered some wheels this way, finding them a month later at another race. I always record the frame serial number to give to the police if it is stolen. Needless to say, I have photos of all my bikes. I hope you recover at least some of your parts, although I'd caution you against engaging in vigilante justice.

I sell a lot of random bike parts on eBay too. Does that make me a bike thief?

Continue with the auction and get his email address for paypal purposes. Use his email address to look for a Facebook or Myspace account. Then you can at least see if his face looks familiar to you or your neighbors in the area the bike was stolen.

Since it's local, you could always try to do an in-person pickup instead of shipping. Make sure you meet in a parking lot that would have cameras so if anything shady happens it's all on camera. Definitely don't attack the guy, whether he did or didn't steal from you. All that will happen is you will end up in jail too.:thumb:

Yes.

your sanlorenzo fork is the only sanlorenzo fork that has ever been marked up at the dropouts.

Book mark the page for the fork; and keep on eye on that guy's offerings; if any similar parts from your stolen build pop up, you know his your man.

ask him if he has any track frames around your size.

Unless you beat the crap out of it during the three weeks you had your Leader, that's clearly not the same fork.

I did beat it quite a bit. I'm not renowned for being gentle with my equipment. I'm going to ask about the compression cap because mine was damaged in a very specific way.

I was gonna say the same thing. Fishy.

A lot of people who sell multiple similar items on eBay use a saved template when listing stuff to make it quicker and change small details about particular items if need be. I know I've made mistakes and have forgotten to add or remove the pre-saved details when listing stuff.

BTW, I've got a bunch of stuff up on eBay right now - all obviously stolen.

avner, if you damaged a steerer tube that much installing a crown race, I'll eat my beard. Again, they're different forks.

Link or its Ligit!